4WD: Choose an adventure

_IF YOU _are not one of the lucky ones who've already headed off for a family getaway over the Easter break, don't despair. With the weather forecast indicating fine conditions across the weekend, there's still plenty to do and see if you only have a couple of days or even only one day to spend in your four-wheel-drive exploring beyond the city limits.

So what to do and where to go?

Take the guesswork out of planning a well-organised trip to some interesting and popular local destinations by consulting Westate Publishers.

For many years, it has been producing and updating a popular, handy glove-box size reference manual for four-wheel-drivers and soft roaders called Days Out of Perth, listing no fewer than 14 detailed, interesting options for daytrips within easy reach of Perth.

Now in its fourth edition, this version contains updates on existing trips, plus a new recommendation for those interested in covering the unique wandoo belt towards York.

Catering for a broad range of driver skills and the increasingly popular soft-roader SUV segment, there's the option of joining one or more trips together for a longer outing to take in the stars and enjoy one or two nights of camping.

To inspire you to visit a location there are plenty of colour photographs. To help you stay on track, each trip description provides a complete list of GPS waypoints, cross-referenced with key odometer readings and a description of the likely track conditions.

And to make sure you get the most out of each adventure there's plenty of background information and historical anecdotes relevant to each area.

The publisher has thoughtfully included helpful suggestions on recovery gear to pack and driving tips to help you along the way.

The book also supports good camping practices and habits to promote respect and protection of the environment, such as reminding us to always take our personal rubbish home and maybe even collect a bit more to leave the scene cleaner than you found it.

You can choose from trips that head as far north as Cervantes or south to coast north of Bunbury. Destinations include Guilderton, the Avon Valley, Avondale and Boyangin Rock in wandoo country, or south from Lane Pool on the Murray River, to Harvey, Collie and Yarloop.

With so much of interest, you'll need to allow time to take in the sights, with perhaps a spot of fishing on the coast, bushwalking around dams or sharpening your photographic skills with inspirational backdrops.

Even better, perhaps you can take a couple of days to relax in a cosy camp site and idle a weekend away.