Tori Wilson

Editor

The editor and head of content at Vanguard Publishing, Tori has a background in journalism and brings her eye for detail and good content to Western 4W Driver Magazine. A lover of a good yarn and addicted to exploring diverse destinations, Tori has a great appreciation for the unique beauty found from top to bottom of the massive state she calls home, and a desire to share it with as many people as possible. It’s her role to curate the rich storytelling found in the magazine.

Natalie Du Preez

Sales

As the Sales Director of Vanguard Publishing since 2015, Natalie knows how to deliver valuable advertising solutions for brands and brings her dynamic skillset to Western 4W Driver, with a long string of happy clients to attest to her capabilities. Natalie’s clear vision and understanding of Western Australia’s destinations and tourism space makes her the ideal match for meeting the unique needs of tourism, travel and adventure brands looking to bolster their presence and growth.

 

Karen Morton

Graphic Designer

With 30 years of experience in graphic design, Karen worked in the printing industry for 13 years prior to becoming a mum and brings a wealth of experience to the magazine. Along with Chris and their daughters, she loves getting away and exploring our beautiful country in their 4WD. When she is not working on the mag she can usually be found painting an amazing watercolour.

Jo Clews

Author and Camp Oven Cook

Earth mother and cook extraordinaire, Jo can turn a can of beans in a gastronomic tour-de-force and she loves nothing better that doing it at her campsite, a long way from the comforts of home.  Jo has published a Camp Oven Cookbook and regularly attends 4WD and outdoor events around the state, wowing her audiences with how easy camp oven cooking can be. When she is not on the road, you can find Jo at home on her picturesque station, Melangata (pronounced Mel-an-gata) where she offers visitors the opportunity to experience an authentic station stay holiday.

John Bormolini

The Fish Whisperer

This man knows where all the fish hang out and how to best wrangle them onto your plate.  Best of all, most of the fish live somewhere at the end of a 4WD track.  John has been writing for Western 4W Driver for years and is also a contributor to our mates over at Western Angler Magazine.  Dip a line with JB.

Phil Bianchi (OAM)

Historian and Author

Dedicated bush history buff and remote desert traveller, Phil prefers trackless desert country to dirt roads.  With his famous funny bone and thirst for experience, he’ll inspire you to take the path less travelled.  Phil has written or worked on multiple local history book titles, which are available through Hesparian Press.

Phil was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM) for services to local history.

Grant and Linda Hanan

Urban Escape Adventurers

When Grant and Linda traded in successful corporate jobs in 2010 to do their first big lap, little did they know their travel adventures would become a new way of life. Having combined backgrounds in project and business management, engineering, human resources, and training, they adapted to the travelling lifestyle with ease. With so many stories to tell from that initial trip, Grant and Linda were approached soon afterwards to contribute to a range of lifestyle magazines. Alongside their freelance writing efforts, they started My Aussie Travel Guide in 2014 as another avenue to share their extensive and diverse travelling experiences with others They’ve also produced a travel guide on one of their favourite Aussie locations, the Kimberley’s Gibb River Road. It’s a unique guide that’s the first of its kind as it’s audio based. Grant and Linda consider every day is a learning experience and always ready to hit the tracks, test their skills and products to their limits, whilst living the experience and sharing the story. If you ever come across this pair of perpetual explorers, Linda will probably have a camera in hand, and Grant will be playing around with some latest travel gadget. Be sure to say hi, as they’ll only be too happy to share a yarn or two with you.

Shane Watts

"The Sharkcaver"

Shane loves nothing more than getting off the beaten track and racking up nights in his swag.  He is a passionate geo-cacher (if you are not familiar with this, think of it as a world-wide treasure hunt where people secrete “caches” somewhere and leave GPS co-ordinates and clues as to how to find them) and has amassed an incredible number of kilometres under the tyres of his trusty 4WD in his ongoing quest. He loves to document some of his adventures on YouTube with “Shane’s Shitty Tag-a-long Tours” having an almost “Russell Coight” feel to them.

Colin Kerr

The well travelled traveller

After a 30 year career in administration and management with one of Australia’s large life insurance/superannuation companies (which involved several interstate transfers), Colin these days is retired, living in the Peel Region south of Perth, with his wife Prue.  Their two adult children and their families also reside in the area.

Both Colin and Prue have always had a love of travel, extensively in WA but also through many other parts of Australia.  This, combined with a keen long-time interest in photography (Colin has qualified as an Associate of the Australian Photographic Society – AAPS), has led to an ongoing involvement in travel photography and photojournalism, including writing stories for Western 4WDriver Magazine, for over 20 years.

Always keen to get away from major towns and cities, this wandering couple (sometimes travelling with others but mostly alone) love the Aussie outback – the further out, the better.  Always carrying plenty of recovery gear (and knowing how to use it), as well as emergency communication (Sat Phone, EPIRB, PLB), they enjoy researching and finding different places and different experiences along the ways.

Their means of transport over the years has included a Landcruiser Troopy, a 4WD Mitsubishi Canter Campervan (written up in Western 4WDriver), and for the past 10 years a Landcruiser 200GX towing an 18 ft Trakmaster custom built off-road caravan.

Whilst still enjoying good health and other things going well, Colin & Prue plan to continue their Aussie travel lifestyle for quite a few years ahead

Ron Moon

Professional Travel Writer

Ron has spent much of his life exploring and writing about the more remote places around Australia.  Travelling with wife Viv, he manages to weave his many hobbies and interests into his stories, making them appealing to a wider audience.  Ron was the editor of another 4WD magazine based on the east coast and has also contributed or written 13 books on outback Australia for Lonely Planet, HEMA Maps and other publishers.

Nick Underwood

Our Founding Father

Nick started this rag back in 1989 and only handed over the reins in 2019.  He still likes to keep an eye on things and contributes when his social calendar allows.

Karl Fehlauer

The bloke with the camera

How do we describe Karl?  Karl is a bloke who would give you the shirt off his own back and is as genuine as they come.  A 20+ year Army veteran, he enjoys the simpler things in life.  He is a regular columnist and loves to share his passion of photography and his wicked sense of humour regularly manifests itself on Facebook.

Geoff Lewis

Seriously Series

There isn’t much Geoff doesn’t know about LandRovers, which is a great thing because he has made a part time YouTube career creating video content about the trials and tribulations of his collection.  Based in the WA Goldfields, Geoff spends a lot of time exploring and working in the region and has built up a huge mechanical, geographical and historical knowledge base.

Dick Stein

Uncle Dick

Although not a 4WD enthusiast, we love Uncle Dick’s company due to his infectious want to share his passion for photography.  There isn’t much he doesn’t know about a camera and what he has forgotten is probably not worth knowing.

Bob Cooper

Survival Expert

Bob has lived and breathed bush survival for almost his entire working career.  Learning his craft from expert bushman, including the late Peter Bindon, Bob has made a career teaching those that want to learn, how to survive in the wilderness.  He is also an expert snake handler and his training courses are conducted around the state.

Mandy Farabegoli

Travel Australia with Kids

Mandy is our resident expert when it comes to, well, travelling around Australia with kids.  She founded TAWK after undertaking a BIG LAP with her young family and ended up writing about it.