Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Do I need to see Kings canyon???

I had planned to stay 2 nights in Ayers Rock. We are flying JFK-LAX-SYD-AYQ, with arrival at AYQ at 12:55 pm. We fly out from AYQ-CNS at 3:30 pm 2 days later. We planned to do Uluru, Olgas, and Sounds of Silence dinner. I am wondering if we should see Kings Canyon. I was thinking about seeing Olgas and doing the Sounds of Silence dinner on our first day. The next day see Uluru and drive to Kings Canyon. Stay overnight at Kings Canyon then drive back to AYQ to fly out. Is this too much for 2 days? If so, would it be better to see Olgas or Kings Canyon. Thanks

I don't think you'll have time for Olgas, Uluru and Sounds of Silence dinner all on the arrival day. Pick any 2 of those 3 for first day, noting that Uluru sunset and Sounds of Silence dinner are both at sunset. Olgas and Kings Canyon are both places you'd want to visit in the morning before it gets too hot unless you are visiting in the middle of winter.

You could do something like

arrival day - Uluru (not sunset) then dinner (sunset)
next day - Uluru sunrise, then Olgas, then drive to Kings Canyon
departure day - Kings Canyon early am then drive to airport

Strong recommendation that you do make an effort to get to Kings Canyon -- incredible place.

I am wondering if we should see Kings Canyon. I was thinking about seeing Olgas and doing the Sounds of Silence dinner on our first day. The next day see Uluru and drive to Kings Canyon. Stay overnight at Kings Canyon then drive back to AYQ to fly out. Is this too much for 2 days? If so, would it be better to see Olgas or Kings Canyon. Thanks

What exactly do you mean by "see" ?

Are you simply going to observe or actually get out an hike/walk around ? (I highly suggest the latter, Mrs Sweet Willie even admitted that getting up early (not a strength of hers) to go for the sunrise walk around Uluru was a great experience)

Strong recommendation that you do make an effort to get to Kings Canyon -- incredible place.

agree fully IF one has the time, the trail hike we did at King's Canyon was terrific.

Are you simply going to observe or actually get out an hike/walk around ? Good point. There is less point in making the effort to get to Kings if you're just going to swing through the car park, buy an ice cream from the caravan, and keep going. But if you plan to get there early and do the rim hike it will be well worth your while.

If you get there in the heat of the day (1100am+) I should stick to the canyon interior walk.

Good point. There is less point in making the effort to get to Kings if you're just going to swing through the car park, buy an ice cream from the caravan, and keep going. But if you plan to get there early and do the rim hike it will be well worth your while.

If you get there in the heat of the day (1100am+) I should stick to the canyon interior walk.

Second that. Was there late April or May and even in so called autumn it was high 30s C (100F) in places up on the rim.

We are going to AYQ in July; arrive from CNS around 1100, leave 2 days later around 1300 (one full day / 2 nights at Yulara).

- I have booked some cancellable tours with Australia Eco-tours. We are active and independent travelers (teenager and dad). Are we better off renting a car and driving ourselves around or is a small group tour a better way to really understand the place?

- We are waitlisted on an all-day tour to Cave Hill which contains aboriginal cave paintings. (They need 2 other people for the tour to operate). Our other option is a different all-day tour to Mt. Connor and the Outback. Can anyone comment on either tour?

To the OP- if you are flying straight through from JFK or LAX, have you considered you will be very jet-lagged on arrival at AYQ? I think it will be 11:25pm JFK time.

Are we better off renting a car and driving ourselves around or is a small group tour a better way to really understand the place? The driving is boring (and somewhat hazardous after dark) and we really liked having a knowledgeable guide. Learned much more about culture, geology, fauna, folklore than if we'd gone it alone. YMMV.

The driving is boring (and somewhat hazardous after dark) and we really liked having a knowledgeable guide. Learned much more about culture, geology, fauna, folklore than if we'd gone it alone. YMMV.

Thank you for the info, which tour(s) and operator did you use?

Thank you for the info, which tour(s) and operator did you use?

www.emurun.com.au

They will typically take a big coach-load of clients out to an isolated staging point, like Mt. Ebenezer, then break you up into smaller, more intimate groups that travel in little Toyota people-movers to specific sites. Well recommended.

www.emurun.com.au

They will typically take a big coach-load of clients out to an isolated staging point, like Mt. Ebenezer, then break you up into smaller, more intimate groups that travel in little Toyota people-movers to specific sites. Well recommended.

IMO, I would grab your own car and drive to kings canyon. You would have to leave early in the AM to get there. Not sure of the distance, but probably at least a good 2-3 hours away. Not a lot of traffic on the road either so driving on the opposite side of the road should be a breeze. I don't think you
would get to kings canyon and back before your departure though. More of a leave one day, stay the night and get back for your flight.

I, like others have said, think kings canyon is amazing. The rim hike (about 3-4 hours) is fantastic. The weather should be great, if maybe on the warm side, but a bottle of water and a hat would cover all of that.

Time limitations, with what you have already set up at Ayers rock may prohibit you from seeing kings canyon.

I agree with kenish about the jet lag. If you are flying JFK-LAX-SYD-AYQ, with arrival at AYQ at 12:55 pm, you are going to experience major jet lag.
The fatigue will detract from something, particularly the moment you slow down and/or sit still. I would hope this would not be at the Sounds of Silence Dinner because we really enjoyed it.

I agree with kenish about the jet lag. If you are flying JFK-LAX-SYD-AYQ, with arrival at AYQ at 12:55 pm, you are going to experience major jet lag.
The fatigue will detract from something, particularly the moment you slow down and/or sit still. I would hope this would not be at the Sounds of Silence Dinner because we really enjoyed it.

Well, I sure wouldn't fly 12,000 miles nonstop, then immediately jump into an unfamiliar rental car and storm off into the NT... doesn't sound like much of a vacation.