4WD Venture – Friday 16 to Saturday 17 November, 2007

The inaugural NRMA CareFlight 4WD Venture got underway on Friday 16th November, and what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality!

Twelve crews assembled at the hangar for a hearty breakfast of egg and bacon rolls to give them the strength to battle the peak hour traffic from Westmead to Castle Hill. Within an hour of the start the 4WDs were crossing the Colo River and heading towards Putty.

When the teams arrived at the charming Putty Community Hall, the Putty Community Association had prepared the quintessential country meal of succulent steaks, sizzling sausages and scrumptious salads. After lunch there was a relaxed game of toss the coin at the bottle - in this case a Darwin Stubby. Thanks to Tony and Rebecca Kavich who ran this and subsequent fun stops, raising money for NRMA CareFlight while providing some light entertainment for everyone including the locals.

The afternoon offered the most serious 4WD driving experience of the event using the Commissioner Road through the Wollemi National Park. This road, in part a neglected rain rutted track, provided the best opportunity for the more novice drivers to gain some tougher 4WD experience and everybody was up to the challenge.

NRMA CareFlight Director Norm Hilton and co-driver Michael Milward piloted Michael’s ML Mercedes, Car 9, up a steep, rough section of the track and what the ML lacked in ground clearance it made up for with an automatic gearbox which Michael used to good effect.

By comparison, Gary Humphries in Car 3 – the big yellow Hummer H2 - seemed totally oblivious to the trials and tribulations of lesser mortals in more mundane carriages as the Hummer glided over all the rougher sections. The Hummer was a huge hit in Denman with locals trying to figure out how to catch a ride. Gary said that he and his two sons Cory and Josh had a ball and would be back for the next event.

Before arriving at Denman we had an afternoon tea stop on a property owned by the Barry Family who, in Car 6, were particpants in the Venture. Allen Barry, his wife Vivian and their daughter Tiegan hosted a relaxing end of the day gathering on their cattle property ‘Apple Tree’. The farm manager Dallas and neighbours joined the party and provided billy tea and scones in the shade of a eucalyptus grove.

At the overnight stop of land-locked Denman it was time for an evening meal and a beach party. The publican of the Denman Hotel had shipped in two tonnes of sand, some palm trees and a blow-up swimming pool to the hotel courtyard. Here the band set up and entertained over two hundred locals who had come to celebrate the arrival of the NRMA CareFlight 4WD event.

The hotel staff got in to the swing of the night by dressing in costume, the band played long and loud and the beer and wine flowed. The night ended up much as expected and there were lots of sore heads in the morning - mainly with the locals, who partied through the night.

A very successful raffle was conducted in the hotel with the Venturers and locals chipping in over $750 for NRMA CareFlight.

Saturday was a glorious, sunny day. After breakfast it was an all bitumen drive to Fighter World at Williamtown RAAF Base for morning tea and a museum tour before heading to Stockton Beach.

David ‘Scruffy’ Gallagher was the tour guide on Stockton Beach, and he imparted his extensive knowledge of the history, flora and fauna of Stockton Beach to a very appreciative group of Venturers. The drive along Stockton Beach to Anna Bay included a visit to the wreck of the Sygna and to Tin City.

Many of the participants indicated they would be re-visiting the beach with friends and family.

At Shoal Bay the entrants sat down to a final meal together before Event Director Peter Longhurst handed out the certificates of appreciation to all those taking part and presented the highest fund raising trophy to Kevin O’Donnell, a long time supporter of NRMA CareFlight.

According to all those who took part, the inaugural 4WD Venture was very successful and enjoyable.