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There was a gathering of 4WD clubs in Geraldton the long weekend in June 2017 which bought together fourteen clubs who are members of the WA 4WD Association to enjoy each other’s company and see what the Midwest region had to offer.

The WA 4WD Association organised the event and invited the 32 clubs who are affiliated with the association across Western Australia. Previous gatherings have been held at Albany and Dowerin which has allowed members to experience the local areas and tourist sites.

Kalgoorlie and Karratha are  earmarked  for future events once investigated by the Association and the local 4WD club members.

During the Gathering, there was events organised for the members to participate in, which included a quiz night and mini olympics. Local musician Geoff Uddy attended on Saturday night and kept the members entertained with his beautiful renditions of some old favourites.

Local DPaW staff attended and gave an update on what is occurring in the Midwest region regarding camping, National Parks and future works. The members of the 4Wd clubs who attended this presentation offered their assistance to the DPaW staff to help preserve the heritage of the land. Through the WA 4WD Association there has been previous involvements and relationships that have allowed clubs and their members to participate in repairing, maintenance and monitoring in various regions within WA.

Some of the areas they have been involved in have been homestead restoration at Warriedar and Damperwah and track repairs and maintenance on the Captain Fawcett track and the Canning Stock Route.

On the Sunday,  day trips were organised by Geraldton 4WD Club for  members to go and see some of the sites of the Midwest. There was a trip to the beach area including Coronation Beach, Horrocks and Kalbarri. There was a non 4WD trip that visited the Chapman Valley Spybase, the Windfarm and Ellendale Pool. Another trip was to see the Morseby Ranges, Sydney Memorial lookout and the Greenough river mouth. All who attended loved their trips and learnt a lot which then helped them at the quiz night.

The WA 4WD Association and the affiliated 4WD clubs throughout Western Australia are all available for those who are interested in enjoying the outdoors whilst four wheel driving around the countryside. For those who would like to see what occurs you are more than welcome to attend a meeting or a trip which a club is running. This allows you to see what is involved in being a club member and meet the people in the club. Some of the benefits of being in a 4WD club include the 4WD insurance scheme, having other vehicles with you on trips, members with years of experience in 4WD and knowledge of the bush, tracks, fishing, camping, navigation and vehicle maintenance.

Trips can be something as simple as a drive along the beach, to something as challenging as a four week trek on the Canning Stock Route. Clubs also have weekend trips, overnighters or just a day run.  Visitors are welcome to attend any trip and depending on their experience, will be guided and advised on how to tackle any obstacles they may encounter en-route. Most of the clubs have web pages or Facebook pages that can be viewed to see old trip photos and reports as well as upcoming events and trips.