Canning Stock Route — No Turning Back

To give you some idea of the logistics and planning that goes into a trip like the Mercedes-Benz Canning Stock Route drive, I spoke to Geoff Becker, head of logistics and trip leader. He's an old hand at co-ordinating events in the middle of no-where, as he also runs logistics for the Australian Safari.

Becker said planning for the two-week 'Benz trip had been "full on" for the last five months, involving plenty of consultation with various experts including those who know the Canning route and its dangers well.

"We talked to the Army and our fuel figures were based on what was given to us from their evaluations. We also talked to tyre experts, and it was down to a couple of options..."

In the end, 'Benz fitted Geolander A/T-S tyres, which are a more rugged, all-terrain version of the G 350's factory-fitted, road-biased Yokohama tyres, also 18-inch.

Becker said the logistics are very similar to those of the Australian Safari; a rolling convoy that also has to carry all it needs throughout its desert journey.

"We've got enough equipment for 18 people," he said, which includes tents, sleeping bags, camp beds and pillows.

Communications are taken care of with a satellite dish for internet connection, four satellite phones, and UHF radios in all cars.

The convoy is also carrying enough medical supplies for a small hospital, including full trauma packs, resuscitator packs, and a defibrillator.

"We've got a whole range of medications to be able to treat someone from minor injuries to major," he said. "We can basically keep someone sedated for 24 hours."

Obviously, spare parts are important, and each of the five G 350 wagons carries a spare tyre, plus there's a spare carcass for each tyre and tyre changing kits.

"The cars have got 96 litre fuel tanks, and we've got 80 litres per car extra in jerry cans. When we get to Well 23, there's supposed to be 600 litres of diesel at $2.98 a litre. And we'll also top up at Well 33.

"We're also carrying four water bladders with 75 litres in each, plus 160 litres of general water.

"For recovery gear, we've got two winches on the service vehicles, snatch straps, four sets of sand recovery boards, and an exhaust jack."

Other items include four portable fridge/freezers; four hot water units and three portable tents for showers.

"We got all the food we need, although the boys can bring in more on the charter plane (at the halfway point)... but we're basically self-sufficient," he said.

While it might seem like overkill, Becker emphasised that you can't afford to take chances while tackling the Canning.

"We'll probably go through this and use none of it, but we have to be extremely conservative and basically be self-sufficient, considering where we are," he said.

Obviously, getting all this gear into seven vehicles (although one is a G-Professional ute with around 2-tonne payload) is a mammoth task, and much thought has gone into this too, including removing the rear seats on a couple of vehicles. Each G-Wagen also runs a roof rack with 150kg capacity.

"We've worked pretty hard to get the weight over the axles; we've tried to sort the balance of the cars..."

With logistics sorted, Becker admitted that trying to complete the Canning in two weeks is not ideal, with three weeks preferable but "we've done it to fit a timetable".

To make sure it happens, though, he has a complete checklist of estimated times for each section of the track, right down to seconds on each GPS checkpoint, which so far (in the first two days at least) has proven pretty accurate...

Tracking the Canning Stock Route: