Day 14 – Kings Canyon

The plan today was to walk Kings Canyon however we had also been told that the helicopter ride over the canyon is worth a go as well. Phil and I asked Pete & Nel if we would be able to take Ella and Aiden up in the Helicoptor with us however they weren’t sure if Ella would be up for that. We asked the kids and Aiden was keen, even if he didn’t have a seat I think he would have hung to the outside of the helicopter! Ella on the other handed responded with the quickest “no! I hate flying” that made me giggle. So off we went for an 8 minute helicopter ride with Aiden, his first one ever and he seemed very excited which was very rewarding for us! He got to ride in the front with the Pilot and he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Our campsite from the sky

As soon as we landed and had a few photos we headed straight for Kings Canyon to walk it! The Kings Canyon walk is 6km with an estimated 3.5 hour return walking time. The walk started with this ridiculously steep hill which was mainly natural rock steps. There were a few stops along the way to catch our breaths, it was a little bit of a struggle! Once we made the top we had a little rest and some water! We continued the hike as a group taking photos along the way! There are going to be a lot of photos, this Canyon is amazing.

The initial incline

Dont look down Phil!

The Briscoe Kids (Amelia's favorite tree pose)

Before the dreaded stairs to the Garden of Eden Bridge

The Garden of Eden from above!

Little Miss Amelias legs were saw so Uncle Phil carried her!

Almost at the end, still smiling so why not strike a tree pose!

We continued the hike with some of us splitting up. Phil and I powered on with Amelia as we figured she may stop along the way meaning the others wouldn’t be too far behind. A little snack of sultanas and dried apples and a nut bar which Amelia said is “kinda nice”, they’re not hahaha, they are boring and tasteless but a good snack which she ended up handing back to us! I don’t blame you at all Amelia! Before we got to the Garden of Eden (about half way) there were some steep steps down to a bridge over the Garden of Eden and then we had to go back up. Phil, being scared of heights was holding onto Amelia and the side railing for dear life! I was not far behind taking photos and absolutely cracking up because I had never seen anyone so petrified, his knuckles white because he was holding on so tight. What made it even funnier was the conversation between Phil and Amelia! Amelia who talked to us about anything and everything and loved the walk jumping down the steps, continued to do so on the stairs. Phil however, in his little panic, kept saying to Amelia “stop talking and concentrate on where you are going” to which she would reply with some reason why she didn’t need to be quiet. There was one point where Amelia lost her footing and slid ONE, yes only ONE step and Phil lost it saying to her “Amelia stop talking and concentrate or I will yell at you and make you f#%king cry” to which she replied again with a reason as to why she didn’t need to be quiet and why he wouldn’t make her cry. This was the funniest part of the trip for me yet. We got over the bridge and up the other side where Phil could semi relax although yelling at me to keep away from the edges as I was trying to wait for the Briscoes to capture them coming across. Pete met us up the top and made a wrap for Miss Amelia for lunch. As she was eating we were chatting and mentioned to Pete that we would power on with Amelia whilst the he and the others ate their lunch. Pete said that he would wait with Amelia for the others to which she replied “No Dad, I can go with uncle Phil because you are the one who yells at me in this family”, we all absolutely cracked up, including the hikers around us. I mentioned to her that Uncle Phil did not talk to her so nicely when he was scared coming down the stairs but she replied “No, Uncle Phil speaks to me very nicely” hahaha, however in his panic, he wasn’t but she obviously didn’t pick up on that. In the end, we powered on with Amelia and kept walking.

As we neared the end Amelia got a little tired and jumped on Uncle Phils shoulders for a little while until we were walking back down the hill. Then she joined me for a little while. We had a small creek to cross at the end which the others had then caught up to us with Uncle Phil carrying Amelia and helping some of the rest of us. Pete lifted his pants and walked straight through it! It was a long and tiring walk but very rewarding, 1) because of the entertainment I had and 2) because of the views. Absolutely stunning!

That afternoon we had some cheese & nibbles around camp with a game that Glen had come up with similar to botchie. We all got a golf ball or two, there were two circles drawn and two spots to put your feet with the aim of either getting the ball into the first circle to “qualify” and the second circle was level 2. This was great fun with Glen taking out most of the games which we agreed was somehow rigged!

We all got Pizzas for dinner from the bar and Phil and I ate up there sharing a bottle of horrible wine for $30 which I am sure only cost around $6-$10 in a liquor store! It was fairly rubbish! We went back to camp and had a little chat with everyone before bed.

At this stop Phil decided we’d swap sides in the camper, he would sleep on the outside where the drop was. The camper bed is quite high, I actually need a step ladder to get in and out of bed, it’s just under shoulder height for me. We jumped into bed, hopped in our sleeping bags and the next thing I hear from Phil is “oh shit” and a big bang. He had not realised he didn’t have much room to his right and rolled straight out of bed onto the hard ground narrowly missing the boxes of food and step ladder! Me, well I was looking down on him crying with laughter at what looked like a silk worm as he was trapped in the sleeping bag with no arms to brace him. How he did not do more damage than a very sore back, I do not know!