Mission accomplished: Canning Stock Route

Anyone who's attempted to retrace the Canning Stock Route knows just how brutal the journey is. So when Mercedes-Benz said it was a planning an expedition to cover the more than 2000km trek, we knew it was something we had to take part in.

The vehicle of choice was the Benz G-Class wagon, which did a remarkable job on the unforgiving stock route, but didn't escape the journey unscathed. Shock absorber trouble caused a few headaches for the engineering (and public relations) team, and other incidents included seven punctures, three lost tyres, a clogged fuel pump and damage to eight side mirrors.

By and large not too bad, considering the seven vehicles that tackled the challenging Australian outback.

With the journey now over, our reporter embedded with the team, Chris Fincham, said he was happy to be home with his family, but did sound a little forlorn to have left behind the peace and quiet of the Western Australian desert. "It was a ridiculously tight schedule requiring mostly long, action-packed days of brisk, high-concentration, two-hands-firmly-on-the-wheel off-road adventuring."

Logistically it was a huge operation, with the 2051 litres of fuel used matched by the 16 adventurers appetite - we're talking 30 kilos of potatoes, 110 sausages, 100 eggs, 83 steaks, muesli bars by the tonne and a few drops of grappa.

Miraculously, toilet paper didn't run out either.

The journey had its moments, with average speeds of around 30km/h at some points, due to the rough condition of the track and camping at night was not without its perils, with talk of charging bulls and venomous snakes upsetting the tranquil slumber.

But the expedition was a success and you can read all about it at motoring.com.au by following the links below.
Tracking the Canning Stock Route: