Epic new 4000km 4WD track opens up Great Southern, Goldfields, Wheatbelt, Mid West

An epic 4200km cross-State off-road track connecting the Goldfields, Mid West, Wheatbelt and Great Southern dreamt up over beers around a camp fire will be unveiled at the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show in November.

WA 4WD Association opened a “living” Mundaring to Albany track at last year’s event, and will this year announce completion of a 3500km extension from Albany to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, on to Mingenew and Mount Magnet, and back to Mundaring.

Living tracks operate by following GPS waypoints rather than a specific route. They are designed to allow for changes to track conditions such as road closures and environmental factors.

Eastern Goldfields 4WD Club president Ben Broeder said increased four-wheel-drive tourism was a potential boon for regional towns.

“They will be buying fuel, supplies, making repairs and servicing to their vehicles, so there is quite a wide segment of the community that can potentially reap some benefits from an increase in these travellers,” he said.

“It will also help fight down some of the misconceptions of the region.

People think it is a big open desert with not much to see or do, particularly in the 4WDing side of things, but once they come and drive some of these tracks, they will discover the playground that we have here

Mr Broeder said 4WD tracks brought people to regions they may not otherwise visit.

The first section of the MundAl track between Perth and Albany was designed to pass through several less-frequented communities between Perth and the Great Southernto increase visitation to those areas.

The extension between Albany, Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Mid West has been mapped out using the same philosophy.

Track surveyor Mark Skeels said he wanted to get people exploring inland WA as the coast had been “done to death”.

“This will take you places people would not necessarily dream of, think of or hear about going,” he said.

A helluva lot of people have not seen what is around your area, and I think it is worth seeing

“It is a 4000km touring route that, whilst in parts will be challenging, it is where it takes you to that will provide you with adventures and challenges.

“You are looking at six weeks to do it nicely.”

Mr Skeels said inquiries had been made from overseas and interstate about tackling the track.

Waypoints for the Mundaring to Albany leg are already on 4WDWA’s website.

Waypoints for the extension will be added when the route is officially launched at the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show on the second weekend of November.

The track is mostly made up of unsealed roads, some bitumen, station tracks and existing drives such as the Holland track.