After leaving the serenity of Durba Springs behind, the Canning Stock Route reminded us that not everyone who ventures out here makes it through. Between the springs and Well 18, we came across something that served as both a warning and a twisted dose of outback humour—a white Mitsubishi Pajero, completely stripped out and left to rot in the red dirt.
The door was covered in dark, scrawled graffiti that captured the irony of the outback perfectly: "Some come into the desert unprepared... This poor bastard never lasted cos he came out in a Pajero!!" It was brutal, but in that way that only the outback can be—a stark reminder that this track doesn't suffer fools or underprepared rigs. Seeing that wreck made us appreciate Steve T's meticulous preparation and the reliability of our LandCruiser even more.
Pushing on from that sobering sight, we reached a major geographic milestone between Well 18 and Well 19—the Tropic of Capricorn. We officially crossed the line, moving further into the tropical north of Western Australia. The dunes were becoming more frequent now, testing the momentum of the LandCruiser and the camper trailer as we tackled the 31-kilometre stretch toward Well 20.
But the day wasn't over yet. We still had to face one of the most notorious obstacles on the entire route: Savory Creek. Famous for its soft silt and salt that can swallow a vehicle whole if you pick the wrong line, this crossing demands respect. Steve T picked a surgical line through the soft ground, ensuring the trailer didn't act as an anchor in the mud. We held our breath as the rig crawled through, tyres clawing for purchase in the salt and silt.
We made it across without drama and arrived at Well 20 to set up camp. Steve M took over as camp chef while we got a roaring mulga fire going, the smoke rising into the darkening sky. After a day of stripped-out wrecks, geographic milestones, and nerve-wracking creek crossings, it was the perfect way to end another chapter on the Canning.
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