The vegetation there (varieties types of spinifex, among other things) tends to have thorns that are much harder and sharper than anything in the US or Europe.

The vegetation there (varieties types of spinifex, among other things) tends to have thorns that are much harder and sharper than anything in the US or Europe. Even though modern off-road tires are way way way tougher than they used to be, it still tends to go straight through them. Note: I've never even been there, but my wife spent several years doing field work in the remote outback, so I hear a lot of stories. They carried 4 spare tires, a lot of patches, and typically completely destroyed all 8 in a field season. And they were mostly hiking... The vehicle was just to 1) drive 8 hours from Alice springs to get there, and 2) drive up washes and avoid needing to carry rock samples excessively far.