Off the beaten tracks

Affectionately dubbed the 'Four Wheel Drive Guy" by Braidwood locals, Peter Kneen enjoys nothing more than exploring the roads and trails of the south-eastern forests and national parks. Recently Peter has turned this interest into a business, founding 4WDTrips, based in Braidwood.

4WDTrips offers trips for passengers and tag-along vehicles. Tours are half day or full day and travel to places such as the Monga and the Deua National Parks, the Tallaganda State Forest, the Gourock Ranges and the "Coast via the Bush". There is even a "Local Villages Circuit" incorporating Reidsdale, Majors Creek and Mongarlowe. Most tours will run on weekends but mid week trips can also be arranged. Routes can be tailored to suit particular interests such as visiting historical sites in the region.

Tag-along trips involve using your own vehicle and being part of a small convoy following Peter's fully equipped lead vehicle. For those who have rarely or never taken their 4 wheel drive vehicle off-road, there are easy grade tag-along trips and this is a great introduction to 4 wheel driving. Easy grade trips cater to novice 4 wheel drivers and all wheel drive soft-roaders with good clearance. Medium grade trips are available for intermediate drivers, while hard grade trips require experienced drivers and appropriately equipped vehicles to cope with the more difficult conditions.

Of course, if you don't feel like driving at all but still wish to explore the backroads and trails, Peter offers passenger trips in his Landrover Discovery or Defender.

Peter says, "4WDTrips is targeted at visitors from Canberra, Sydney and further afield but I also hope that locals who would like to explore some of the less travelled parts of the region will wish to participate as well."

Peter has substantial experience in four wheel driving. He has crossed the Simpson Desert in both directions and driven in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Since discovering the beauties of the Braidwood region five years ago, Peter has travelled extensively along its tracks and trails and researched the history of many of the historic routes. "I am hoping to run longer trips of up to four days in the future", says Peter.

Tracey Lamont joined Peter Kneen recently for a quick taste of some easy 4WD trails just on Braidwood's door step. Tracey is the Project Manager for the Kings Highway to Discovery project and 4WD Trips has agreed to be a gold sponsor.

For more information about the trips, go to 4WDTrips.com.au. Peter can be contacted at info@4wdtrips.com.au or 0428 414 093.

Peter Kneen at Monga Forest.