WA4WD

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WA4WD (Western Australian 4 Wheel Drive) is a web site dedicated to 4WD tracks and activities in WA. It is a private site and you undertake any activity here at your own risk. The aim is to give 4WD enthusiasts some information pertinent to their hobby. 

Over five years ago, I started to provide a 4WD web site from Norseman. It was a lot of fun and there is some terrific scenery down there, I really love it. I would say it is probably some of the best 4WDriving you can do, not so much for the difficulty, but for the scenery and history. And there are camping places everywhere.

Now I am back in the Pilbara. I will continue to add more information and tracks as I can. I have decided to present information gathered from the wonderful Shire of Dundas along with other 4WD information in these pages. I still believe that the area around Norseman is one of the most interesting and exciting 4WDriving you will every under take. If I had to pick a place I love, Norseman would be it.

It is hoped that 4WDrivers will be responsible and respect the bush and allow us to practice what we enjoy well into the future. We are all responsible for our actions and it is up to everyone to play the game properly.

To all 4WDrivers: remember as trite as this sounds, people judge all of us on your actions. Make sure something you do is not the catalyst for more restrictions. Be responsible, so we can continue to enjoy this great past time.

WA4WD includes pages and information on Frank Hann, Lonely Graves in the bush, maps (well actually Mudmaps), information for people tavelling the bush, how to shit in the bush and other tasty bits, plus many photos taken around the country side. Have fun.

Shire of Dundas

The best route in my opinion is via the "Hyden Road". The Hyden Road is a well-formed and maintained gravel road between Hyden and Norseman. Road trains operate between Emily Ann mine near Lake Johnston and Norseman. You should  travel with headlights on and pull well over before a roadtrain. Under no circumstances should you attempt to overtake a roadtrain in the dust. Use UHF CB channel 40. There are usually only 4 roadtrains a day, so the chances of coming across one are slim, but please exercise great care.

The easiest route to Hyden is from Kelmscott to Brookton and through to Hyden. There are not many (if any) late night fuel opportunities so check your fuel status. Between Hyden and Norseman there are a few really good camp sites, but no other facilities, and there is no mobile phone coverage...you really are in the bush here!

The Pilbara

This area is best seen in the cooler winter months. It has a harsh beauty that is unlike anything you have ever experienced before. If you travel here in the summer, make sure you are WELL prepared. People have died here in recent years from thirst (Believe it or not). You also must take care with rain as creeks or rivers may rapidly rise from run off that may be from a storm 100km away. And we all make mistakes, just at the beginning of the 2009 wet season we visited Weeli Wolli Creek and chose a beaut camp spot near the water (which is present due to dewatering of an iron ore mine). Just at dusk it started to rain for about an hour then some time during the night we were woken by other campers calling out a warning about rising water.  Sure enough the water had risen almost a metre, cutting off the route we had come in and starting to reach our table and chairs. We hurriedly but calmly packed all our gear after working out an escape plan, and waited as we watched the water slowly recede. This was the start of the wet, you can imagine if we had been a bit later in the year.

Then there are cyclones, treat them with excessive respect, they still kill people too, as we found out with Cyclone George early in 2007.

But the wet season also has the most water in creeks and gorges too, and it is a terrifyingly beautiful place!

The South

My job has brought me back to the city. This isn't going to stop the adventure, but what we do will be different. The Pilbara is an exciting 4WD place, but requires a lot of planning even for simple trips to ensure safety. It is a sweet change to be able to have regular fuel stops, be able to buy what you when you want and just down the street.

We will be adding new treks to our pages and hopefully some of these will be much more accessible from Perth.

Watch as we build our Nissan

Check out our 4WD. This always seems to be an ongoing project and as much as I would like to say it is exactly as we would like it, there are still changes being made. 


Other Stuff

We are keen 4WDrivers and also support and/or belong to the following organisations:

Western 4WDriver Magazine (simply the best 4WD magazine in this country)

Track Care WA

VKS737 Australian National 4WD Radio Network (Our callsign is 2108)


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