WHAT'S INCLUDED?

• First night's accommodation & dinner at Lasseters Crowne Plaza Hotel, Alice Springs 
• StarLink Wifi - internet when we're camped in remote areas
• Pre-tour help and advice on vehicle and gear setup.
• All the arrangements and bookings for the tour (just get yourself, your gear and vehicle to Alice Springs for the first night's included accommodation and dinner).
• Full-time, professional tour guide/4WD instructor with a Cert IV qualification in 4WD training and current remote area first aid certificate.
• Mechanical assistance and tyre changing.
• Reliable lead vehicle with all safety, recovery, communications and emergency equipment - Starlink, Satphone and Garmin inReach (tracker, emergency beacon & satellite texting), winch, snatch straps, Max Trax etc (meaning you only need to carry minimal recovery gear).
• All camping fees; all National Park access fees (incl. Uluru); all Aboriginal Land entry permits.
• "On-tour" training over the 2-way radio. You will be given help and advice throughout the entire trip and warned of oncoming traffic and hazards. Your guide will co-ordinate dune crossings with oncoming vehicles, talking to them on another UHF channel so there's no confusion about what to do. On difficult sections, your guide will be out of their vehicle to help you and instruct you personally.
• Night spotlighting sessions for animals; bird/animal ID books and apps 
• Final breakfast at Yulara


WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED?

• 4WD Vehicle, fuel, food (other than stated above), camping gear, insurance
• Optional accommodation upgrades


WHAT ARE THE 4X4 VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS?

• This tour is not suitable for off-road camper trailers.
• A high clearance 4X4 vehicle with low range.
• Upgraded, heavy duty suspension - even on a new vehicle. Standard suspension will not cope on the corrugations and dune moguls.
• One spare front shock and one spare rear shock as appropriate.
•  Six Light Truck construction (LT) tyres with over 70% tread remaining.
• Fuel range of 1,100 km is required for the Canning Tour. 
• 60 - 80 litre water storage.
• Good quality UHF radio base set (Uniden, GME or Oricom recommended) fitted into your vehicle by a UHF specialist installer, and a substantial aerial - 6.6dbi, 1 metre in length, with large 30mm base - not the slim springy ones. 
• Good quality sand flag with lynch pin base. Not a hose fitting type, and not the spring base type. Bushranger flag from ARB recommended.
• Tyre deflator and tyre pressure gauge.
• Tyre pressure monitors.
• Good quality air compressor.
• Some spares are required to be carried. A full list is provided on booking.
• A mechanical checklist is to be completed and returned by a qualified mechanic at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the tour.
• An medical form is to be completed and submitted at least 2 weeks before departure.
• A tent, roof tent, or camp set up that is EASY TO PUT UP AND TAKE DOWN. This should take no longer than 15 mins each time (this will make or break your trip - ie. not an awning tent connected to your vehicle).
• Vehicle Insurance - make sure your insurance company covers your vehicle for off-road driving. NRMA/RACQ etc will not recover your vehicle from remote tracks. Only Club 4X4 Insurance will cover your vehicle recovery costs in remote situations. There is an option with Club 4X4 to get up to $30,000 for remote recoveries. (Our vehicle is insured with Club 4X4 but we are NOT sponsored by them).
• Travel Insurance - as with any holiday, you should get travel insurance in case of unforeseen circumstances (such as remote medical evacuation).


FUEL CONSUMPTION

Desert driving fuel consumption is as follows (NB. indicative only):
- Diesel utes eg. Hilux, D-Max, Ranger, BT-50 use about 15 - 18L/100km,
- Landrover Discovery 4 uses about 18L diesel/100km
- Diesel V8 200 Series Landcruiser uses 20 - 22L/100km
- Petrol 4.6L Nissan Patrol uses about 28L/100km 

 
WHERE CAN I GET SUPPLIES AND FUEL?

Fuel is available along our route, however, you will need to have a fuel range of 1,100 km for the longest stretch with no fuel stops. All care will be taken to check in advance whether fuel is available where we are going. Water and food is also available in these locations but fresh food is not always available and variety is limited.

CAN I HIRE A 4WD VEHICLE & CAMPING GEAR?

Yes you can. Talk to us about hiring a vehicle and all the gear from Darwin, Broome or Perth. Priced from about $499/day.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS FLOODING OR ROAD CLOSURES IN AND AROUND THE DESERT AT THE TIME OF OUR TOUR?
We have alternative itineraries in the event of flooding or track closures, so unless all access roads are closed, the tour will go ahead. It is not always possible to run tours as planned in the Outback and desert. This is all part of travel in these remote areas.


WHEN CAN I SEE THE FULL ITINERARY?

Itineraries will be provided once your deposit is paid.

Please note that the itinerary is subject to change depending on track conditions, weather, vehicle issues, border restrictions etc. We have also factored in some spare days that can be used if necessary for contingencies. 


HOW ROUGH IS THE TRACK?

The simple answer is "quite rough". It's also very long, very remote and very scratchy on vehicles. Tour guide Tony describes the Canning as "2000 km of roughness", however, it's still the most amazing place he's been in Australia. It is advisable to get some form of paint protection on your vehicle to prevent damage. We recommend Bush Barrier magnetic paint protection (follow this link).