KINGS CANYON: WAKE EARLY, STAY LATE
With its 300-metre-high sandstone walls, it’s one of the most impressive attractions in Central Australia. But in the low season, after the rains, Watarrka/Kings Canyon is an isolated haven.
AS we pull into Kings Canyon late in the day, it appears on the horizon like a shadowy ghost, slowly sharpening as the sun drops lower. After a full day’s drive from Yulara, the arrival feels earned rather than rushed – the kind of slow approach that makes the landscape seem to rise up to meet you.
Checking in at Kings Canyon Resort feels surprisingly luxurious after hours of desert highway. The place hums with hospitality: accents from across Europe blend with the Australia twang and drift through reception. Most travellers are animated and sun-flushed, clearly thrilled to be here.
A room fit for Kings
My Deluxe Room sleeps three and, in the best possible way, feels oversized for the landscape. There’s a king bed, fold-out sofa, private balcony and a bathtub that dominates the space with unapologetic indulgence. I fill the bath, perched in the window, and watch the escarpment beyond the resort.
Already the room feels like a retreat rather than simply somewhere to sleep – a detail that matters in low season, when the heat shapes your schedule and comfort becomes part of the adventure. There’s no time to linger, though, because adventure calls.
We begin at the Sunset Viewing Platform, where the sun dips behind Carmichael’s Crag and the sandstone of the George Gill Range deepens into red and violet before the first stars puncture the sky.
Watarrka/Kings Canyon is the first stop on our Central Australian journey, and already I can feel my cortisol levels dropping. Life feels less frenetic here.
The glamping tents have been designed to blend in with the beautiful Northern Territory landscape
Each luxurious tent features comfortable beds with premium linen, a modern lounge area, dining space, outdoor deck with seating, split air-conditioning system and a private ensuite bathroom
A towering light show
A vivacious, multilingual guide named Grego escorts us to the bar before leading us into Light-Towers, the immersive installation by British artist Bruce Munro. It’s impossible not to think of his Field of Light at Uluṟu, but this experience feels more intimate. The towers glow and shift in response to an entrancing soundscape as guests wander quietly through its maze.
Sunset sessions are hosted, with local guides explaining the inspiration behind the work. Canapés and drinks carry native influences – emu, kangaroo, wattleseed, native pepper – reinforcing a sense of place rather than turning it into novelty.
Kings Canyon Resort
Kings Canyon Resort offers a variety of accommodation, including campsites, budget lodge rooms, glamping and more upmarket hotel options. It has a swimming pool and two onsite restaurants, while staff at reception can help book any Kings Canyon experiences.
By first light of day
The next morning starts early – not to get ahead of the crowds, since there aren’t any at this time of year, but to beat the heat. At 5.30am, as we eat Weet-Bix with banana, cold milk and honey pulled from the camper fridge, it’s already 28°C. Summer in Central Australia demands respect.
The six-kilometre Kings Canyon Rim Walk delivers instantly, with the Stairway to Heaven climb, Priscilla’s Crack, the domed sandstone of the Lost City, Cotterills Lookout and vast views along the South Wall. In low season, the silence is striking. There’s no queue for photos, no rush to keep moving. Just wind, rock and the steady rhythm of your own footsteps.
About halfway along the walk, the Garden of Eden appears like a mirage made real – shaded and lush, with water trickling and birds darting through the trees. It feels like a reward: a place to sit, cool down and let the canyon breathe around you.
For those who can’t start early or don’t want the full hike, the Kings Creek Walk is a genuine alternative rather than a consolation prize. The 2.6-kilometre return track is shady and cool, wheelchair-accessible in sections, with thoughtful paths that make it easy to navigate without diminishing the setting. On hot days, the canyon floor is where life – birds and, after it rains, flowering plants – gathers in pockets of precious shade.
From above, Watarrka forms a horseshoe of red around the green canyon floor
High in the sky with Professional Helicopter Services, you'll see an outline in the rock face of a dingo and her suckling pups
Flying high over the canyon
For the biggest perspective shift of all, we take to the air with Professional Helicopter Services. Ed, our moustachioed pilot, fires up a Bell 206 JetRanger and tells us we’re only one of two flights today. In peak season, there can be up to 40.
From above, Watarrka forms a perfect horseshoe of red around the green canyon floor. Ed lingers, pointing out there are more than a thousand cultural sites and tells the Dreaming story of the dingo and her pups etched into the landscape. In low season, there’s no rush; the sky feels as spacious as the ground below.
That night we eat steak at the recently renovated Kings Canyon Bar & Grill, where locals and travellers chat over cold beers. Back in the room, I consider running another bath. Outside, the escarpment is dark, quiet and completely still.
Low season at Kings Canyon isn’t about fewer experiences. Rather, it’s about deeper ones, taking full advantage of more space, more silence, more sky. All in a place shaped by heat and time, that feels like the greatest luxury of all.
The Kings Canyon hike is challenging and, in low season, best started before sunrise to avoid the heat
Professional Helicopter Services
Professional Helicopter Services offers three different scenic flights over Kings Canyon, ranging from the eight-minute Canyon Dash to the half-hour Kings Canyon and George Gill Range Experience.
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