Giles Track

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A 22km Grade 4 (moderate-difficult) track linking Kings Canyon and Kathleen Springs, walkable in either direction and recommended as an overnight walk for experienced, self-sufficient walkers carrying their own food, water and camping gear, per the NT Government's Giles Track page.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

19.9 km

Est. time

5 hr 24 min

Elevation gain

315 m

Route type

Point to point

✦ Plan route

Steepest stretch: +23m over ~300m (around the 0.2km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Watarrka National Park, Kings Canyon, NT. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Sweet QuandongDocumented on this trail

Santalum acuminatum

Vulnerable — NT: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — NT: Vulnerable

Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is an evergreen, hemiparasitic tree in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae, which is widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia.

How to spot it

Santalum acuminatum grows as a tall shrub, or small tree, 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) high and 2–4 m (6.6–13.1 ft) wide. The rough bark is dark grey and the branches ascending in character. Smaller plants formed by suckers from the roots are sometimes found surrounding larger plants. The smaller branches have a more weeping habit. The slender to ovate leaves are pointed at the tip, and are pale yellowish-green bringing a slightly grey and leathery appearance.

Family Santalaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Santalum acuminatum

Mulga

Acacia aneura

Signature arid-zone acacia▾

Signature arid-zone acacia

A variable shrub or small tree, typically 2.5-7 m tall, that dominates vast tracts of inland Australia and gives its name to the 'mulga country' bioregion. Its flat, narrow phyllodes conserve water and its cylindrical yellow flower spikes appear after rain.

How to spot it

Flat, narrowly linear-to-elliptic grey-green phyllodes 40-100 mm long standing near-vertical to reduce sun exposure; bright yellow cylindrical flower spikes 15-25 mm long; flat, winged seed pods.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Acacia aneura

Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ironwood

Acacia estrophiolata

Graceful Central Australian shade tree▾

Graceful Central Australian shade tree

A tall, graceful tree endemic to Central Australia, reaching 4-16 m with fine pendulous branchlets that give it a weeping form. Known to the Arrernte as utjanypa, its dense timber was traditionally used for tools and its shade valued in gorge and range country.

How to spot it

Long, narrow, slightly curved phyllodes 40-110 mm long; small spherical flower heads of 30-35 cream-to-pale-yellow flowers; drooping, weeping branchlet form distinguishes it from other central Australian acacias.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Acacia estrophiolata

Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Soft Spinifex

Triodia pungens

Resinous hummock grass▾

Resinous hummock grass

A hummock-forming spinifex grass of arid Australia, growing in dense green clumps that carpet rocky ranges and sand country. Its resin has traditionally been used by Aboriginal people as an adhesive for tools and weapons.

How to spot it

Forms tight, rounded green hummocks distinct from the blue-grey clumps of Triodia basedowii; sharp, needle-like leaf tips deter grazing and make off-track walking through it painful - stick to marked trails.

Family Poaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Triodia pungens

Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

White Cypress Pine

Callitris glaucophylla

Conifer of Central Australia's rocky ranges▾

Conifer of Central Australia's rocky ranges

A small evergreen conifer, 4-12 m tall (rarely to 20 m), found across much of arid and semi-arid Australia including the rocky ranges of Central Australia. Its aromatic, termite-resistant timber was historically prized for building.

How to spot it

Scale-like leaves 2-6 mm long in whorls of three; small globose cones about 1-2 cm across with six triangular scales; deeply furrowed dark bark. Grows on rocky slopes and sandy soils in gorge country.

Family Cupressaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Callitris glaucophylla (redirects to Callitris columellaris)

Margaret Donald, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ruby Saltbush

Enchylaena tomentosa

Drought-tolerant groundcover shrub▾

Drought-tolerant groundcover shrub

A small, highly drought-tolerant perennial shrub found across arid Australia, reaching about a metre across with woolly grey-green foliage. Its fleshy berries turn from green-yellow to bright red-orange, giving the plant its common name.

How to spot it

Slender cylindrical leaves 6-15 mm long, densely covered in woolly hairs on both leaves and stems; small fleshy berries that ripen bright red or orange; grows on sand plains, hill slopes and creek lines.

Family Amaranthaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Enchylaena tomentosa

Melburnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Grey Falcon

Falco hypoleucos

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable, VIC: Vulnerable, SA: Rare, WA: Vulnerable, NT: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable, VIC: Vulnerable, SA: Rare, WA: Vulnerable, NT: Vulnerable

The grey falcon is a medium-sized falcon native to Australia, possibly the rarest. It is uncommon throughout its range and is currently classified as Vulnerable.

How to spot it

The species has mainly grey upperparts and white underparts, darker on the tips of the flight feathers and with a yellow cere.

Family Falconidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Grey falcon

Princess Parrot

Polytelis alexandrae

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, SA: Vulnerable, WA: Near-Threatened, NT: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, SA: Vulnerable, WA: Near-Threatened, NT: Vulnerable

The colourful princess parrot is an Australian bird of the parrot family. Its name was given in honour of Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who in 1863 married the Prince of Wales Edward VII and eventually became Queen of the United Kingdom. Other names for the species include: Queen Alexandra parrot, Alexandra's parakeet, Princess of Wales parakeet, rose-throated parakeet, and spinifex parrot. Their plumage is mostly green with a pink throat, bluish crown and rump, and bright green shoulders.

How to spot it

The princess parrot is a medium-sized parrot, 34 to 46 cm long and weighing between 110 and 120 g. The plumage is mostly green with a pink throat, bluish crown, and bright green shoulders. The rump is blue and the tail is long and narrow. The males have longer tail feathers and brighter coloring than females. The male also has a coral-red beak, while the female's is duller and has a greyish crown. Another difference is that the male has an orange iris, while the female's is much browner.

Family Psittacidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Princess Parrot

Perentie

Varanus giganteus

IUCN Least Concern — Australia's largest monitor lizard▾

IUCN Least Concern — Australia's largest monitor lizard

The perentie is Australia's largest lizard and the world's fourth-largest living lizard species, reaching up to 2.5 metres in length. It's a shy, wide-ranging predator of the remote rocky arid interior, rarely encountered simply because of how sparsely populated its desert habitat is.

How to spot it

Huge for a lizard — up to 2.5m nose to tail — with a cream-and-black reticulated head and neck, a yellowish body patterned with brown rosettes, and dark, white-spotted limbs. Look for it basking near rocky outcrops and gorges in the arid interior; if disturbed it will bolt for the nearest crevice or tree, or rear up on its hind legs to look around.

Family Varanidae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: Bernard DUPONT (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Thorny devil

Moloch horridus

IUCN Least Concern — arid-zone icon▾

IUCN Least Concern — arid-zone icon

The thorny devil is a small, spine-covered lizard of Australia's arid interior, its entire body armoured in conical thorns for defence. Its ridged scales channel dew and rain straight to its mouth, letting it drink from damp sand alone.

How to spot it

Unmistakable: a small lizard (up to 21cm) entirely covered in hard conical spines, in mottled desert browns and tans that darken or pale with temperature and mood. It has a bizarre false 'head' — a spiny knob on the back of its neck — which it presents to predators while hiding its real head. Moves with a slow, jerky rock-and-freeze gait across sandy desert country, mostly on warm days when the ants it feeds on are active.

Family Agamidae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: Bäras (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Central bearded dragon

Pogona vitticeps

IUCN Least Concern — iconic arid-zone dragon▾

IUCN Least Concern — iconic arid-zone dragon

The central bearded dragon is a robust, spiny lizard of the semi-arid and arid woodlands of central Australia, named for the spiky, inflatable throat pouch ('beard') it darkens and flares as a threat and social display. It has since become one of the world's most popular pet reptiles, but the wild population remains a genuine outback local.

How to spot it

A stocky, flattened lizard up to 60cm long (over half of that tail), mottled in browns, reds, yellows and greys that shift with temperament and background. Look for it basking on fence posts, rocks or dead branches in open woodland during the cooler morning and evening, flattening its body and puffing out its spiny black 'beard' if it feels threatened.

Family Agamidae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: Frank C. Müller, Baden-Baden (CC BY-SA 2.5) via Wikimedia Commons