If you thought the Canning Stock Route was all about sand and spinifex, today's 45-kilometre stretch between Well 7 and Well 8 would set you straight. This leg wasn't about speed or making good time—it was pure mechanical endurance, a test of every bolt, bushing, and shock absorber on the Land Cruiser and that soft-top camper trailer bouncing along behind.
Steve T had his work cut out for him. Leaving Well 7, the track deteriorated into what can only be described as serious rock-hopping territory. Jagged red stone jutted up from the track, forcing him to pick careful lines through sections that could easily snap an axle or tear the guts out of a trailer if you got it wrong. At 40 to 45 kilometres of this punishment, there's no autopilot mode—every metre demands concentration, every decision about line choice matters.
The suspension on both the Cruiser and the trailer was earning its keep, flexing and articulating over the uneven terrain while keeping the heavy load stable. Out here, you become acutely aware of every groan and creak from your rig. Is that normal flex, or is something about to let go? Steve M, meanwhile, kept them on course through the dust clouds, maps at the ready, while Jamie captured the raw determination of desert travel as the landscape grew increasingly remote around them.
When they finally rolled into Well 8, they found it in a state of complete ruin. Unlike the more functional wells they'd encountered earlier, Well 8 was little more than scattered timber—bleached white by decades of desert sun, broken and collapsed. It's a stark reminder that these wells, built by hand over a century ago, are slowly returning to the earth that surrounds them.
The good news? At this point, the infamous 'annoying rattle' that would later plague them hadn't yet made its debut. The trailer was still intact, still light on the firewood that would eventually accumulate. But with hundreds of kilometres still ahead and terrain like today's behind them, they know the real test of the CSR is just beginning.
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