As our trip through the outback wound its way back to Broken Hill, I began getting excited about seeing the famed Warn/ ARB Outback Challenge competition. This is an event unlike any I know of in the U.S. Teams of drivers and copilots compete in multiple stages on various ranches and must be able to drive their comp rigs from station to station, such that some semblance of street legality is required. Unlike desert racing or rockcrawling, these vehicles must haul spare parts, tools, and camping gear since getting back to town or to a chase truck and trailer isn't always an option. It was more like real-world four-wheeling, and many of the trucks reminded me of top-shelf U.S. trail rigs and were based on Toyota Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, Nissan Patrols, Suzuki Samurais, and the rare Jeep, but all with an Australian flare.
Many competitors such as the winning team from Thailand were running these super-aggressive Simex tires. Like the numerous foreign-only diesel mini-trucks, I'd love to get my hands on a set of these to test, though I wouldn't be surprised if their aggressive tread is too hostile for our National Highway Transportation Safety Administration for some such reason. As the trip wound down, we all headed back to Melbourne where I got to do some work with the ARB engineers (see the Tundra rear-axle story, page 46). I finally made it to a hotel just hours before my 14-hour flight home, and boarding the plane with mud on my boots, I swore to myself I would return some day. Australia is truly a four-wheeler's paradise and I can't wait to go back. | 
Unfortunately this year marked the first time ever the event was rained out. So much water dropped on the area that roads between stations were shut down and some competitors were even trapped on a ranch for so long that the owner eventually slaughtered a sheep to make sure there was enough food for everyone till the roads reopened. Luckily I got to catch one of the winch-hill stages before the rains came, and it was awesome to see the competitors bombing around the dirt course before winching up a nearly vertical rock wall. Truth is, I've seen U.S. rock buggies drive right up obstacles like this, but never were they kitted out with all the gear and required equipment that these trucks had. |
I was intrigued by the winches as some were mounted behind the driver's compartment with pulleys and air shifters so they could run the cable out either the front or rear and could free spool or engage the winch from the driver seat as well as plumbed vents to keep water out of the case. Others had added motors to the already quick Warn 8274 winches, or took two winches and modified them to run one giant drum to quickly pull them up and over obstacles. | |
If you want to retrace the trip, I will have the map posted on our Web site, www.4wheeloffroad.com, with more photos. However, here is a quick overview:
We started in Melbourne for a day before flying out to Mildura and then driving to Broken Hill on Monday. Then we traveled through the following towns and stations on Tuesday: Silverton (where the famous Mad Max/Road Warrior movies were filmed), Eldee, One Tree, Tobooburra, and on to Cameron Corner where the three states of Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia all converge. Wednesday we went to Merty Merty, Innamincka, and camped along the Cordillo Downs road. From there we drove up to Cordillo Downs, then by the Cadelga Ruins and into Birdsville where we stayed at the local hotel and visited an unusual museum. That Friday we drove out to the Simpson Desert and played on sand dunes known as Big Red, then got the Super Duty stuck in Eyre Creek and slept under the stars. After that we went back to Birdsville and headed south down the Birdsville Track to Mungerannie where we camped out near a pub with a hot spring. From there it was out to Marree, Lyndhurst, Leigh Creek, Parachilna (where we ate the Feral Feast) through Blinman and up to Wirrealpa where we stayed on a 650-square-mile sheep station. The following day I did some rockcrawling to the amazed confusion of my fellow journos and the demise of one Super Duty rear bumper (sorry, Andy) before heading off to Angorichina. By Tuesday we were back on the road down through Hawker, past the Craddock Hotel, and back to Broken Hill where we stayed for a few days watching the Outback Challenge get rained out.