Our itinerary states “Today will start from either Alice Springs or the Erldunda roadhouse. If we are in Alice Springs, we will depart at around 7.00am for a two (2) hour drive back to Erldunda before we start our six (6) hour trek to Kings Canyon that is located to the North West of Erldunda.”Awake at 6.00am when the alarm went off and on the road at 7.45am heading south. Today is a bit warmer, probably 3 instead of 2 and there is still evidence of ice on the ground. Once again we have taken coffee with us and it hits the right spot.Our 2 hour trip to Erldunda actually takes 2.5 hours as we have slowed our progress to 90 kilometres per hours as this seems to be close to the magic mark for minimum fuel consumption.We stop on the way to view the “Cannonball” memorial that we find was built at the stop where 4 people died in 1994 during the inaugural Northern Territory Cannonball run. Another traveller tells us that a car carrying 2 Japanese competitors crashed at 260 kilometres per hour when they misjudged the time to stop for a check point. They killed 2 officials in the process. We were also informed that the Northern Territory Government introduced speed restrictions a couple of months ago and this accounts for the 130 kilometre speed signs. We were told that it was not uncommon for speeds of 200 kilometres per hour on the stretch of road where the memorial is.
Before check-in at the Kings Canyon Resort, we detoured to the car park at Kings Canyon and had a quick look at the distances of the walks on offer.Arriving at Kings Canyon we met the couple from Melbourne, they had been at the resort for 3 days.
This resort is operated by Voyages and they have a monopoly on the accommodation close to Kings Canyon. It was disappointing that for the money you pay for a powered site, you cannot get hot water. The motor-home has a hot shower but that is not the point! Even the quality of the amenities block is poor with evidence of repairs required. We rate this accommodation poorly!!!
