Sep 19 to 21 Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in the Northern Territory, it is 423 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.

The walls of Kings Canyon are over 100 metres high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. Part of the gorge is a sacred Aboriginal site. Several walks exist at Kings Canyon. The 2 km (return) and approximately 1 hour Kings Creek Walk traces the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the walk is a platform, with views of the canyon walls above. The 6 km (loop) and 3-4 hour Kings Canyon Rim Walk traces the top of the canyon. A steep climb at the beginning of the walk, which locals call “Heartbreak Hill” (or “Heart Attack Hill”, due to its steepness), takes visitors up to the top, with spectacular views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. About half way during the walk, a detour descends to Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole surrounded by lush plant life. The last half of the walk passes through a large maze of weathered sandstone domes, reminiscent of the Bungle Bungle.

We do them both. By now the temperature is up in the mid to high thirties and the flies have decided to join us on the trip – take a look at the latest fashion accessory.

Sep 16, 17 Glen Helen Resort lies at the western extremity of the West Macdonnell Ranges. We base ourselves here and visit the many interesting sites in the Ranges – including Ormiston Pound and Gorge, the Ellery Creek Bighole, Glen Helen, Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Mount Sonder, Serpentine Gorge, the Ochre Pits and Redbank Gorge.

Sep 13,14 Alice Springs lies in the centre of the MacDonnell Ranges, a 644 km (400 mi) long series of mountain ranges located in the centre of Australia, consisting of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs. The mountain range contains many spectacular gaps and gorges as well as areas of aboriginal significance.

The ranges were named after Sir Richard MacDonnell (the Governor of South Australia at the time) by John McDouall Stuart, whose 1860 expedition reached them in April of that year.

The highest peaks are Mount Zeil (1,531 m AHD/ 5,023 ft), Mount Liebig (1524 m / 5,000 ft) and Mount Sonder (1,380 m / 4,528 ft). These are the highest mountains in the Northern Territory. The MacDonnell Ranges are the headwaters of the Todd River, Finke River and Sandover Rivers.

The East Macdonnell Range is very close to Alice Springs and can be explored easily in a day.

We finish our visit to Alice Springs with a game of golf (why is it always their monthly medal, stroke play, off the black tees when we visit ?) and with a lovely meal at the Tripadvisor number 1 restaurant in Alice.

Sep 12 A trip to the Alice Springs Desert Park is highly recommended. Local guides give a host of interesting information about the history of the land and its peoples. Well worth the visit.

Also, just have a photo of the local beer – it comes in 2 litre bottles – the NT Stubbie.

Sep 11 to 16 After being very disappointed in the state of Katherine and Tenant Creek being very run-down and untidy, what a pleasant surprise to arrive in Alice Springs to almost the complete opposite. The Alice is a well-kept, clean and has a very nice atmosphere. We arrive at the beginning of the annual Desert Festival and catch the opening parade. We also find a pub with some interesting bar stolls – they are actually saddles.

Sep 6 to 11 We are now back on to the Stuart Highway heading south to Alice Springs about 1,500 kms away. This is the same road we came up to Darwin on and we revisit Edith Springs and Banka Banka for overnight stops. Along the way we spot a bush fire and take a diversion to look at the ‘Devil’s Marbles’. The site is known as Karlu Karlu to the land’s Aboriginal traditional owners and consists of gigantic, rounded granite boulders, some spectacularly poised, is a remarkable landscape. Scattered clusters of these ‘marbles’, including many balancing rocks, are spread across a wide, shallow valley. The Devils Marbles is a nationally and internationally recognised symbol of Australia’s outback.

Sep 4,5 Mango Farm is an isolated camp site situated right on the Daly River. It is a place we visited for 1 night when we flew to Darwin for a holiday back in 2007. It is famous for its great fishing but, unfortunately, the fishing is very poor this year due to the lack of a wet season. There are still plenty of crocs though. And it is still a very peaceful place to relax for a couple of nights.

Sep 3 A short overnight stop at Mount Bundy Station was disappointing as it did not live up to its website claims. It was very dry and uneven around the unpowered sites where we were. However, there was a lot of wildlife around.

Sep 1,2 Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1,500 square kilometres, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin. Proclaimed a national park in 1986, it is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a Territory pioneer, who explored areas of the Northern Territory from Escape Cliffs on the Timor Sea to the Daly River in 1864.

We camp at Wangi Falls for 2 days and explore the park. Nowhere near the size of Kakadu, Litchfield still has some impressive sites to visit, namely Wangi Falls, Florence Falls, Buley Rockhole, Tolmer Falls and the Magnetic Termite Mounds.

We meet some of the local wildlife including agile wallabies, wild pigs and one that Mairead would love – the golden orb spider (see picture). These spiders are the size of dinner plates and spin their webs across open pathways so if you are the first along a path early in the morning you may get a nasty surprise. (I knew this but Siobhan didn’t – so being a gentleman I always let her go first !)