Category Archives: Other News

Great October Long Weekend for club members

The October Long weekend is always a big one for our club and this one was no exception – with three events happening. A group of members headed off to the Brindabella Ranges, whilst another enjoyed a weekend at Coolah Tops and a large group got together to celebrate “Oktoberfest” at our club lease – a great time was had by all!

 

 

Cells River Trip

Club Members had a great trip to the Cells River area on 19th August. Track conditions in the steep and interesting Cells River Valley were dry. We also took some time out to visit a number of gold-mining relics. The weather was cold and windy, making our Saturday night campfire even more inviting!

Xmas in July 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Club members had a great weekend in the Watagans, celebrating our annual Xmas in July. There were a number of day trips on Saturday, ranging from D grade to B grade and in the evening the usual massive campfire kept us toasty warm.   There were plenty of games and laughs during the evening and many camp ovens in the cooking pit.  The event raised $977 for Prostate Cancer Research.

Central Coast Four Wheel Drive Club makes much needed donation to Dungog RFS

The Central Coast Four Wheel Drive Club’s recent donation of a  professional Blower Vac worth $1000  to the Dungog Rural Fire Service was received enthusiastically by the “firies”

Up until now, they have had to rake firebreaks by hand, a hot and exhausting job around a fire ground. The new blower vac will will also be used to assist in back-burns.

Our club has a long association with the Dungog district and always tries to give to the community, whether it be by helping farmers to repair fences after a flood,  shopping locally or attending local events.

To read the full article in the “Dungog Chronicle”, click the link below:

Central Coast group’s generous donation to Dungog RFS

 

CC4WDC Pink Ribbon Chicks 2017 Calendar – Success Story by Monica Porteous

“Life’s Like That” is the title of a regular feature article from ‘The Dalesman’, a monthly publication about life in the Yorkshire Dales in England that my dad subscribed to years ago.  The article would tell a story about people’s experiences with the stuff that life throws at you from time to time, and how there is always something unexpected and good that comes out of what initially appears to be a bad situation.  For me, ‘life’s like that’ sums up how I feel about our story.

I’ve always loved the movie “Calendar Girls’ starring Helen Mirren; maybe it’s the Yorkshire Lass in me!  When a friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I was chatting to another friend about it at the 4WD Cub meeting; we wondered if we could do something amongst the girls in the club to boost morale and give support to our friend and maybe raise some funds too.  I jokingly mentioned the movie, and it turned that my friend had actually done a “Calendar Girls” style calendar a few years earlier.  This was mid October 2016.

Well, now its February 2017; I am still reeling and have not really quite digested the fact that “we did it” to quote an oft repeated phrase of “Miss March 2017”. We raised an amazing $10,843 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. A fantastic outcome and even better than that, our friend has finished almost a year of treatment, and the last scan was clear, which is the best news.

I don’t quite know ‘how’ we did it, really.  In a matter of weeks we had sourced a photographer, a printer, sponsorship, a location for our shoot, and enough girls willing to ‘get their kit off’ and be photographed in the bush for a good cause!  Our end product, a beautifully shot 4 Wheel Drive and camping themed black and white 15 month calendar was launched at our Club December meeting, and almost 50% of the stock was sold on the first night.  That totally blew us away!

The entire experience was amazing, a lot of hard work, but also extremely rewarding.  We have listened to so many people’s stories when selling our calendars at shopping centre and market stalls. We have raised an absolutely awesome amount of money, but best of all we have grown a little closer to people in our 4WD club that we didn’t necessarily know that well before.  Here’s a tip: for a great bonding experience, get naked with a bunch of people that you don’t know that well, outdoors and in front of a total stranger!  It also works wonders for your friendships, your confidence and self esteem.  Here is a quote from one of the ladies, and I think this sums it up for most of us:

“For me, the most surprising thing that has come out of it was how many people congratulated me and told me what a brave thing I had done! It was never about me but trying to support our friend and all the other women going through the battle. However, it has given me a little more confidence in myself which I guess is a bonus.”

 

Aussie Day on the Deua River

The recent Australia Day weekend trip to the Deua River and Bendethera Valley provided the  participants with an interesting mix of steep and winding tracks and great scenery.  The group camped for two nights by the old homestead site in the picturesque Bendethera Valley, travelling out for a day trip along the Mongamulla Track, which skirts the valley and includes some steep terrain and a number of Deua River crossings. The river was much lower than usual and presented no challenge.   Significant earlier storm damage was evident in a few places along the Deua River, but the tracks were in good condition.

On Saturday, the group travelled  the iconic Merricumbene Firetrail to Dry Creek and on to a great Youcamps site – Full Circle Farm, where a dip in the Buckenbowra River was very welcome on such a hot day.

The final day of the trip included a drive through Currowang State Forest before the group headed home via Braidwood.

 

 

A High Country Adventure

A total of 26 vehicles attend our recent high country trip over the Christmas/New Year break. The group base-camped at Talbotville campground, the site of an old gold mining settlement on the banks of the Crooked River.

There were many day and overnight trips from from the base camp, with the group tackling Billy Goats Bluff, Blue Rag Range, Murdering Spur, The Wonnangatta Valley, Sarah Spur, Water Spur, Zeka Spur, Collingwood track, Bulltown Spur and South Basalt, just to name a few!

There were some great happy hours and evenings around the fire and the group even enjoyed a Masquerade party for New Year’s Eve.

 

 

 

An exciting day in Ourimbah State Forest

The club’s Ourimbah State Forest Day trip was a day that offered plenty of excitement.   The crew consisted of some new and some older members who met at Palmdale on Saturday morning for a great drive in our local forest.

Some long and deep mud holes were the first challenge of the day, with all vehicles mastering this easily.

Many of the tracks were quite rutted and negotiating them required some road building, a lot of technical wheel placement and some expert guidance from some of  the experienced drivers.

Lunch was held in a picturesque spot with a great outlook but participants first had to conquer a number of rock steps to get there.

Old and new members all agreed that they’d had a great day out and were all looking forward to the next trip.

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ourimbah-bob-guiding

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Central Coast 4WD Club “Pink Ribbon Chicks” bare all to raise funds for Breast cancer research

The CC4WDC Pink Ribbon Chicks are conducting fundraising with a difference by selling a cheeky new calendar for 2017 to raise funds for breast cancer research. Featuring members of the group in a series of beautiful black and white photos, sales from the 15 month calendar will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

The concept for the CC4WDC Pink Ribbon Chicks calendar was initiated during one of the Club’s Ladies Days, during which only the women drive and participate in a day trip to the local State Forests/National Parks for a bit of Four wheel driving fun.  The ladies wanted to do something to support a close friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  Inspired by the movie “The Calendar Girls”, an idea was born to create a camping themed calendar as a fundraiser, and to have ‘a bit of a laugh’ for a good cause.  The photo shoot certainly put each of the girls well outside their comfort zone but was also great fun, and a fabulous, positive team building experience that they will always treasure.

“What these ladies are doing is amazingly brave and they fully deserve our support.  This is a very worthy cause and a great initiative for our club.  I personally will be purchasing a calendar and I encourage everybody to do the same.  The target of $10,000 is very achievable if we all get behind them and help” Craig Green, President, CC4WDC 

NBCF is the only national body that funds life-changing breast cancer research with money raised entirely by the Australian public. Breast cancer is the most common life-threatening cancer facing Australian women with eight women dying from the disease each day — mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends.  Although rare, it is important to remember that breast cancer affects men too.

Research is the most effective way to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of breast cancer. When NBCF started in 1994 the five year survival rate for breast cancer in Australia was 76%. Right now, this is 90%.    By funding only world-class research, NBCF is working towards a goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.

Moana Wood, General Manager, Fundraising and Development at NBCF congratulated the team at CC4WDC team for their originality and passion and encouraged Australians to purchase the new Pink Ribbon Chicks Calendar.

“Breast cancer is the most common life-threatening cancer facing Australian women today.  Research is the only way to stop people dying from this disease,” she said.

 

“Amazing and passionate supporters like the CC4WDC Pink Ribbon Chicks enable NBCF to further accelerate breast cancer research to achieve our ultimate goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030,” said Moana.

To purchase the new CCWDC Pink Ribbon Chicks Calendar, you can pick go to one of the outlets listed below

 

  • Recreational Car Accessories, Wyoming
  • The Edge 4WD, West Gosford
  • Brian Hilton Toyota, Wyoming
  • The Laneway Gift Shop, Budgewoi
  • Westpac, Tuggerah
  • Lisa’s Beauty Room, Umina Beach
  • Anytime Fitness, Woy Woy
  • Foodworks, Wyee
  • Wyong Bowling Club

 

 Or visit the CC4WDC Pink Ribbon Chicks ‘Community’ Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CC4WDCPINKRIBBONCHICKS2017/

Or e-mail: pinkchicks@tpg.com.au

About the National Breast Cancer Foundation

The National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) is the only national body that funds life-changing breast cancer research with money raised entirely by the Australian public. Breast cancer is the most common life-threatening cancer facing Australian women, with eight women dying from the disease each day — mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends.

Research is the only way to prevent deaths, and improve how breast cancer is diagnosed, managed and treated. By funding only world-class research, NBCF is working towards a goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.

In total, since 1994, NBCF has awarded more than $127 million to around 430 Australian-based research projects to improve the health and well-being of those affected by breast cancer. In 2016 NBCF has committed over $12 million to fund more than 30 research projects that will contribute towards the goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030. nbcf.org.au

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