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It's not every day you get invited to attend an event, that is a first of its kind.
I was lucky enough to be invited along to cover this recent journey of more than 1500km on the dirt with 26 Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side buggies and their like-minded owners from all around the country, going from Finke to the Simpson Desert over six days.
This event was put together by the team at BRP Australia, and Ride North who arranged everything so punters just needed to get their vehicles to Alice Springs, and strap in for an adventure of a lifetime. The good news is, you can do the same thing too and I strongly suggest you do as there’s no feeling like this.
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Day one: Transit
This particular adventure started differently for everyone, as people were attending from all around the country. For myself and the production crew, we flew out from Sydney to Alice Springs early Sunday morning.
It would have been quite a logistical effort transporting everyone’s vehicles to Alice Springs, with everything other than a missing swag arriving safely; the swag was collected from the airport the next day.
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First port of call was Alice Springs where we were staying at the Hilton, a stark contrast to the locations we’d find ourselves in over the coming week.
This first day was a cruisy one, where we had our first team briefing and the chance to get to know over a beer at the nearby Casino coming in at a hefty $13 a pop. Worth it.
Day two: Testing
The objective for Monday, was to meet up early and head to the start of the Finke Prologue Track for a testing session to iron out any bugs in the vehicles, and for some training to get a feel for the units and iconic track conditions. This was going to be a long trip, so we needed to know we could finish it, it was brilliant to have this opportunity.
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Two buggies did have to pull into the pits, as the radiators were shipped full of mud from their last off-road session and were getting a bit warm. With a team of experienced mechanics on-board this was fixed quick smart and we have no real mechanical issues from here on in. This is why you have testing days; I was now feeling confident and ready to hit the tracks knowing we were fully supported along the way.
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The more experienced operators were champing at the bit to get out there and experience everything Finke could offer. However, it was back to the Hilton for our last taste of phone reception and a dust-free existence, and another early night in preparation for a massive week ahead. It’s safe to say I didn’t sleep a wink that night, I was more excited than a kid on Christmas Eve.
Day three: Finke to Mt Dare
Day three was going to be a big one, driving (I think buggy people call it riding) parts of the Finke Desert Race Track and ending up at the remote Mt Dare Hotel. A large part of this day was spent on the actual Finke Track, hitting whoops at 90 to 100km/h was an amazing experience, a real test of person and machine.
It’s safe to say, I’m hooked. The suspension is incredible on these Mavericks, it’s not like a traditional 4x4, the harder you hit them the better they feel, and that turbo-charged motor is as sweet as a nut.
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Something that truly amazed me on this leg of the journey, was how the scenery changes constantly. From tight sandy tracks, to relentless whoops, to sections of wide-open land. We made it to Mt Dare tired, covered in mud and dust, and utterly in awe of what we’d just experienced.
Ride North, the organisers of this event, had set up a beautiful campground area at Mt Dare, which was sadly smashed by a wind storm. Nobody complained, and everyone chipped in to fix the place up, followed by a lovely evening swapping war stories and talking smack around the fire. Perfection.
Day four: Who dares wins
After racking up some serious kilometres yesterday, today was touted as being an easier day of dirt-road driving, but spectacular nonetheless exploring the area around Mt Dare. This started with wide, open sections of dirt road, that the X3s just ate up for breakfast.
Next up, we were guided through dry river beds, rocky sections and deep gullies that the entire group agreed was not only spectacular to experience, but a whole lot of fun in these Can-Am buggies. We had burgers for lunch by the water, prepared by the awesome Jolene from Ride North, then decided to make the 100km trip back to Mt Dare for what was to be a big occasion.
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Ride North had arranged an amazing feed that night by the team at Cooking With Heavy Metal (their details are at the bottom of this article) and some terrific singalong action provided by a local musician named Glenn. This was to be a worthy evening, as our group raised north of $25,000 to be donated to the Royal Flying Doctors via an auction organised by Can-am and Ride North.
The ceremony was hosted by the ever-charming Lucas from Can-Am, who even auctioned off his singing abilities taking song requests for $100 a pop. This is a great group of like-minded people, who dug deep for such a worthy cause.
Day five: Into the dunes
Today was a real adventure, one we were all looking forward to as we inched towards the dunes of the Simpson Desert. The route in front of us started at Mt Dare, heading out to Old Andado Station via the Binns Track and into the Simpson Desert dunes. After enjoying the challenging terrain of the Binns Track, we made it to Old Andado Station for a poke around.
It’s a bit of a creepy place, but also incredibly eye opening to see how people lived out here not that long ago. Inside the house, you’ll find all sorts of treasures and historical items to investigate, it’s amazing that this place is opened to the public yet is virtually untouched and so respected by visitors. There’s even a pair of LandCruisers (40 Series and 60 Series) parked under a lean-to, that look as though they’d fire up with a new battery installed.
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After exploring Old Andado Station, it was on to the dunes for a play and wow, these vehicles are just so capable, I can’t imagine any 4x4 conquering the sort of terrain we experienced without getting bogged. It was also quite an experience to have a helicopter fly low overhead with the camera crew inside taking images and video, while driving the red dunes of the Simpson Desert in a Can-Am.
With the adrenaline pumping after a run through the dunes, the group went back out on the Binns Track, which was incredibly dusty in a vehicle with no windscreen, but all part of the experience.
We once again arrived back at Mt Dare ready for dinner by Cooking With Heavy Metal, including what many had decided was the best lasagne they had ever eaten – not even taking in to consideration it was cooked in a cast iron camp oven. Tomorrow was to be a big day, so with full bellies we retreated to our swags under the blanket of stars only Outback Australia can produce.
Day six: All good things must end
Day six began back on the Binns Track out from Mt Dare for the last day of driving, we had to cover some ground today with over 400km of driving (or riding) on dirt to get back to Alice Springs.
Binns Track is a sensational driving experience, a real highlight of the trip we were all stoked to experience once again. There’s so much to see along the way, I know why so many people want to experience this part of the country in a 4WD. To do it in a buggy like a Can-Am, was pure joy.
After fuelling up the buggies and riders, you could tell the mood in camp had changed. Nobody wanted this to end, but we all shared the common goal of completing this journey as a group. We were so close, but still had another 100km to go on fast dirt roads, to end back through the whoops we experienced way back on our first training day.
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It’s safe to say we arrived back at our starting point completely different people. We’d covered over 1500km on dirt from Finke to the Simpson Desert, the first group to do it in Can-Am side-by-side buggies. I didn’t want this to be over.
Sadly, the buggies were loaded back on to trucks ready to go, with the coolest thing being all but one made it back under its own steam after a bit of a mishap. These are super impressive machines; I’m beyond amazed by their durability as well as off-road ability.
"This is something you need to experience for yourself"
After one of the longest showers I’d ever had, we exchanged race jerseys for collared shirts in preparation for attending a gala dinner back at the Hilton that the team had put together. We were shown a slide show of images taken on the trip by the ultra-talented event photographer, Brett Hemmings, had a wonderful meal, presented The Royal Flying Doctors with a large cheque and shared our new memories with new mates we’d all made along the way.
Naturally, this was followed by a few $13 beers at the Casino, but you know the drill … what happens on tour stays on tour – trust me though when I say, this is something you need to experience for yourself.
Cooking with Heavy Metal
Food can make or break a trip, as nobody wants to be hangry while out exploring. It’s safe to say we did well when it came to catering, with meals for each trip provided and prepared by the Ride North team.
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Breakfast and dinner was prepared by the legends from Cooking With Heavy Metal. These guys and girls specialise in cooking with cast iron camp ovens, and to say they put on a spread is an understatement.
If you need remote area catering that will blow your socks off, check out Cooking With Heavy Meal, or give Kerry and Jodi Harrold a call on 0427 807 738 or 0447 190 800.
Special guest: Molly Taylor
Joining us for the adventure, was professional rally driver and Can-Am Factory South Racing Team member, Molly Taylor. It was awesome to have a professional driver on the trip, who was more than happy to offer driving tips or to just spin a yarn about her racing career and past events.
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Even though these Can-Am buggies are super capable and you feel unstoppable, there’s nothing like watching a true professional at work to knock your ego down a peg or two; it’s safe to say Molly can steer.
Molly is gearing up to do the 2023 Dakar Rally, an event which lasts over 16 days through the Saudi Arabian desert, so be sure to check out Molly and her efforts in the Dakar event, as she is guaranteed to put on a show and do Australia proud.
Maverick X3
As I don’t (yet) own a Can-Am, I was graciously loaned an older model X3 Maverick to use throughout the duration of this trip.
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These things are simply incredible; being turbocharged, they have plenty of up and go, and no matter how hard you hit a whoop or bump in the track, the suspension just eats it up. Travelling through tight dune country, I’m not sure there’d be another four-wheeled vehicle that could keep up with them.
Capable is an understatement. Not only was I impressed with how they performed, I was blown away with just how durable they are.
Ride North
It would be impossible to organise an event like this without a team, and the team that made this come true is Ride North, a Qld based adventure tour operator which organised every detail of the trip from route, to permits and logistics.
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Nothing was too hard for them, and they sure know how to put on a trip. If you would like to participate in an event similar to this, Ride North conduct a range of adventures through iconic destinations such as Cape York.
Check out www.ridenorth.com.au for more information on upcoming adventures you can join in on.
Special thanks
Special thanks must go to the team from BRP Australia who invited 4X4 Australia along for this journey, and organised a Can-Am Maverick X3 for me to drive the entire time. It’s an experience I’ll never forget, and I urge you to take one of these incredible machines for a drive. Much like myself, you’ll be hooked.
Check out www.brp.com to view its range of Can-Ams and other adventure machines, and stay tuned for further events like this one as this is just the beginning.
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