Canning Stock Route July 2013

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Just back in Brissie (literally at 6.00pm last night), day unpacking and cleaning and will begin the arduous job of downloading about 2000 photo's and about 80Gig of Go Pro Vision and will then do a report.

But in a few words WOW WHAT A TRIP!!

More to follow

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

look forward to this trip report Mark, its on my to do lists.

Cheers Derek

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

It was good to meet you Mark, glad your home safe! You beat me home by a day, just lobbed home myself this afternoon.

We spoke to quite a few people who were doing, about to do or had just done the Canning in our trip, looking forward to the report with baited breath!

Cheers Andrew

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

A real surprise to turn up at Well 1, and this guy comes up and says "I bet your name is Mark".....a real pleasure to run into a fellow PP member who I had only spoken to on here. He made a special trip out to Well 1 knowing we were headed there on Saturday the 13th of July.

There were heaps of people (we counted 148 vehicles that we saw over 18 days) on the CSR, all having a ball.....well apart from the many with broken shockies......BUT that's all part of the story (no not me or any of our travelling party we came through unscathed).

Believe it or not I am away the next 4 days or so as well but next week I'll get into it, tell my story and add a heap of photo's.

If I can work out how to add a Video on I'll do that as well, but that might take me a while as I have about 70 Gig of Vision and want to condense it down to a few shorter clips......call that "work in progress".

Cheers mate and again great to meet you!!

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

look forward to this trip report Mark, its on my to do lists.

Cheers Derek

It should be too mate, one awsome trip!!

I am sure you'll love the photo's and trip report

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

Glad you enjoyed the CSR, Mark. Re. your comment on the broken shocks......I often wonder if it is poor driving rather than poor shocks that is the problem. On my trip up the CSR [ and a subsequent Simpson trip] I couldn't help but notice the number going like a bat out of hell all day. Our group plugged away at about 120km a day with plenty of stops to let shocks and drivers cool down. My new at the time ARB nitrocharger sports certainly faded on some of those terrible bits but with a 10 min cooldown were like new and 50000 km later are still fine.I was particularly careful to try and minimise the toping out of the front shocks on those scalloped dune climbs.Interestingly , the fronts have never faded- it is always the back.I suspect that the slowest speed to get you over the dunes is the real shock saver. Neil

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Glad you enjoyed the CSR, Mark. Re. your comment on the broken shocks......I often wonder if it is poor driving rather than poor shocks that is the problem. On my trip up the CSR [ and a subsequent Simpson trip] I couldn't help but notice the number going like a bat out of hell all day. Our group plugged away at about 120km a day with plenty of stops to let shocks and drivers cool down. My new at the time ARB nitrocharger sports certainly faded on some of those terrible bits but with a 10 min cooldown were like new and 50000 km later are still fine.I was particularly careful to try and minimise the toping out of the front shocks on those scalloped dune climbs.Interestingly , the fronts have never faded- it is always the back.I suspect that the slowest speed to get you over the dunes is the real shock saver. Neil

Funny you should say that, we were all commenting the same way....why them and not us??

We (a bunch of "older farts") did about 80-100 per day...3 wells at a time, sometimes 4.

We stopped regularly for photo's, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, wood collection and spent at least 30 minutes at every well to recount the history from the very informative Gard book....in essence we took time to "smell the roses"....unlike many others who were goinng "gung ho" for them it was ALL about the track, for us it was the total experience, the wilderness, the bush camping, the history, the scenary AND the track.

I run Bilsteins and let me tell you at times they were really hot, so we just pulled up, had a chat (cuppa) and away we went.....NEVER an issue, neither with tyres (I am positive many vehicles we passed were not running pressures as low as we were.

And correct the back was always worse than the front!

I ran into a group of novices that had done EIGHT new Bilsteins before even getting onto the CSR (Wolfe Creek).....I said holy dooly what caused that.....they said "we didn't know and were running out tyres at 45PSI and were going flat strap at 100KM's going out".....a VERY expensive way to learn.

Another gung ho group stuck at well 37 was waiting for a mate to return from Port Hedland with new shocks, their problem "trying to do the CSR in a week"

So 110% agree, poor choices, poor driving and piss poor planning (we had spare shocks with us).

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Ok, here we go (and note this will be gradual as I am away from home the next 3 days).

There were four vehicles in total, a well set up current model Troopy, a stock standard (except for Tyres) LC 200, a well set up 100 Sahara and my mighty 150!!

The three others came from Newcastle, me from Brisbane....I drive almost 5000Kms just to get to the start point of Wiluna (and here we are in front of Wiluna Traders)




Diesel there was 176.00 per litre

Then onto the famous CSR BUT first a warning to all travellers, re supplies, tyre pressures and using chanel 40



The first 20 Kms was a breeze, wide road, no corrugations and we thought "hang on isn't the CSR meant to be really tough"....well after passing an aboriginal community we did actually get onto the CSR...and yep it WAS tough.

[sunchaser Member Find all posts View Profile Close sunchaser]

Hey Mark,
well done getting yourself over to WA and doing the Canning! It is a great trip and just a great part of Australia to be camping in. I live here in Perth and have have managed to squeeze in a couple of canning trips (with the kids) during the July school holiday periods over the last couple of years. We had to do it in halves. Doing the southern half first then coming back the next year and do the northern half. Such an awesome place to be!. Had my old GQ patrol at the time and have just bought the new Prado and am gearing it up ready for the the next time we go back. Will do the southern half again (from Wiluna to Georgia Bore/ Newman). Had a 2" old man emu springs n shocks on the old girl for 15 years doing every track I could find in WA and into NT with no problems great shocks. a little harsh unladened but will never break or overheat.
To me there's a certain speed that the car will stop vibrating and travel better. But only if the track/road allows it. It's funny how travelling at 40km/h along a really corrugated track will shake and vibrate the hell out you're dash, but if you travel at 60km/h the dash will stop vibrating and the vehicle's vibration noise will settle out, but the shocks have got to be able to handle it. Have seen Dobinson's rubber mounts flogged out as they were rubber not neoprene. There's times when you can go that sort of speed then there's times it's 20km/h only. Just drive to what the track dictates. There's plenty of fire wood to keep the night time chills at bay but not at camp sites!. They've been picked clean and I found some sapce for fire wood on the roof rack is a must.
Durba Springs was my favourite spot and well worth a few nights stopover for some well earned R&R to put your fillings back in!
I think the best thing about it is having the freedom to drive where you want and camp where you want, no signs no copper logs just the desert and your vehicle, your friends and a roast cooking in the camp oven in the coals of a fire......

Looking forward to seeing your pics and reading you're journey
Cheers Sunchaser

[QUICKY Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close QUICKY]

There were four vehicles in total, a well set up current model Troopy, a stock standard (except for Tyres) LC 200, a well set up 100 Sahara and my mighty 150!!


Good to hear you didn't need those LC200 shocks you got from me as there is no refunds as the Bourbon has been drunk. Looking forward to some more reports as it's a trip I wont to do in the future

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

it's a trip I want to do in the future

Careful Quicky, there's lots of dunes and dips to crash into on the CSR!

[outback7 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close outback7]

Just back in Brissie (literally at 6.00pm last night), day unpacking and cleaning and will begin the arduous job of downloading about 2000 photo's and about 80Gig of Go Pro Vision and will then do a report.

But in a few words WOW WHAT A TRIP!!

More to follow

Welcome back Mark.....so looking forward to reading your report and seeing the pics. How did the 150 go? All good?

[QUICKY Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close QUICKY]

Careful Quicky, there's lots of dunes and dips to crash into on the CSR!

All evidence of that “little” incident has gone. The in car shot was accidentally deleted and I have sold the car, so it never happened.

[barajak Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barajak]

All evidence of that “little” incident has gone. The in car shot was accidentally deleted and I have sold the car, so it never happened.

It happened, you can't erase the memories, yours or ours. Damm unlucky though for it to have plowed in like it did.

[barajak Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barajak]

Come on Mark Type faster, reading your report and looking at the pics is probably the closest we will get to CSR.