CONQUERING THE GUNBARREL HIGHWAY

Twenty-two Suzuki Jimnys tackle Australia’s outback, a grueling expedition that lasted nine days and 2,800 miles

- MERCEDES LILIENTHAL

Tony Ellison is a current-serving Royal Australian Navy veteran and part-time YouTube content creator running the Mighty Overlander channel. He recently joined 21 other JB74 Suzuki Jimnys to face one of the most grueling and isolated parts of the Australian outback: the Gunbarrel Highway.

The expedition was hatched by Ellison's good friend and owner of Wildtrak Leisure Australia, David Howie. It took Howie and his team nearly two years to plan this amazing and extremely challenging trip, which took the 22 Suzukis from Perth, Western Australia all the way to Yulara and Uluru in the Northern Territory via the Gunbarrel Highway, over nine days.

The impetus of the trip: one man, one Jimnyas a self-sufficient off-grid micro-overlander.

Jimnys on a Mission 

Twenty-two Jimnys, along with four support vehicles, started in Bakershill, north of Perth, and proceeded northeast to Merredin before heading north on the rabbit proof fence road. This is an unsealed dirt road following a section of unbroken fence to limit destructive impacts of rabbits and other vermin.

Making their way towards Bullfinch and Sandstone for the group's first few nights of camp, the final destination was Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), Northern Territory via the Gunbarrel Highway. Starting in Wiluna, passing through Carnegie Station, Mt. Beadell, Helena Highway, and Warburton. The final camp was at Armstrong Creek, a dry riverbed just south of Uluru.

"It was a huge adventure in a little rig," Ellison said. "I loved the idea of putting the Jimny through its paces and tackling one of the hardest off-road tracks in the country if not the world."