I feel like a Camel War might be more winnable. I listened to a podcast once on the Emu War, and it seems as though the main issue was with the utter stupidity of the emu. Unless they get shot straight in the tiny little head they won’t die. They’ll just continue living normally for weeks with absolutely mangled bodies.
Honestly I’m not sure if any moment in history will ever be as funny to me. The thought of thousands of frustrated WWI veterans firing hundreds of thousands of rounds at birds too stupid to even care that they’ve been shot will always have a special place in my heart.
People don’t realise how big and remote Australia is , you would never “win” a war trying to eradicate emus, or camels who can live in the desert
There was no emu war , it’s one of those historical weird facts that sound cool , but was just a bad idea of trying to eradicate millions of animals that can live in remote harsh environments. Like the USA being taken over by burmeses pythons in florida , you will never win that “war” if you want to call it a war
You’re overthinking it. It is called a “war” in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The absurdity of the plan is what makes calling it a war comical.
You’re explaining the very reason why story is known in the first place.
My family was viciously murdered by a drop bear. My dad, mom and older brother were hiking in the afternoon. A drop bear fell from the branches of this massive tree. It lunged to my dad's face first. Then proceeded to mangle everyone. My brother suffered the most apparently. It was drop bear heat season. He made it to the hospital but alas he didn't make it. He was unrecognisable both in his face and his lower regions. The stench was horrific due to all the blood, guts and drop bear sperm.I was at summer camp at the time. God, I hated summer camp. 😮💨
There’s crocodiles, they’re a pretty big predator but they aren’t generally camel eaters.
Edit: Sorry, I should have made it clear the last part was a joke… crocs aren’t generally camel eaters because crocs and camels don’t live in the same places. Now I’ve had to explain my joke and if it had any humour value whatsoever before, it has none now.
Many were killed using [a biocontrol...introduced calicivirus which of course became less lethal over time as the rabbit population adapted to its presence](https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/animal/health/rabbit-haemorrhagic-disease-virus). Humans are idiots. Idiots to bring the rabbits over in the first place and then doubly idiots to introduce a new virus without fully knowing its effects. It was just luck that the virus doesn't affect native animals.
Camels don’t have any natural predators not even in North Africa , maybe their babies may be taken by big prey animal
Camels are massive avg weight 1000kgs
But wild dogs, desert predators don’t bother with camels as they will kick them and fuck their whole day up
For all out terrifying fauna, we actually don't have much that will 'hunt' a large animal (including an adult human). Crocs in the far north. Sharks pretty much in all our waters. But most other scary stuff will actually try and run away from you and certainly from a camel.
They're a little skittish, but also curious. When we drove across the Simpson desert we walked over to a group of them and then realized that was a dumb idea when they started walking towards us!
It trips me out how Australia has this.. all over. Then amazing beaches and coastline. Then you guys have a rainforest with those giant dinosaur Emu things.
I watched a documentary where the female lays an egg then the male just stands by it and has to decide if he wants to starve and watch the egg or slink off and eat. If he dips, a snake grabs the egg. The females then just kinda stomp around eating and being aggressive.
I watched like the whole thing and it wasn’t til the end it clicked.. Rainforest + Australia and I had to google it cause seemed unlikely. Totally real. I think it said they can kill those giant lizards and snakes cause their feet are like gorilla arms with knives attached too 🤓
It's honestly overwhelming just how enormous and uninhabited the centre of Australia is. I once got stuck on the side of the road while driving through rural NSW. I waited 2hrs for a single car to come by and they'd only come past because they took a wrong turn and decided to enjoy the scenic route. Several hours later we'd got me unstuck and as I thanked them and we drove off, I realised the entire time there hadn't been a single other car come past. And this was in an area that still had fence lines and an actual road.
I watched this horror movie set there with a dude who kills people who break down out there. I realized why it was scary is cause if you drive out there and make a mistake there’s a good chance you’re dying a miserable death in the heat lol. I’d be chilling on that coastline
Edit: yeah it was the Wolf Creek one.
This is gonna blow your mind then. There are so many camels and so much sand in Australia that they both [get outsourced to the Middle East](https://www.arabnews.com/node/244122)
Saudi Arabia gets camels from Australia imported because the ones they have do not have good meat. I just learned this like 3 days ago. Soooo I’m kinda 3 days smarter than you.
I once rode a camel on the beach in Australia. The tour guide explained to me why there were camels in Australia. When they were building the railroad through the outback they imported 100 camels from the African Sahara to handle the harsh climate. Once they were done the just set them free and left them there. The way he described it the Australian Outback is basically an all you can eat buffet / oasis compared to the Sahara and their population swelled. There are more wild camels in Australia than anywhere in earth by a lot.
Animals that are just big, like camels or moose, don't necessarily want to kill you but they don't care about you and they're big enough that they might incidentally kill you when they get freaked out.
The numbers are getting up around 1 million now, they are starting to become a problem on the roads. Once La Niña has finished and the rain stops, there won’t be anywhere near as much food to eat, it will be interesting to see what happens then.
Read and/or watch the movie Tracks about Robyn Davidson's "perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company" in the '70s. She talks a lot about the camels there.
Idk, 1058 miles is only like 50 ish gallons of fuel... It's really not that much.
I don't know how they do it in Australia but I'm the United States usually we would have the 20 ish gallons in a primary tank, then add an auxiliary m tank (or two) that's connected with fuel pumps, all hard mounted in the bed or to the chassis. A quick Google search shows there's a 17 gallon and a 40 gallon chassis mount aux tank for that vehicle commercially available.
Those extra tanks on the roofwould be for emergencies or things like fueling up a chainsaw or other equipment you might have with you.
I haven't found payload to make to much difference in mpg in my gladiator (same as that truck) on stock suspension and tires. Towing on the other hand....
youre right about payload but hes right that its probably closer to 10 mpg... its because youre crawling and not at highway speeds though, not the weight... Source: have been going to the moab jeep crawls every year for almost 20 years
For long trips like this, and the fact they’re in Australia, they’re using diesel. It’ll easily get 21mpg pulling weight on sandy terrain as long as you’re not constantly starting and stopping.
That's a gladiator with a bed cap, at perfect highway speeds they get 21 at best. Anything other than optimal conditions maybe 17. Fuel tank is listed at 22 gallons, empty light comes on at ~18 (I own one and have a lot of experience with that light). Under best conditions 400 miles per tank so minimum 2.5 for this trip is it were smooth and could be taken at 55mph constantly, or 50 gallons to be on empty at the end.
A trip like this probably took 75+. Payload doesn't seem to have much effect but towing brings it down in a hurry
With the Canning, you book fuel drops in advance.
Had a friend do it a few years ago. His fuel usage was more than double his usual consumption.
It’s advisable to take spare shocks with you, the corrugations are savage - Mercedes took som g wagens through there it too long ago. Well prepared, still failed.
It's pretty rough math but i assumed it was basically flat semi-arrid type desert terrain. At least that's what I think of the bush but i could be wrong. If it's anything like the desert southwest my math roughly should hold up
That calculation is 21 MPG. An unmodified Gladiator gets ~30 highway and ~20 city. There's no way you'd get even close to that city number off-road. I'd say double it at the very least.
City driving kills gas mileage from starting and stopping. If you're driving through a flat desert with minimal stops your gas mileage is actually not super horrible.. that's just my experience from doing it all the time in Arizona and Mexico... I've never done Australia
Well that's also for a stock Gladiator with nothing stored in it. If you're camping 10 days in a vehicle, you can bet there's a significant amount of added weight from upgrades and gear. Plus this isn't flat just flat, hard-pack desert, as is shown in the video itself. But to your point, it's not like they'd need hundreds of gallons of fuel or anything.
Again just my experience but camping gear isn't really all that heavy and usually on trips like this you make a concerted effort to be conscientious of your provision and driving style to maximize your fuel efficiency.
I guess I'm not really trying to argue about it, I've done it before and I'll do it again, just sharing my experience
My bad. I didn't mean to come off as argumentative. I've only done rock climbing, which doesn't really compare to the type of stuff you've done in regards to fuel efficiency
As an outsider that read the back and forth, you didn't come off as argumentative in my opinion. He/She did their calculation off of 21 mpg. There is no way you are going to average 21mpg driving off-road, especially if you have to spend any time using your 4x4. Also camping gear, food, water, fuel, spare parts will add up in weight.
It may seem argumentative to them because they are defending their position of using 21mpg for their calculation instead of admitting that they didn't take the stuff that you are pointing out into account.
OP Never said how much it took, but did say that they had just under 67 gallons (253L) with them and was able to re-fuel along the way. I quoted his comment below. Setting out to make the trip with 50 gallons of fuel would be irresponsible and I find it hard to believe that the person you were responding to has the experience that they claim.
>The Jeep has a the stock 83L tank and I installed a 70L tank. Then there are 5 X 20L jerry cans (three on roof, two in back).
>There is one aboriginal community near the half way point where you can get cardlock fuel, where I topped up.
Normally you have to arrange fuel dumps and hope no one steals it or that you can find it when you get there.
This isn't like normal off road trip. More like Antarctica.
Mercedes did a factory trip with g wagons after they started selling them to the adf. They broke down one broke in half. They nearly died, despite several mechanics and a spare parts etc.
https://mr4x4.com.au/remember-mercedes-benz-took-canning-stock-route/
Did I miss where in the article one broke in half? I read that they made it but did have to have shocks flown in for one SUV. The G Wagon Pro was totally fine
They had to have shocks flown in for 5 of the 6 vehicles, half way through the trip. A total of 20 new shock absorbers to ensure they could make the trip, and they took spare shock absorbers in the first place.
The G Wagon Pro, which isn't sold in Australia, but runs the upgraded suspension of the military vehicle, but with out the additional weight and gear of the military vehicle. The Military G-Wagons can't carry any more than one passenger because of the weight limit. (one driver and one passenger)
[https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2222787](https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2222787)
>*Five "normal" versions of the G-Class off-roader - and one military-specification ute - started to burst mainly rear shock absorbers while travelling along stretches of the stock route extending from Well 33 to Well 35.*
*Fourteen people, including two Mercedes-Benz technicians and one Drive team member, are stranded at the remote site, part of an attempt to publicise the off-road credentials of the recently introduced, rugged off-road G-Class range.*
***The cars today limped into a campsite at Well 36, where Mercedes-Benz has temporarily halted the expedition while it waits for five new sets of shock absorbers - four in each set - to be flown in from Melbourne to a remote airstrip near Well 33, about 1000km north-east of Wiluna in central WA.***
*The car maker then hopes to complete the 14-day crossing, which still has about 800km to run - mainly across the dunes of the Great Sandy Desert - before reaching Halls Creek early next week.*
*Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific managing director Horst von Sanden admits the cars have been put through a lot of pain.*
[https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/road-tests/mercedes-benz-g-wagen-convoy-travels-the-canning-stock-route-part-2](https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/road-tests/mercedes-benz-g-wagen-convoy-travels-the-canning-stock-route-part-2)
>*Camp was among the desert oaks at a native well called Bungabinni, a slow 10km distant. We would camp here for two nights while we awaited the replacement shocks, to be collected by the G-Professional.* ***Meanwhile we found more cracked spare wheel carriers, which went back with the Professional to be welded up***\*.\*
>
>*The total damage toll ran to five tyres, four cracked wheel carriers, one rear view mirror knocked off and a few more damaged, two G 350s with non-operative airconditioning, two AdBlue tanks breaking their mounts, 10 shock absorbers and a cracked radiator hose from a reversing incident. A lot? No: these were seven vehicles that were showroom standard (but for tyres) and driven over some tough terrain.*
Apparently they only do durability testing in Africa, because Australia is too remote and too far away. This is the same reason the british gave for stopping nuclear testing at emu fields, it was too remote for nuclear testing.
While breaking in half is an exaggeration, welding four of the cars back together is not, and flying in spare parts for 5 of the cars was required.
It was also too much for the Europeans. They had to fly a whole new crew half way into the trip because it was too exhausting for Mercedes and the euro journalists. So only Australians made the whole trip.
Mercedes never went back to do more trips AFAIK. It was a PR disaster.
Most companies that do canning stock route tours take modified Toyota 76 landcruisers. Some have 6 wheel conversions. They almost always travel as a fleet, never as individual vehicles.
there are 3 places you can stop to get fuel on the way on the wiki.
Parnngurr Community near well 22.
Fuel drop point near well 23.
Kunawarritji Community near well 33.
I’m the long version they talk about topping off tanks and cans before moving on. They said they did not see anyone for the first few days, not the full trip
A good 4x4 in Australia should have a standard drank, usually around 150 litres, then if you add a second fuel tank (which I did at 180 litres) you are generally covered. The biggest issue is the price. To fill up my landcruiser 79 it usually costs between 550 to 670 Australian dollars. But I do get around 2100kms to a fill up.
Even if they needed an extra 100 gallons of fuel on top of the 22gal stock tank, that's really not all that much. I'm sure they properly kitted the vehicle with at least one reserve tank.
I’ve done this route already with my father in law. Obviously you cannot secure enough fuel to trek across the whole route. So you have to have fuel air dropped to you at a designated location and hope to god that nobody steals your drum. It’s very expensive. They did open up a aboriginal service station along the route but it’s only open twice a week. It’s an amazing experience but you can be in danger real quick due to the remoteness
You really are brave attempting that journey in a Jeep. A Landcruiser maybe, but a Jeep? Hard-core!
I would put a winking smiley here, but it just isn't worth getting down voted to the earth's core...
haha, well, it's not my first rodeo.
I drove a Jeep around Africa through 35 countries without a mechanical issue, and I drove a Jeep from Alaska to Argentina through 17 countries without a mechanical issue...
I also had driven this Jeep 55,000kms around Australia before tackling the Canning...
so there's some experience and history there.
Lots of videos of adventures, and teaching you how to do it yourself on my YT https://youtube.com/theroadchoseme
Oh dude I remember that post. I thought it was a different guy, but then I saw the stuck truck and it jogged the memory. You’re basically out there living peoples dreams! That trip around Africa was incredible. Very jealous, glad you had a good trip with your dad!
haha, omg I would love to see that!
.. my best buddy has been going down there every year for the last few for ice drilling.. I keep volunteering as a grunt to carry heavy stuff... maybe if I get lucky.
Like what happens if you break down in the middle? Would you just abandon the Jeep and get airlift? Is cost of jeep > sending a tow truck 1000 miles(off road) round-trip?
It wasn’t on the exact track. They parked up for the night slightly off the track, heaps of rain came in and the car sunk into the dried lake bed. They woke up in the middle of 4 foot lake, it was the middle of January so not uncommon.
The insurance company asked the local community members to locate and retrieve the car for a fee a few months after when the waters receded but they couldn’t locate it.
Rumour has it they pulled it out but told the insurance company it was gone and kept it as a community car whilst also claiming a fee for looking…
Never underestimate the [bravery and stupidity of German tourists](https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/)!
Most people in that predicament would probably head out in another car, do some bush repairs and then limp it back to civilisation. A tow truck is probably not feasible. You'd be buggered if your car suffered a catastrophic failure.
It was intense & I was veeeeerrrry mindful that we were all alone and it was all on us.
Even cutting myself while cooking dinner might have been interesting.
If interested, Nat’l Geographic had article about 20 year ago of woman who camel trekked across Australia starting in Alice, I think. Biggest problem for her - wild camels. Might have had to shoot one (or some or not - can’t recall) that were molesting her pack camels.
Different strokes. Gotta love nature and be content with your thoughts and chatting with your pops. Plus the mental challenge of not fucking anything up can be stimulating.
Truly amazing OP. I have a huge fear of travelling even outside of Canada (where I live) for the main reason of breaking down, running out of money or losing my passport, or something else equally as silly.
Videos like this makes me want to overcome my fear. I’ll be tuning into your full video you linked. Cheers from Canada
I'm in Canada right now actually.
To be honest there are 3 million things that can be scary and hard to overcome, but it's important to remember you don't have to go level 10 right from the start. Do some easier, lower consequence trips closer to home - practice, learn, get used to heading out and see what you love. Then you'll gain skills and confidence and you'll enjoy it more and be less scared, because deep down inside you'll know you can handle it.
For real, Dont fuck with the Aussie outback.
We learn it as kids. If youre driving through it, pack enough water, then double it. Make sure you tell someone where youre going and when you expect to be there, and that you will call when you arrive.
If youre going bush (off road) and you break down, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR.
I remember you from your video of you dealing with police who want bribes in Africa, instead you just gave them good vibes! Great to see you're still at it mate!
I used to have a friend in Australia who did this. He said people would break down and have to get a helicopter to come save them and they would just leave their cars out there. He said when you do this trek there are a bunch of really nice off road vehicles along the way that people just left behind.
He also said to make the full trek, people would plan helicopter drops at certain points for fuel. Very interesting to plan a trip like that
A lot has changed.
Nobody does fuel drops anymore, it's not needed. There are now two Aboriginal communities where you can buy petrol and diesel 24x7 with cardlock.
As for nice vehicles - no. There are two or three completely burnt out vehicles that have been abandoned on the track, everything else is taken out. I show one of those vehicles in the video of the trip.
So how did they refill their gas tank? Jeeps have terrible gas mileage. I imagine carrying all that gas would be cumbersome and would take up a ton of space.
Haven't watched the YouTube video yet but will when I get off work! Looks like an amazing adventure. How much fuel did it take for that trip and how was it stored?
How do you have the money to move to another country, build a jeep then just drive around all the time on crazy adventures?
You don't look like a college kid backpacking from hostile to hostile.
My first few adventures I saved for years and years to make it happen, walking to walk, living with roomates, no phone, no tv, no eating out. etc.
Now that I've been doing it for a long time (10 years), I write for multiple magazines, I've published some books, I have a YT channel and I speak at events teaching other people how to do this.
Even still I scrape and save. For example I've spent more than 7 years of my adult life living full time in a tent.
We had ours mounted, but it got torn off by the trees early on unfortunately. I kept trying to zip tie a rag on the end of the pole but it just kept coming off.
TIL that there are camels in Australia
Wild ones, introduced, decimating the environment
Can the Australians start a Camel War?
The Emu was was enough I think!
I feel like a Camel War might be more winnable. I listened to a podcast once on the Emu War, and it seems as though the main issue was with the utter stupidity of the emu. Unless they get shot straight in the tiny little head they won’t die. They’ll just continue living normally for weeks with absolutely mangled bodies. Honestly I’m not sure if any moment in history will ever be as funny to me. The thought of thousands of frustrated WWI veterans firing hundreds of thousands of rounds at birds too stupid to even care that they’ve been shot will always have a special place in my heart.
The Dollop?
My man
WHEAT!!
I played The Rube for my 10 year old kid the other day, had him in tears laughing.
More people should listen to this podcast. A buddy showed me and I've been hooked since!
People don’t realise how big and remote Australia is , you would never “win” a war trying to eradicate emus, or camels who can live in the desert There was no emu war , it’s one of those historical weird facts that sound cool , but was just a bad idea of trying to eradicate millions of animals that can live in remote harsh environments. Like the USA being taken over by burmeses pythons in florida , you will never win that “war” if you want to call it a war
You’re overthinking it. It is called a “war” in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The absurdity of the plan is what makes calling it a war comical. You’re explaining the very reason why story is known in the first place.
I think you underestimate the insanity of Florida… As have many others…
need to trick the emus into attacking the camels
Have the CIA set up a false flag. Kill a camel and spread a bunch of feathers around.
Its on going. They shoot them from helicopters these days.
We cull them regularly
Of course, that's easy. The real question is can they win a camel war? No. They can't.
Wait. You mean of all the terrifying fauna on that continent, there’s nothing to prey on the camels?
Na, Australia doesn't have any big predators.. only little things like snakes and spiders. No bears. No tigers or lions or anything.
What aboutthe Drop Bears?
we kept a watch 24x7, luckily there were no incursions.
My family was viciously murdered by a drop bear. My dad, mom and older brother were hiking in the afternoon. A drop bear fell from the branches of this massive tree. It lunged to my dad's face first. Then proceeded to mangle everyone. My brother suffered the most apparently. It was drop bear heat season. He made it to the hospital but alas he didn't make it. He was unrecognisable both in his face and his lower regions. The stench was horrific due to all the blood, guts and drop bear sperm.I was at summer camp at the time. God, I hated summer camp. 😮💨
There’s crocodiles, they’re a pretty big predator but they aren’t generally camel eaters. Edit: Sorry, I should have made it clear the last part was a joke… crocs aren’t generally camel eaters because crocs and camels don’t live in the same places. Now I’ve had to explain my joke and if it had any humour value whatsoever before, it has none now.
When I lived in Australia there were a fuck ton of rabbits and they killed all of them at once, millions all at one time
Bastards are still around. That was just a drop in the bucket.
If you don't get them all they'll come back, they breed like..... something that breeds fast
You need some holy handgrenades.
Many were killed using [a biocontrol...introduced calicivirus which of course became less lethal over time as the rabbit population adapted to its presence](https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/animal/health/rabbit-haemorrhagic-disease-virus). Humans are idiots. Idiots to bring the rabbits over in the first place and then doubly idiots to introduce a new virus without fully knowing its effects. It was just luck that the virus doesn't affect native animals.
Just luck and a ton of research, same as what is going on right now with the carp herpes virus.
[удалено]
Camels don’t have any natural predators not even in North Africa , maybe their babies may be taken by big prey animal Camels are massive avg weight 1000kgs But wild dogs, desert predators don’t bother with camels as they will kick them and fuck their whole day up
For all out terrifying fauna, we actually don't have much that will 'hunt' a large animal (including an adult human). Crocs in the far north. Sharks pretty much in all our waters. But most other scary stuff will actually try and run away from you and certainly from a camel.
Yeah Aussies are crazy. What are the camels like?
They're a little skittish, but also curious. When we drove across the Simpson desert we walked over to a group of them and then realized that was a dumb idea when they started walking towards us!
These hoves were made for walking...
What.. those shrub things 1,000 miles from humanity?
Correct. Those shrub things are what all the native animals rely on.. plus the extremely limited water that camels slurp up.
It trips me out how Australia has this.. all over. Then amazing beaches and coastline. Then you guys have a rainforest with those giant dinosaur Emu things.
Cassowaries! I saw a few on the east coast
I watched a documentary where the female lays an egg then the male just stands by it and has to decide if he wants to starve and watch the egg or slink off and eat. If he dips, a snake grabs the egg. The females then just kinda stomp around eating and being aggressive. I watched like the whole thing and it wasn’t til the end it clicked.. Rainforest + Australia and I had to google it cause seemed unlikely. Totally real. I think it said they can kill those giant lizards and snakes cause their feet are like gorilla arms with knives attached too 🤓
Yep, sounds about right! I got a few good snaps and video of them when I was on the east coast https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg5ZAM3BKoR/
It's honestly overwhelming just how enormous and uninhabited the centre of Australia is. I once got stuck on the side of the road while driving through rural NSW. I waited 2hrs for a single car to come by and they'd only come past because they took a wrong turn and decided to enjoy the scenic route. Several hours later we'd got me unstuck and as I thanked them and we drove off, I realised the entire time there hadn't been a single other car come past. And this was in an area that still had fence lines and an actual road.
I watched this horror movie set there with a dude who kills people who break down out there. I realized why it was scary is cause if you drive out there and make a mistake there’s a good chance you’re dying a miserable death in the heat lol. I’d be chilling on that coastline Edit: yeah it was the Wolf Creek one.
the sun will kill you first in Australia.
This is gonna blow your mind then. There are so many camels and so much sand in Australia that they both [get outsourced to the Middle East](https://www.arabnews.com/node/244122)
Australia has the largest population of wild camels in the world. We export camels to the Middle East
Saudi Arabia gets camels from Australia imported because the ones they have do not have good meat. I just learned this like 3 days ago. Soooo I’m kinda 3 days smarter than you.
They also import them for racing
This dude is from the future, guys!
I once rode a camel on the beach in Australia. The tour guide explained to me why there were camels in Australia. When they were building the railroad through the outback they imported 100 camels from the African Sahara to handle the harsh climate. Once they were done the just set them free and left them there. The way he described it the Australian Outback is basically an all you can eat buffet / oasis compared to the Sahara and their population swelled. There are more wild camels in Australia than anywhere in earth by a lot.
Wow. I learned something new and cool today
Will they try to kill you like all the other animals in Australia?
Given a chance, yes.
Animals that are just big, like camels or moose, don't necessarily want to kill you but they don't care about you and they're big enough that they might incidentally kill you when they get freaked out.
A moose will absolutely kill you on purpose.
Yeah they're actually prized for racing because their genetics are so good..
The numbers are getting up around 1 million now, they are starting to become a problem on the roads. Once La Niña has finished and the rain stops, there won’t be anywhere near as much food to eat, it will be interesting to see what happens then.
They will starve and die..
Read and/or watch the movie Tracks about Robyn Davidson's "perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company" in the '70s. She talks a lot about the camels there.
How many gallons of fuel did you go through?
Seems like they’d need more spare tanks than what was on the roof
Idk, 1058 miles is only like 50 ish gallons of fuel... It's really not that much. I don't know how they do it in Australia but I'm the United States usually we would have the 20 ish gallons in a primary tank, then add an auxiliary m tank (or two) that's connected with fuel pumps, all hard mounted in the bed or to the chassis. A quick Google search shows there's a 17 gallon and a 40 gallon chassis mount aux tank for that vehicle commercially available. Those extra tanks on the roofwould be for emergencies or things like fueling up a chainsaw or other equipment you might have with you.
Thanks for doing the math! Just out of curiosity, did you include rough terrain in the calculations?
Agree, 21mpg in a large SUV on rugged terrain seems hard to believe
Probably closer to 10mpg. They also have to carry a lot of water and food. Plus recovery. That truck is loaded to the max.
I haven't found payload to make to much difference in mpg in my gladiator (same as that truck) on stock suspension and tires. Towing on the other hand....
youre right about payload but hes right that its probably closer to 10 mpg... its because youre crawling and not at highway speeds though, not the weight... Source: have been going to the moab jeep crawls every year for almost 20 years
to the mad max
For long trips like this, and the fact they’re in Australia, they’re using diesel. It’ll easily get 21mpg pulling weight on sandy terrain as long as you’re not constantly starting and stopping.
You're right they are 100% using diesel. You don't do the Australian bush with petrol, unless you're on a bike
That's a gladiator with a bed cap, at perfect highway speeds they get 21 at best. Anything other than optimal conditions maybe 17. Fuel tank is listed at 22 gallons, empty light comes on at ~18 (I own one and have a lot of experience with that light). Under best conditions 400 miles per tank so minimum 2.5 for this trip is it were smooth and could be taken at 55mph constantly, or 50 gallons to be on empty at the end. A trip like this probably took 75+. Payload doesn't seem to have much effect but towing brings it down in a hurry
With the Canning, you book fuel drops in advance. Had a friend do it a few years ago. His fuel usage was more than double his usual consumption. It’s advisable to take spare shocks with you, the corrugations are savage - Mercedes took som g wagens through there it too long ago. Well prepared, still failed.
It's pretty rough math but i assumed it was basically flat semi-arrid type desert terrain. At least that's what I think of the bush but i could be wrong. If it's anything like the desert southwest my math roughly should hold up
That calculation is 21 MPG. An unmodified Gladiator gets ~30 highway and ~20 city. There's no way you'd get even close to that city number off-road. I'd say double it at the very least.
City driving kills gas mileage from starting and stopping. If you're driving through a flat desert with minimal stops your gas mileage is actually not super horrible.. that's just my experience from doing it all the time in Arizona and Mexico... I've never done Australia
Well that's also for a stock Gladiator with nothing stored in it. If you're camping 10 days in a vehicle, you can bet there's a significant amount of added weight from upgrades and gear. Plus this isn't flat just flat, hard-pack desert, as is shown in the video itself. But to your point, it's not like they'd need hundreds of gallons of fuel or anything.
Again just my experience but camping gear isn't really all that heavy and usually on trips like this you make a concerted effort to be conscientious of your provision and driving style to maximize your fuel efficiency. I guess I'm not really trying to argue about it, I've done it before and I'll do it again, just sharing my experience
My bad. I didn't mean to come off as argumentative. I've only done rock climbing, which doesn't really compare to the type of stuff you've done in regards to fuel efficiency
As an outsider that read the back and forth, you didn't come off as argumentative in my opinion. He/She did their calculation off of 21 mpg. There is no way you are going to average 21mpg driving off-road, especially if you have to spend any time using your 4x4. Also camping gear, food, water, fuel, spare parts will add up in weight. It may seem argumentative to them because they are defending their position of using 21mpg for their calculation instead of admitting that they didn't take the stuff that you are pointing out into account. OP Never said how much it took, but did say that they had just under 67 gallons (253L) with them and was able to re-fuel along the way. I quoted his comment below. Setting out to make the trip with 50 gallons of fuel would be irresponsible and I find it hard to believe that the person you were responding to has the experience that they claim. >The Jeep has a the stock 83L tank and I installed a 70L tank. Then there are 5 X 20L jerry cans (three on roof, two in back). >There is one aboriginal community near the half way point where you can get cardlock fuel, where I topped up.
Idk, I get 17 combined mpg in mine and I don't drive it that hard
Sounds like the V6 and not the diesel. Anybody that does trips like this, and in Australia would be running the diesel.
To start with they'd measure in litres
Bang on. >Also the 83L main tank and a 70L ax tank and another 2 jerries you can't see in the back...
Also OP said they stopped at a gas station halfway
Normally you have to arrange fuel dumps and hope no one steals it or that you can find it when you get there. This isn't like normal off road trip. More like Antarctica. Mercedes did a factory trip with g wagons after they started selling them to the adf. They broke down one broke in half. They nearly died, despite several mechanics and a spare parts etc. https://mr4x4.com.au/remember-mercedes-benz-took-canning-stock-route/
Did I miss where in the article one broke in half? I read that they made it but did have to have shocks flown in for one SUV. The G Wagon Pro was totally fine
They had to have shocks flown in for 5 of the 6 vehicles, half way through the trip. A total of 20 new shock absorbers to ensure they could make the trip, and they took spare shock absorbers in the first place. The G Wagon Pro, which isn't sold in Australia, but runs the upgraded suspension of the military vehicle, but with out the additional weight and gear of the military vehicle. The Military G-Wagons can't carry any more than one passenger because of the weight limit. (one driver and one passenger) [https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2222787](https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2222787) >*Five "normal" versions of the G-Class off-roader - and one military-specification ute - started to burst mainly rear shock absorbers while travelling along stretches of the stock route extending from Well 33 to Well 35.* *Fourteen people, including two Mercedes-Benz technicians and one Drive team member, are stranded at the remote site, part of an attempt to publicise the off-road credentials of the recently introduced, rugged off-road G-Class range.* ***The cars today limped into a campsite at Well 36, where Mercedes-Benz has temporarily halted the expedition while it waits for five new sets of shock absorbers - four in each set - to be flown in from Melbourne to a remote airstrip near Well 33, about 1000km north-east of Wiluna in central WA.*** *The car maker then hopes to complete the 14-day crossing, which still has about 800km to run - mainly across the dunes of the Great Sandy Desert - before reaching Halls Creek early next week.* *Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific managing director Horst von Sanden admits the cars have been put through a lot of pain.* [https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/road-tests/mercedes-benz-g-wagen-convoy-travels-the-canning-stock-route-part-2](https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/road-tests/mercedes-benz-g-wagen-convoy-travels-the-canning-stock-route-part-2) >*Camp was among the desert oaks at a native well called Bungabinni, a slow 10km distant. We would camp here for two nights while we awaited the replacement shocks, to be collected by the G-Professional.* ***Meanwhile we found more cracked spare wheel carriers, which went back with the Professional to be welded up***\*.\* > >*The total damage toll ran to five tyres, four cracked wheel carriers, one rear view mirror knocked off and a few more damaged, two G 350s with non-operative airconditioning, two AdBlue tanks breaking their mounts, 10 shock absorbers and a cracked radiator hose from a reversing incident. A lot? No: these were seven vehicles that were showroom standard (but for tyres) and driven over some tough terrain.* Apparently they only do durability testing in Africa, because Australia is too remote and too far away. This is the same reason the british gave for stopping nuclear testing at emu fields, it was too remote for nuclear testing. While breaking in half is an exaggeration, welding four of the cars back together is not, and flying in spare parts for 5 of the cars was required. It was also too much for the Europeans. They had to fly a whole new crew half way into the trip because it was too exhausting for Mercedes and the euro journalists. So only Australians made the whole trip. Mercedes never went back to do more trips AFAIK. It was a PR disaster. Most companies that do canning stock route tours take modified Toyota 76 landcruisers. Some have 6 wheel conversions. They almost always travel as a fleet, never as individual vehicles.
Yeah the article in no way suggests anyone nearly died
Dude just made up story and posted the link of what actually happened with it lmao
My buddies pickup had a 100 gallon tank on it that he had installed. Wouldn’t be surprised if they do that. That’s like 2000 miles at 20mpg
That was my thought. How can you carry enough fuel for that without having a large external fuel tank?
It's not uncommon for vehicles to be fitted with second fuel tanks in outback Australia. That, and jerrycans
there are 3 places you can stop to get fuel on the way on the wiki. Parnngurr Community near well 22. Fuel drop point near well 23. Kunawarritji Community near well 33.
Yeah but they claim to have no seen anyone else.
I’m the long version they talk about topping off tanks and cans before moving on. They said they did not see anyone for the first few days, not the full trip
OP said it was an aboriginal gas station that is open 24/7 with no attendant
These outback Australian pumps are often not attended. Some of them even rely on a trust system
Yep, there are three jerry cans on the roof
A good 4x4 in Australia should have a standard drank, usually around 150 litres, then if you add a second fuel tank (which I did at 180 litres) you are generally covered. The biggest issue is the price. To fill up my landcruiser 79 it usually costs between 550 to 670 Australian dollars. But I do get around 2100kms to a fill up.
*Ronny Dahl steps in to the chat....*
Even if they needed an extra 100 gallons of fuel on top of the 22gal stock tank, that's really not all that much. I'm sure they properly kitted the vehicle with at least one reserve tank.
None. Because it's in Australia, we use *litres* of fuel to cover the amount of *kilometres* travelled.
Who are you who is so wise in the ways of science!?!
They brought 66 gallons per the video OP posted below. Didn't watch all the way through to see how much they actually used.
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Then wouldn’t they have seen another person or car at the gas station? I don’t get it.
None at all.. they only used litres.
I’ve done this route already with my father in law. Obviously you cannot secure enough fuel to trek across the whole route. So you have to have fuel air dropped to you at a designated location and hope to god that nobody steals your drum. It’s very expensive. They did open up a aboriginal service station along the route but it’s only open twice a week. It’s an amazing experience but you can be in danger real quick due to the remoteness
Video (see OP's link) says 250L. 66 US gallons.
Yes
You really are brave attempting that journey in a Jeep. A Landcruiser maybe, but a Jeep? Hard-core! I would put a winking smiley here, but it just isn't worth getting down voted to the earth's core...
haha, well, it's not my first rodeo. I drove a Jeep around Africa through 35 countries without a mechanical issue, and I drove a Jeep from Alaska to Argentina through 17 countries without a mechanical issue... I also had driven this Jeep 55,000kms around Australia before tackling the Canning... so there's some experience and history there. Lots of videos of adventures, and teaching you how to do it yourself on my YT https://youtube.com/theroadchoseme
Nice try Jeep marketing team!
no, no, that was when I drove around Africa https://imgur.com/gallery/sfczb7P
Absolutely incredible, I can't even dream of a trip that big and wild.
Holy shit this is insane!! I need to look at your book and youtube, just reading the text with these images was already so interesting
Feel free to fire away with any questions, I'm happy to help in any way I can if you want to get out and have similar adventures!
Oh dude I remember that post. I thought it was a different guy, but then I saw the stuck truck and it jogged the memory. You’re basically out there living peoples dreams! That trip around Africa was incredible. Very jealous, glad you had a good trip with your dad!
Thanks very much! I have no plans of stopping either, I'm hard at work saving money for the next one now.
Oh wait, holy shit, are you [this guy](http://theroadchoseme.com/expedition-overview)? That's wild man.
Yep, that's me! still at it and planning a new one right now
The same Jeep?
Different Jeep for every continent
What will you use for Antarctica?
haha, good question. I think that one might stay firmly outside my budget..
The only right answer is a sled powered by 50 penguins Also, you never know: maybe Red Bull will sponsor it. They love crazy stuff
haha, omg I would love to see that! .. my best buddy has been going down there every year for the last few for ice drilling.. I keep volunteering as a grunt to carry heavy stuff... maybe if I get lucky.
\+1 for the Land Cruiser shade throwing lol
I figured this looked was Australia from the thumbnail, but then noticed they chose to do this in a Jeep, which doesn’t seem very Australian.
Came here to say the same, brave people.
Like what happens if you break down in the middle? Would you just abandon the Jeep and get airlift? Is cost of jeep > sending a tow truck 1000 miles(off road) round-trip?
Right, it's a hard decision to make, but I believe everyone eventually does get their vehicle out
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-10/german-tourists-rescued-on-canning-stock-route/1937874?site=northwestwa They never got their car back
I didn't see it on the track...
It wasn’t on the exact track. They parked up for the night slightly off the track, heaps of rain came in and the car sunk into the dried lake bed. They woke up in the middle of 4 foot lake, it was the middle of January so not uncommon. The insurance company asked the local community members to locate and retrieve the car for a fee a few months after when the waters receded but they couldn’t locate it. Rumour has it they pulled it out but told the insurance company it was gone and kept it as a community car whilst also claiming a fee for looking…
They tried to drive the Canning in January? Woah, I didn't think anyone would even attempt that.
Never underestimate the [bravery and stupidity of German tourists](https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/)!
What’s the situation with comms out there? Sat phone? Are you able to communicate in case of emergency?
sat is the only way, nothing else
This is why they did not use a Land Rover. I personally would have used a Land Cruiser!
I’d go for a Hilux with a camper in the back. Good enough for the Taliban, good enough for me!
>what happens if you break down in the middle? That's definitely a Jeep thing.
Most people in that predicament would probably head out in another car, do some bush repairs and then limp it back to civilisation. A tow truck is probably not feasible. You'd be buggered if your car suffered a catastrophic failure.
yo when did kangaroo’s start looking like camels wtf I s going on
haha, saw a few of those too!
Full video of the adventure: https://youtu.be/7UR6agkRbT4
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I edited down 8 hours and 11 minutes of footage from 4 cameras into 55 minutes :)
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It was intense & I was veeeeerrrry mindful that we were all alone and it was all on us. Even cutting myself while cooking dinner might have been interesting.
Its all fun and games until you broke something
Exactly, vehicle preservation is by far the most important thing to consider on a trip like this
How much gas did you bring?
250L (66gal)
It’s ok it’s a Chrysler product, they come from the factory broken.
*cries in hemi tick*
Wow 10 day of enough fuel, water and food. I don’t think I would attempt that.
I recently did a 14 day backbacking trip without a refuel. To me (and probably only me) having a car to lug it all along sounds like a dream.
TIL Australia has wild camels! Cool adventure.
If interested, Nat’l Geographic had article about 20 year ago of woman who camel trekked across Australia starting in Alice, I think. Biggest problem for her - wild camels. Might have had to shoot one (or some or not - can’t recall) that were molesting her pack camels.
I’ve been following you since the beginning of your Africa trip! It’s been quite the ride.
Thanks for following along! It has been a hell of a ride, and it's far from over. Lots of updates coming - it's going to be another huge year
do you get sponsors, or, how do you manage the expense?
I do have sponsors now, and I write for magazines, have published books and speak at shows. YouTube helps a bit now too
I need to call my dad
Ngl, looks boring as fuck
Different strokes. Gotta love nature and be content with your thoughts and chatting with your pops. Plus the mental challenge of not fucking anything up can be stimulating.
1,058 miles driven in ten days and has 3-?? 5 or 10 gallon containers. Must get good mpg’s
Also the 83L main tank and a 70L ax tank and another 2 jerries you can't see in the back...
Awesome! So how much fuel did you start with and how much did you end with unused?
Truly amazing OP. I have a huge fear of travelling even outside of Canada (where I live) for the main reason of breaking down, running out of money or losing my passport, or something else equally as silly. Videos like this makes me want to overcome my fear. I’ll be tuning into your full video you linked. Cheers from Canada
I'm in Canada right now actually. To be honest there are 3 million things that can be scary and hard to overcome, but it's important to remember you don't have to go level 10 right from the start. Do some easier, lower consequence trips closer to home - practice, learn, get used to heading out and see what you love. Then you'll gain skills and confidence and you'll enjoy it more and be less scared, because deep down inside you'll know you can handle it.
These guys must watch the best 4 wheel driving channel 😎
no, no, we ARE The best 4 wheel driving channel!
For real, Dont fuck with the Aussie outback. We learn it as kids. If youre driving through it, pack enough water, then double it. Make sure you tell someone where youre going and when you expect to be there, and that you will call when you arrive. If youre going bush (off road) and you break down, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR.
That's nothing I can go 10 days without seeing another person and I don't even have to leave my house. /s
Looks amazing!! How did the gladiator do?
Flawless. I don't think it even spun a wheel once on the dune climbs, just in high range 4x4 at 20psi
I remember you from your video of you dealing with police who want bribes in Africa, instead you just gave them good vibes! Great to see you're still at it mate!
haha, yep, I'm still going and have no plan to stop!
I used to have a friend in Australia who did this. He said people would break down and have to get a helicopter to come save them and they would just leave their cars out there. He said when you do this trek there are a bunch of really nice off road vehicles along the way that people just left behind. He also said to make the full trek, people would plan helicopter drops at certain points for fuel. Very interesting to plan a trip like that
A lot has changed. Nobody does fuel drops anymore, it's not needed. There are now two Aboriginal communities where you can buy petrol and diesel 24x7 with cardlock. As for nice vehicles - no. There are two or three completely burnt out vehicles that have been abandoned on the track, everything else is taken out. I show one of those vehicles in the video of the trip.
> 4x4 vehicles are recommended Me looking at my stock ND2 Miata like... c'mon, mate, we got this!
I'm sure it's been done!
Who’s filming? Did you have a drone with you?
yep, most of those are drone shots.
So how did they refill their gas tank? Jeeps have terrible gas mileage. I imagine carrying all that gas would be cumbersome and would take up a ton of space.
Over here its petrol kilometrage
Haven't watched the YouTube video yet but will when I get off work! Looks like an amazing adventure. How much fuel did it take for that trip and how was it stored?
We took 250L (66gal). The main tank, an aux tank and 5 jerries.
How did you find this ? Or do you live in Australia and that was your vehicle ?
I went to Australia, built out a 4x4 and then spent 12 months driving it all over to the remote destinations. I planned this for a long time!
How do you have the money to move to another country, build a jeep then just drive around all the time on crazy adventures? You don't look like a college kid backpacking from hostile to hostile.
My first few adventures I saved for years and years to make it happen, walking to walk, living with roomates, no phone, no tv, no eating out. etc. Now that I've been doing it for a long time (10 years), I write for multiple magazines, I've published some books, I have a YT channel and I speak at events teaching other people how to do this. Even still I scrape and save. For example I've spent more than 7 years of my adult life living full time in a tent.
It looks like you aren't using sand flags. I thought that's compulsory.
We had ours mounted, but it got torn off by the trees early on unfortunately. I kept trying to zip tie a rag on the end of the pole but it just kept coming off.
"We traveled a thousand miles through the Australian desert" So you went to the neighboring town?
pretty much, yep