Brave Kings Canyon!

With its russet crags and mysterious rock holes against a sapphire sky, this land, surrounded by harsh desert, is both majestic and forbidding. Yet it shelters a surprising diversity of plant and animal life.

Watarrka National Park has been the spiritual home of Aboriginal families, the Lurijta People, for 20,000 years. They gave it the name Watarrka for the umbrella bush that grows there. The land is rich in animal life and native flora, with more than 600 different species of plant life, so taking the camera or sketchpad is a must.

Kings Canyon is the crowning feature of Watarrka Gorge National Park. It is a blend of craggy rock and imposing cliff faces with gullies and pockets of vegetation and an oasis called the Garden of Eden.

Two walking tracks through Watarrka National Park offer visitors a chance to experience at ground-level the solitude and untouched beauty of the Australian outback. It is worth taking the six kilometre walk through the Garden of Eden, which has a delightful series of permanent waterholes. The track leads through stands of Desert Oak woodlands and unique rock formations to the rim of the canyon. You will be rewarded by amazing views - the 300 metre drop to the valley floor makes a breathtaking picture.

Another walk meanders along Kings Creek, ending at a spectacular lookout. Whichever way you choose, you can be assured of a satisfying few hours of sightseeing.

Your stay here need not be rough. You can choose an accommodation style from camping to luxury.

Watarrka National Park

The park has long been the spiritual home of Aboriginal families. The Lurijta People lived there for 20,000 years. They gave it the name Watarrka for the umbrella bush that grows there. Its main feature is Kings Canyon, a blend of craggy rock and cliff faces dotted with pockets of vegetation.

Two walking tracks through Watarrka National Park offer a chance to immerse yourself in the solitude of the Australian outback. The canyon walk, a six kilometre walk through the Garden of Eden - which has a delightful series of permanent waterholes - leads through stands of desert oak woodlands and unique rock formations to the rim of the canyon. This walk takes around three to four hours, and rewards you with a breathtaking view of the 300 metre drop to the valley floor. Another walk, the Kings Creek walk, meanders along Kings Creek for 2.6 kilometres and takes only an hour, ending at a spectacular lookout.

A fern-fringed oasis, called the Garden of Eden, and a couple of scenic walks give bushwalkers a chance to have their own unique encounter with part of Australia's remote heartland.