some of the first corrugations we struck on the CSR, behind the VW.

corrugated tracks! They chewed out the rubber stoppers on the VW Transporter, and he later lifted the vehicle with new springs and bigger tyres! see one of my videos here.. youtu.be/ZYk-YtA2-wQ and Andrew's 4xoverland professional ones of the route from North to South, here www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZBtPD_yK0-9tDGGqjyK4EIXU... Here is a Blog from OzExplore on the CSR www.exploroz.com/Members/92954.750/1/2015/A_taste_of_the_... Our Cruiser with Old Man Emu leaf springs and Nitro Shockers is still going!!! 440,000km Canning Stock Route, WA. Wide vehicles and general information. Comprehensive information from ... westprint.com.au/newsletter-archives-2017 Col asked about restrictions on the CSR for wider vehicles. I can’t answer about official restrictions but on our trip in 2011 using three 100 Series Landcruisers and a Navara there were numerous times in the swales where we had to pull the mirrors in to get through the scrub which grows right up to the side of the track. It is very tough desert scrub too, putting ‘bush pin Stripes’ on all vehicles. A wide-bodied vehicle will have to bulldozer through all of this. Not a good idea. Laurie. I did the CSR quite a few years ago, in May/June 2009 from South to North. Friends of mine travelled the CSR in 2007 from North to South. Regarding the questions about wide track vehicles: The best (and most reliable) information on access with a wide track vehicle and especially on up-to-date track info can usually be get from directly talking to the locals, especially Wiluna Police (08 9981 7024), Halls Creek Police (08 9168 9777), Kunawarritji Community (08 9176 9040) (GREAT people, very helpful, the new store was under construction when we came along in 2009), Glenayle Station (08 9981 2989) and Granite Peak Station (08 9981 2983). Outback travel Australia clearly states that the CSR section between wells 2 and 5 through to Cunyu station is permanently closed to all vehicles towing trailers AND to wide-track 4WDs like Isuzu light trucks. That is for a good reason, as the track is very narrow in many places along this section if I remember it right. But whatever the very good reason is, fact is that this is private property. So, if you travel through despite the clearly signposted restrictions you commit trespassing – and I am sure that is not what you want to do. You would also definitely face extreme physical problems by just not fitting through with your vehicle. I guess that the latter will also be a severe problem in many other locations along the track of the CSR. A contributing factor may be strong growth from the sides of the track, following all that rain in the area. Conditions vary from year to year due to rain or other weather circumstances, but there definitely are narrow sections. Consider that travelling the CSR would add a lot of deep scratches to the nice paint of your Isuzu. If I were the owner of such a nice truck I would not be keen on damaging it – but that is what you are asking for if you tackle the Canning with it. The tyres will be a big issue, due to the limited track width. You would have to go off-track with the tyres in quite a few places, and hitting the bush along the track will cause awful punctures. When travelling the Talawana track to Windy Corner and up the Gary Highway back in 2008, my mate Harry and I met some very nice blokes travelling with an Isuzu truck with trailer. They were about to start work at an exploration camp, and their boss had had a look at the map and had sent them the shortest route. That was not a good idea. I cannot exactly remember how many times we changed tyres on that Isuzu and the big tandem axle trailer, but it was really a lot of times. When we reached the Canning-Papunya-Road, every tyre had needed patching, even the spare tyres. No fun at all. Fun is what you want during your rewarding CSR trip, and not trouble and worries about your vehicle. I am sure that you and your vehicle are well-prepared, but ask yourself ‘What happens if?’ If you face major mechanical problems, how can you retrieve your vehicle from the CSR? If you need spare parts along the route, can they be obtained in Newman or be taken to Kunawarritji? A smaller vehicle can usually be fixed more easily, especially if is a type of vehicle which is broadly used in the region, like the Toyota Troopy. I don’t know the power of your Isuzu, but friends of mine had an Isuzu and admitted that theirs was not overpowered. The dunes along the CSR may require more HPs than you have. And going over the dunes by ‘giving it all the revs’ is asking for mechanical trouble. Talking dunes: We always started very early in the morning. The sand has more moisture then, is less soft and you face less difficulties getting over the dunes. We chose to travel very early in the year (started the last week of May). It is not too cold then in the night, and we were lucky to have just a nice little spray of rain fall in the morning from time to time which added exactly the right moisture to the sand. Ask yourself what sort of experience you are looking for along the Canning: Is it the challenge and thrill of tackling the Canning with the Isuzu, facing (and hopefully overcoming) all the problems along the way, or is it the rewarding experience of travelling the Canning without too much worries (there will always be some, however!), taking in all its beauty and rich history? If you are after the second, I would consider renting a suitable vehicle from a specialized company like TCC (Travel Car Centre). Swiss owner Bruno and his guys rent out fully equipped Troopys, complete with sturdy roof tent, heaps of accessories and even some spares and a full set of tools and recovery gear. TCC even have at least one Troopy with a long-range tank - 270 litres -but this needs to be booked well in advance. They have vast experience in renting out vehicles for the Canning, and their cars are in superb mechanical condition. I have rented from their company plenty of times (for CSR, Hay River and French Line through the Simpson, Anne Beadell Highway, Gunbarrel with Abandoned Section et al) and have always been highly satisfied. You could pick up the rental Troopy in Perth and drop it in Darwin. Along the way, I would add a nice side trip through the Gregory National Park, beautiful scenery. If you do not want to miss the comfort of the Isuzu (or if you are dependent on it due to health conditions), what about an alternative route? Given the right weather conditions, the Canning-Papunya Road (also named Gary Junction Highway if I remember it right) is a great track, which is wide enough for the Isuzu and leads through awesome bush scenery. And from Alice Springs to Halls Creek you could continue via the Tanami Track, given that your vehicle has sufficient fuel range, now that Rabbit Flat Roadhouse has been closed. There is plenty of advice on safety precautions for CSR trips on the web, for instance here: www.thecanningstockroute.com/what_you_are_responsible_for I would highly recommend to rent an Iridium Satellite Phone (TCC has one or two they rent out together with the Troopys) and to do an advanced first aid course. If you need advice on an advanced remote area first aid kit, I can send you a list of mine. For instance, most people forget to consider a SAM splint. Being prepared for medical emergencies is vital. I am a volunteer medical first responder and firefighter and have visited and talked to many fire/rescue and emergency medical services folks in outback communities, and they told me heaps of very sad stories about people travelling unprepared. Vehicle fire is not uncommon along those tracks, due to build-up of vegetation under the vehicle. An old coat hanger made of sturdy wire makes a perfect scratching device to clean off spinifex from under the vehicle. I also carry a garden spray as auxiliary fire extinguisher in addition to the normal fire extinguisher. A normal car fire extinguisher is of great help in case of a small liquid fuel fire, but it is insufficient to tackle a spinifex fire under the car. That is when the garden spray comes in handy. Snakebite, though a rare event, is also a danger to be kept in mind. Remember: There are not only Mulga snakes around, but also very nasty Death Adders, which are small and invisible in the spinifex. They don’t flee human presence, and if you accidentally step on one you are in big, big trouble, far from medical help. I always use sturdy boots in combination with Snakeguardz out in the bush (www.snakeguardz.com). Snakeguardz may look ridiculous (the average Aussie can’t stop laughing upon the sight of this strange Gerry with bright orange Snakeguardz over his long pair of camouflage trousers), but better safe than sorry. Try to put your hands on a copy of Eric and Ronele Gard’s ‘Canning Stock Route’ (e.g. via eBay) and/or the hard to find Australian Geographic Book of the Canning Stock Route, which has one of the best ever-printed maps of the CSR (make sure that the map is still in the book!). These books provide excellent background info on the CSR. The CSR is for sure one of the best and most rewarding experiences in Australian Outback 4WDing, but do not underestimate the psychological factor and really, carefully select with whom you travel. The tour companies are notorious for rushing the Canning, and you cannot choose the other guys in the group. But even if you travel with friends: Cases are known where best friends or even couples split up during or after a CSR trip. Tension builds up slowly: Some want to start early, others late. Some want to go faster (and get into trouble, the CSR is notorious for vehicle suspension problems!), others want to take it more slowly and get angry about losing time due to mechanical trouble into which the fast ones will run inevitably. Etc. etc. Make a good plan, which is agreed by everyone but which gives plenty of room for changes and improvisations. Plan where you want to stop and take a day of rest. Durba Springs was my favourite. I did not like Georgia Bore too much, but the fresh water from the pump was a treat, and the toilet there was one of the highlights of the Canning. I have never ever experienced a loo with a belt transport system before, a fascinating piece of Aussie high tech! Whatever schedule you plan: Do not keep it too tight and put in some spare days. There will be no worries about what to do with the spare days. There are so many great places along the way, for instance a nice side trip to Wolfe Creek Crater (make sure to watch the movie Wolfe Creek beforehand, so that you can really enjoy your night’s sleep there). Be sure: Something WILL go wrong on the Canning. And cause loss of time. That is when speeding comes in to make up for the lost time, and then the real trouble starts. In any case, avoid speeding on the Canning and always be on the lookout for stupid tourists travelling without sand flag and even without CB radio. There have been awful head-on-collisions. Check out the forum at Exploroz.com. There are many highly experienced and helpful folks in this forum, and some of them may have experience with wide track vehicles as well and may be able to answer your questions from own hands-on-experience along the CSR. Whatever you decide to do (CSR with or without the Isuzu): I wish you all the best for your trip, and stay safe! Cheers from bl..dy boring Dortmund/Germany, Juergen I refer my previous article re the Canning Stock Route, in which I gave some old *(2000) information about the Store and Fuel at Kunawarritji Community which has been corrected by Garry this last Westprint Maps email. I regret incorrect information, but that, as I say, was based on information that is now *17 years old. The store was in basic mode back (some ices and drinks) then, and fuel indeed had to come from Hedland, and one was advised that checking before-hand was a good idea (from road conditions as much as anything). The Community Adviser/Manager (white) was also the Store Manager, and did some mechanical and welding repairs to a traveller’s vehicle whilst I was there. He was friendly and a good man, a mine of information, which is not what I would say about some white "Community Managers" I have met in my years of travels. The Community was also a pleasure to visit. I wish that age and infirmity would allow me to return to the CSR! I had come DOWN the CSR first in 1997, and obtained fuel at Kunawarritji (I had heard that many travellers who relied on the Capricorn Roadhouse Fuel Dump arrived with empty tanks, so to speak, and because their marked drum had been emptied by ‘person or persons unknown’ they had to do the same to some other traveller. No wonder this had to cease). The time in 2000, I had come across from Hedland (to Kunawarritji) to go UP the CSR, and it was some time after a Cyclone which had blown over the windmill at Well 33, and done some other damage along the Track. Not the best timing. I had found on both trips that travelling in the early morning was best (slightly damp and cool sand) but as the day heated up (and this was always in Winter) the sand got very loose, and going over dunes was more a hassle. I will always remember those corrugations. They damaged my Jackaroo Diesel, which caused me much trouble as I travelled East on the Gunbarrel Highway from Wiluna later in 2000, after doing a big loop to come back South from exiting the CSR. Still, it was all a memorable trip. Darryl Subscribe to their informative newsletter, buy excellent maps and books from. westprint.com.au/ Copied from... IMG_8618 IMG_8611