I’m a day later than I wanted to be with this post. I have to admit I’ve been glued to the computer and YouTube to watch all that is happening with the Queen.
I have to admit I was a little shocked that she died. I don’t know, I had it in my head that she would live to be 100. I think the death of her husband last year was hard on her and I wonder if she died because of a broken heart. She certainly seemed to get very frail very quickly after his death. If you believe in this sort of thing, I guess they are together again.
Now we have King Charles the third. It is going to be a different time, that’s for sure.
12 year blogging anniversary
I got a notification from WordPress a couple of days ago saying happy anniversary and that it had been 12 years since I did my first post on WordPress. Not bad.
Sometimes I can’t believe I’m still doing it. So happy anniversary to me.
Anyway, back to my trip.
I hope you aren’t getting sick of the photos, I haven’t shown my favourite ones yet. I will show those soon but today I have, probably, my worse photos from the trip.
I had heard that a good way to see Kings Canyon was from the air. For our second flight for the trip, we decided to do a helicopter flight over it.
Heading to Kings Canyon
We had to get up early and be on the road by 7 am at the latest. We knew it would take us 3 hours and had to be there by 10. We left earlier and I think we were both really happy we did.
The trip was a little unremarkable. I couldn’t take photos as I did the driving that morning. Though I did get a bit of scare when Suzzanna said camel on the road. Can you believe there was a camel just walking along the side of the road?
Suzzanna grabbed her phone and get these shots. Not the best, but what can you do when it just happens?
Not long after we stopped at a roadhouse to get some coffees and the people there said it was unusual to see camels on the road. I don’t know if that is true, but we were excited to see one.
In a helicopter over Kings Canyon
We booked our 15 minute helicopter flight before we left and decided to do it with Professional Helicopter Services.
I wish I could say I enjoyed this, but it was by far the worse experience of the trip. There was one thing that made it somewhat special, but let’s look at the other stuff first.
We realised not long after arriving that there would be 6 of us and the pilot. We had to take the bigger chopper. That also meant that at least two people in the back seat wouldn’t really be able to see very much, plus the person sitting in the middle at the front. I was not very nice and basically said I didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t get a window. Suzzanna very graciously let me have it. I feel a bit bad about that, but we decided to share my photos.
It was raining, and we weren’t sure we would be able to go. That wasn’t a problem. They said if it was windy that would be more of a concern. It wasn’t so up we went.
We didn’t get the full tour because of the low clouds. They can’t fly into that for obvious reasons. We saw a bit of it, but I have to admit it was all a bit crazy and in the end, I think the pilot was just trying to fill in the 15 minutes and we got a tour around the town as well.
It was so hard to take photos because the camera had trouble focusing and the helicopter is a bit rough. It was shaking quite a bit. Then there was water on the windows and the odd shape of them, well let’s just say I was doomed from the start.
One thing that we were treated to was lots of water and waterfalls.
Again we were told that you don’t see waterfalls at Kings Canyon very much. So while the flight wasn’t fantastic, it was worth it for the waterfalls.
We did see quite a bit of water and when I show you the gallery soon you will see the clouds and water.
I think if it hadn’t been for that I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the flight at all. Especially when we compared it with the one we had the day before. I think we wished they had ones that were specifically for photographers and everyone got a window. I would have paid more for that.
A lot of people walk around the area. We decided not to because it was raining, and Suzzanna’s ankle was still sore. Better to just hit the road.
Let’s look at some photos.
Once we finished we decided to head to Alice Springs. Our next stop.
We were going to drive from Kings Canyon and go the more direct route, but we got about 5 or 10kms out of town and hit dirt. I probably would have driven on it, but it has been raining, we were in a normal car and it didn’t seem like a smart thing to do.
We turned around. So our 3 hour drive ended up being another 5 hours. Oh well, that is how it rolls sometimes. Thank goodness we picked an earlyish flight.
We did get some lovely sites.
We were more than half way through the trip, and Alice Springs was interesting, but more about it next time.
Congratulations on twelve years of blogging Leanne! Lucky us …
Thank you so much Julie.
Lovely images, what a beautiful place, the waterfall in particular. Someday I’ll have to go on a helicopter!
The waterfall was very special. Thank you. Yes, I hope you do it is quite an experience. I’ve been on one before but it was many many years ago.
My favourite shot is the one of the flat top and ribs of stone curving down to the valley floor like a frilly skirt. I wonder how the ribs were formed..
Your mention of camels brought back a memory as a teenager reading how they were imported to help explore the Interior, and then they just went with the flow and took up residence in the wild and thrived. Love it.
I imagined they were formed by water and the wind. Though I am only guessing. Thanks for letting me know what your favourite photo was David.
Yeah, I think I have heard similar about the camels. The explorers used them. I can see why they would love it out there when you consider where they came from. Just funny to see one on the road. Thank you David.
I was on a helicopter but made me nervous. Great images from the sky. Kings Canyon. Wow!
Anita
Yeah, some people are not keen on them. I was hearing the other day that they are more likely to crash, glad I didn’t know that before I want on it. Kings Canyon is quite amazing. Thank you Anita.
Congratulations on 12 years blogging. Are camels native to Australia or had it escaped from a zoo? Certainly a fascinating landscape, so enjoyed seeing the photographs. So different to Britain.
Thank you RJ. No camels aren’t native. They were brought here and have been allowed to run wild really. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, and yes, very very different to the UK. I am sure when the convicts arrived it was a bit of a culture shock.
Congratulations for completing the dozen.
Thank you so much.
How lucky to see this area after rain. It’s so green and pretty.
It was that. It rained the whole time we were there. I’m sure they need it. Thank you Carol.
The whole idea of a chopper ride is the different perspective and views versus a light plane. I can’t imagine sitting in the back seat and your only real “view” is looking at the back of the passenger’s head in front of you. At least you got a nice shot of the waterfall.
Regarding the queen’s passing, I was surprised how quickly she passed after it was announced she would be monitored more closely of the medical staff. And, that two days prior, she seemed okay when she received the new PM.
Yeah, so true it is. I think it is also unfair that everyone get charged the same amount of money but at least two people have to see everything over another. I think the waterfalls made up for it some. I had a window so I was lucky.
It did seem very quick and sad. She has been the Queen my whole life.
Thank you Dave.
Happy blogiversary!
▪◾◼◾▪▫◽◻◽▫▪◾◼◾▪▫◽◻◽▫▪◾◼◾▪
▫◽◻◽▫▪◾◼◾▪▫◽◻◽▫▪◾◼◾▪▫◽◻◽▫
Thank you Graham.