Annual trek a big success

The colourful characters of the GWN Trek have celebrated the event’s 10th birthday by raising nearly $200,000 for the Kids Cancer Support Group.

Travelling more than 2000km,the fundraising adventurers entertained the children of the State’s more remote communities, leaving a trail of smiling faces in their wake.

Trek director Barry Ashbolt said it was particularly rewarding to see the joy that gifts most children took for granted could bring to those without them.

"We had a fantastic reception at the schools, particularly in Leonora where we had all the refugee kids come along," he said.

"We gave the kids at Leonora gifts of things that they didn’t have and really appreciated, like cricket sets."

Raising almost $3 million since its inception, money from this year’s Trek will go towards benefiting the health and welfare of WA children diagnosed with cancer and to support the siblings and parents of patients.

Challenged by remote gravel roads, experienced trekker and GWN weatherman Chris Mills praised the convoy’s support crew which toiled most nights in mobile workshops and enabled all starters to finish the trip.

"It is said that we take old two wheel-drive cars where four-wheel drives fear to go," Mr Mills said.

"The oldest car was a 1927 Chev and it showed us all up for reliability."