Mid West Caravan Club celebrates 20 years of hitting the road in their mobile homes

Waking up to the sounds of the Australian bush, lounging on a selection of the State’s best beaches and exploring some of the region’s most interesting regional towns — this is often the norm for members of the Midwest Caravan Club, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this month.

The club was formed by a group of local caravan enthusiasts in May 2001, with members hailing from Watheroo, Port Gregory and everywhere in between.

Each year the club organises around six “trekabouts” to locations like Dongara, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, Cue and Moora.

There are about 50 caravans in the club, with most members now retired and in possession of vehicles with showers, toilets and solar panels or generators.

A favourite activity among members is cooking damper over the campfire, with raffles and other activities also keeping the group busy during their trips.

Club president Jan Hardiman and husband John bought their first caravan in 1990, and love trekking across the Mid West with a group of like-minded people.

Mrs Hardiman said being part of the club encouraged people to get more use out of their caravans. “To begin with ... their caravan did one big trip, then was left in the shed, but once people join, they certainly start using it a lot more,” she said.

“I like going to the stations because if I wasn’t with the club I wouldn’t get to them.”

Mrs Hardiman said members spent the Anzac Day long weekend in Perenjori, where they helped locals with cyclone Seroja recovery efforts.

“We parked on the oval and our members did a big clean-up of fallen tree branches, just to help the town out,” she said.

Mr Hardiman said by trying out local restaurants, tourism experiences and shopping spots, club members were supporting small Mid West towns.

“That’s the idea of going to these places, to generate income for the locals,” he said.

While most club holidays are only for a weekend, Mr Hardiman said he and his wife also enjoyed exploring the country for months at a time.

“The idea is to not go too fast, too quickly, but to do it properly,” he said.

“Too many people initially used to try and cover all of Australia in six weeks and now they are relaxing more, spending more time and consequently seeing more of the countryside.”

Past and present members are invited to the club’s anniversary celebrations on May 15.