WOMEN IN 4W DRIVING BY CHRIS MORTON
Jo Clews
Jo Clews is one of those people you immediately fall in love with. No, not like that. She is warm and welcoming and extremely down to earth. She has been a popular figure in the outdoor industry for more than a decade and, dare I say it, she is the type of influencer that our society needs instead of the endless disappointment that is currently on offer.
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first met Jo when we were introduced to the core of magazine contributors back in 2019. From family adventures on her property to having camp oven delights delivered to us during the 4WD show, Jo has made an indelible mark on our family and she is an extremely important part of the Western 4W Driver family. Jo’s love of cooking dates to being a 4-yearold, making fairy cakes in her grandmother’s kitchen in Mount Hawthorn. She had her own small box that she could stand on, allowing her to reach the countertop. She fondly recalls the smells and the warmth of that kitchen and the joy she felt learning to cook with her grandmother. She has always been a lover of the outdoors and you could say that it was fate that she would make her mark in the outdoor industry. She started writing for Western 4W Driver in 2000, after she
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and her partner Ken had been away on a Track Care project with Nick Underwood. Reading a subsequent trip report, she commented to Ken that it didn’t reflect the participant’s enjoyment, or the sense of accomplishment experienced by all. Jo started to assist Nick with some of his Campfire Escape’s tours when they ventured south to Nannup. Ken and Jo had a small café at the time, and they would meet the tours after the café closed with dessert for the participants. In 2002, they participated in a Variety 4WD Adventure, getting rained in near Bidyadanga. While everyone else opted to, “take their vehicles and damage them in the mud”, Jo went exploring. Finding a couple of camp ovens, she managed to get some ingredients from the station and had a go at making some damper. The damper was a hit and subsequently, she was asked to assist with the catering on the next four 4WD adventures. It was during one of these trips, while cooking at Israelite Bay that she met Russell Booth from ARB. Russell was very good friends with Peter Woods, owner of the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show. Peter was looking for someone who could talk to a crowd and who could cook. Jo ticked both of those boxes. Getting thrown in the deep end, Jo was asked to cook with camp ovens for her
