Four Wheel Driving
There are some amazing 4WD tracks around WA to discover. Where you go depends on how confident you are in your 4WD’s abilities, the distance, your driving skills and the state of the tracks.
There are some great trainers that can help you scrub up your 4WD skills so you know how to deal with those tricky situations (and when you’re out on the track in the middle of nowhere facing a massive challenge it’s best you know how to deal with it!)
4WD COURSES
* Global Gypsies 4WD Tours & 4WD Training call 9341 6727
* Eureka 4WD Training call 9461 2300
* Saferight Belmont call 9334 1000
* Adventure Offroad Training call 9478 1147
* Ultimate 4WD Training call 9402 1509
* Premium SUV Offroad Training call 0424 723 558
* Western Wilderness 4WD & Survival Training call 0418 787 551
* Western 4WD call 0411 885 052
* Kimberley 4 x 4 Tours call Ben 0400 754 481
Taking on the Tracks
If you’ve got the confidence to take on the tracks by yourself or with a convoy then here are just some great tracks for you to check out.
Tracks near Perth
MUNDARING POWERLINES TRACK 39km (47 minutes) East of Perth
A popular, unforgiving track starting just out of Mundaring. It has pretty much everything from rocks, ruts, mud, sand, dust and water. It’s fun all year round but you’ll need good tyres after the rains!
Heading South
DWELLINGUP Captain Fawcett Track, Nanga Brook 125km (1 ½ hours) South of Perth
This track starts on the corner of Nanga Rd and Dawn Rd, by Nanga Mill. It’s a scenic drive following the Murray River that is just over 100km through to Quindanning, however there are exit points along the way. This track can get closed depending on rainfall, generally between May to September, and track conditions.
DWELLINGUP Logue Brook to Harvey Dam 136km (1hr 30 minutes) South of Perth
This track is a great but challenging track, but also one to get lost on so make sure you have a good GPS. It has some great mud runs and hill climbs but also very difficult runs so best that you are a confident driver and have faith in your 4WD, with gear to get you out of tricky situations.
AUSTRALIND Belvidere Beach coastal side of Australind 155km (1hr 40 minutes) South of Perth
For beach 4WD’ing Tim’s Thicket and Preston Beach are popular beaches but are generally very busy. A less popular beach access spot further south is Belvidere Beach. You can generally (tides permitting) head north and drive the 8km beach stretch up to Binningup.
COLLIE Lennard Track, Wellington Park 190km (2hr 10 mins) South of Perth
A scenic drive in Wellington Park just out of Collie. The gate for Lennard Track is next to Honeymoon Pool campground. It is a fairly easy track with the exception of one hill climb near the end that can be quite slippery.
YALLINGUP 3 Bears Track 260km (2hrs 45 minutes) South West of Perth
Named 3 Bears as this popular, scenic track in Yallingup starts near Sugarloaf Rock, Dunsborough and ends at an awesome surf break known as 3 Bears. It takes about 2 hours to complete but allow extra time for stopping to take in the beautiful coastline views. It is predominantly sandy but watch out for limestone boulders.
BORANUP Bob’s Track 307km (3hrs 43 minutes) South of Perth
Bob’s Track in Boranup starts around 500m north of Bushby Rd, just off Caves Rd. Look out for the Leeuwin Naturaliste National park sign. The track takes you onto Boranup Beach, just north of Hamelin Bay with the track consisting of a combination of limestone and white soft sand.
PEMBERTON Yeagarup Dunes 30 minutes out of Pemberton (343km South of Perth)
Yeagarup is an awesome 4WD’ing experience. Drive through the karri forest and then straight on to some of the biggest sand dunes in Australia. It’s a 3 stage sand dune that is a really challenging climb up with 4WD’s. You’ll need low tyre pressure. Take 2 4WD’s as many people find themselves bogged!
ALBANY West Cape Howe (437km South East of Perth)
A fantastic 4WD track starts just above Shelley Beach, near West Cape Howe heading to the lookout. There are some difficult sections with rubber matting in place to assist as a majority of the tracks are soft sand so you’ll need low tyre pressure.
ALBANY Waychinicup National Park 464km (5 1/2 hours) South East of Perth
A fantastic track by Albany is around Waychinicup National Park. Starting at Cheynes Beach and moving around the national park.
BREMER BAY 480km (5 1/2 hours) South East of Perth
There are a number of 4WD tracks on either side of the stunning scenery of Bremer Bay. The tracks are predominantly sandy, but you can also hit some rock and mud depending on where and when.
ESPERANCE 665km (7 1/2 hours) South East of Perth
The Esperance 4WD Tracks West of Esperance are spectacular and a favourite of a lot of avid 4WDers in terms of tracks, challenges and scenery. Naturally you’ll check out Lucky Bay and Cape Le Grande, but also check out Thomas River and Duke of Orleans (90km’s East of Esperance). So many fantastic, stunning places and tracks to explore. For a really challenging track then Fisheries Road is for you. It’s a 65km track that takes around 2 hours but beware of the deep ruts, bog holes, salt lakes and clay. Quite a few vehicles have been bogged in the salt lakes, so stick to the track and bring a mate and their 4WD just in case.
North of Perth
LANCELIN Sand Dunes 126km (1 ½ hours) North of Perth
Lancelin Sand dunes are a popular recreational destination for sandboarding, dune buggies, motorbikes and 4WDing so take caution whilst you are there and be aware of what is on the other side of the dunes as there have been a few deaths and many rollovers over the years. These dunes are a fantastic way to test out your 4WD in the soft sand so make sure you let down your tyres to at least 18PSI.
Harvey Dam (143km- 1 ½ hour South of Perth)
CARNARVON Kingsford Smith Mail Run 892km’s (9 1/2 hours) from Perth
This track runs from Carnarvon to Meekatharra travelling mainly on gravel along an 800km stretch via Mt Augustus, the worlds biggest monolith. It should take between 3 to 5 days. The best time to take this trail is April to October to avoid wet season.
STEEP POINT Steep Point 871km (10 hours) North of Perth
A popular spot in the Shark Bay region so we’d recommend you book early. Expect variety in the track from gravel, to sand, corrugations and limestone. Explore the various tracks around to some scenic destinations and if you’ve got time, supplies (as there are very few facilities on the island) maybe ferry your 4WD over to tackle some tracks on Dirk Hartog Island.
TOM PRICE Mount Nameless 1,482km’s (15 3/4 hours) North of Perth
Take on one of WA’s highest 4WD tracks via an hour long gravel track. The best time to visit is between May to November.
DERBY Gibb River Road 2,401kms (25 hours) North East of Perth
A totally scenic, iconic Australian outback adventure. The track runs from Derby and stretches across around 680km’s of a mix of dirt, gravel, mud and river tracks ending in Kununurra. it is moderate difficulty but keep an eye out for freshwater crocodiles.
The best time to take on the Gibb River is between May to October as flood season is December to March and best to avoid this track then.
East of Perth
COOLGARDIE The Holland Way Track– Broomehill to Coolgardie (680km track)
John Holland forged this track in 1893 as a shortcut for miners travelling to Coolgardie in the Goldfields to Broomehill in WA’s SW. It is the longest cart road ever built, a 680km track (allow 3 days) with a 4WD only section that runs from Hyden to near Coolgardie. Recommended to avoid during the wet of the Winter due to the mud and the heat of Summer.
Here are a few great 4WD websites that recommend other tracks in WA for you to check out.
And social groups for keen 4WDers:
If you have a business or group that you would like us to put on our website please email events@outdoorswa.org.au
