Getting dirty all part of the fun

Living in the Pilbara and exploring its great vastness often means getting red dirt everywhere, including your four-wheel-drive.

For the more than 40 members of the Red Dog 4WD Club, getting a little bit dirty is all part of the fun.

The club is made up of an adventurous group of four-wheel drivers, camping enthusiasts and lovers of the outdoors who enjoy exploring the region.

President Gary Vincent said the club was involved in a broad range of activities that included trips out to secret locations, camping and environmental volunteer work.

Recently, club members made their way into the Millstream Chichester National Park to help weed a pond clogged up with a nuisance fern.

Mr Vincent said members waded into the deep water and pulled out the weed by hand.

"We had to get in these little creeks that were probably only a metre wide and pull the fern out because it's basically taken over the place," he said.

"We couldn't even see the water when we first got there.

"So we ripped a whole lot of that fern out to keep the place nice and clean."

Mr Vincent said other volunteer work the club took on involved working with the Department of Parks and Wildlife to help implement a grading system for roads in the national park. "We're involved with track care," he said.

"In the national parks they've set up this new system where they want to try and grade the (four-wheel-drive) tracks to a level of experience."

Mr Vincent said the roads would be graded depending on their level of difficulty and how experienced and prepared the user was.

Experience is something all members of the club gain, learning from each other and special guests when they meet at the Karratha RSL club the first Wednesday of the month. They discuss upcoming trips and hold training sessions like tyre puncture repair and vehicle maintenance.

Mr Vincent encouraged anyone interested in joining the club or just learning what they do, to come down to their meetings.

This year the club will also be involved in the Red Dog Festival.

For more information visit the club facebook page on www.facebook.com/groups/reddog4wd .