I spent Sunday Wheeling with the Eureka 4WD Training group up near Ellenbrook yesterday, and have heaps of great snaps so thought I'd share them!
We all met pretty early in the morning at the Ellenbrook shops, all up there were about 12 vehicles. Driving a Jeep Grand myself, I was expecting to be surrounded by 11 other Prado's - but to my surprise and joy, another 3 Jeeps came along and the other vehicles ranged from a Softy Landrover Discovery through to heavily modified Nissan Patrols with everything (and the Kitchen sink) on the back.
The Instructor's Patrol had been converted into the ultimate self sustaining camping vehicle I had ever seen. It had two Waeco Fridges, sinks, tools, a double bed, food storage, spare parts and a mobile worksop - all built into the back of the tray. It was named "Shortcut" - and I can believe that it would go absolutely anywhere. It put the rest of us "City 4WD'ers" to shame with our shiny and scratch free vehicles
The goal of the day was to train everyone in recovery and basic 4WDing - giving confidence to use the vehicles like they are meant to be used. The trainer's from Eureka we're great - and the weather was perfect, and we all managed to get some great wheeling in through the day. I only got bogged once myself (I know, I let the Jeep team down)!
At lunch we setup a quick camp area under the shade of some trees. Being warned about the possibility of ticks, most of us pulled out our camping chairs and kept our legs off the ground as much as possible. The trainers told us some gruesome horror stories about 4WD'ing gone bad while we ate and rested before hitting the final part of the day - Recovery!
We we're taught how to safely use recovery gear, snatch and tow straps, where the rated recovery points were (or weren't in many cases) and how to dig ourselves out of any sand trap.
By the end of the day we felt like we we're all ready to take on the wild Australian bush. If anyone has ever considered doing a 4WD course, I highly recommend it and the boys from Eureka put on a great day for us.