Wish to spend your weekend driving countless trails and absorbing some forest ASMR? Collie ought to be excessive in your record. We despatched Cathy and her mates there with their mountain bikes to get down and soiled on the most important path community in Western Australia, the Wambenger Trails, and to get pleasure from Collie, a city that’s making huge strikes.
We Are Explorers acknowledges that this journey is positioned on the normal Nation of the Wiilman and Kaneang peoples, who’ve occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for hundreds of years. We pay our respects to them because the Conventional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was by no means ceded.
Fast Overview
Positioned a straightforward two hour drive from Perth and solely 45 minutes from Bunbury, the 170km Wambenger Trails Mountain Bike community formally opened in October, firmly cementing Collie as an accredited WA Premier Path City.
There are six trailheads to select from, every providing one thing totally different to go well with totally different talents. Come for a day, come for every week, simply ensure you come and get amongst it.
Wambenger Mountain Bike Trails
There’s been some hype within the West. If you happen to’re not a MTBer or don’t stay within the space you may be forgiven for not getting caught up in it. For the remainder of us although, the anticipation has been rapidly constructing.
That’s proper, the totally accomplished Wambenger MTB Path community is lastly right here. The final stage formally opened in October this yr making it the most important community of mountain bike trails in Western Australia, boasting over 170km of path.
And it’s protected to say path builders Widespread Floor Trails, Magic Filth Trailworx, and Three Chillies Design have provide you with the products.
The Wambenger Trails are named after the Wambenger, a small marsupial with a black bushy tail discovered within the southwest forests of Western Australia.It’s a group of six trailheads positioned throughout the Collie and Wellington Nationwide Park neighborhood.
There are trails for all ranges of mountain bikers starting from inexperienced (simple) by means of to a double black (excessive). The community additionally caters for adaptive riders with appropriate trails from the Arklow and the Wellington Dam trailheads in addition to the Kylie Path.
If you happen to’re undecided what’s best for you, the Wambenger Trails App, Trails WA, and Trailforks app are helpful companions to seek out out the perfect trails to fit your ability degree.
The Transformation of Collie
The Collie River and surrounds have been a wealthy supply of water, meals and religious significance for the Wiilman and Kaneang folks of the Noongar Nation for a lot of hundreds of years. After the invention of coal in 1883, Collie was declared a townsite in 1896 and commenced supplying the state with coal for energy manufacturing.
This has continued to this present day however now, because the state’s useful resource wants are altering, so too is Collie.
Amongst a myriad of different initiatives, the state authorities’s $10 million funding to rework Collie right into a world-class path vacation spot implies that the ocean of excessive vis usually on show on the town is progressively being changed by Frankd, Fox, and Dharco threads.
Methods to Get to Collie
Collie and Wellington Dam are simply accessible from nearly anyplace within the southwest.
From Perth hit the freeway south till you get to Raymond Street and head inland.
You possibly can flip off on Wellington Dam Street to get the paths and campsites throughout the Wellington Dam Nationwide Park or proceed on to Collie, a brief 20-minute drive additional on.
The place To Keep Close to the Collie Trails
If you happen to wish to journey until you drop and simply roll right into a beer by the campfire you may’t go previous tenting at, our selection, Potters Gorge or the Honeymoon Pool campsites. Each are positioned in Wellington Nationwide Park and are fashionable with the locals and guests for his or her gorgeous, jarrah forest-fringed websites which might be a stone’s throw from the paths. Bookings may be made on the Discover Parks web site.
If you happen to want a heat bathe and a few nation city vibes, Collie has loads of lodging choices. Harris River Property has two-bedroom chalets, sleeping as much as seven, with the added bonus of getting considered one of Collie’s oldest trails, Ray’s Path, a brief journey over the dam away.
Within the coronary heart of city, the Federal Resort additionally presents rooms as does the not too long ago renovated Crown Resort. Contact the Collie Customer Centre for extra lodging choices (lots of them are bike pleasant!).
The place To Eat Close to the Collie Trails
We have been fairly impressed by the meals on provide in Collie. At lunch on the primary day, we discovered ourselves at The Kiosk on the Dam in Wellington Nationwide Park, a unusual, no fuss café serving a wide array of scrumptious meals, muffins and occasional in addition to native craft beer and wine.
Later that night, the Federal Resort handed the pub take a look at after serving up large and scrumptious rooster parmi for all.
Sunday morning didn’t disappoint as we tucked into mouth-watering breakfast bagels and the perfect espresso on the town at The Wagon, a preferred transformed practice carriage. Later that day Harris River Property welcomed us with a Farmhouse Platter and a collection of their finest wines.
We additionally heard murmurs in regards to the wholesome choices on provide at Tailor-made Grazing and the therapeutic properties of a Barn-Zee’s Burgers & Barista brekky, however alas, we solely had the weekend.
A Weekend Filled with Motion – Day 1
Want a motorbike?
E-bike rent is offered from Journey Connections on the Journey Hub at Wellington Dam, whereas mountain bike rent is offered from Crank’n Cycles in Collie’s city centre.
Honeymoon Pool Trailhead
We began the weekend with Honeymoon’s Over, a 5.6km blue rated path that meanders alongside the Collie River earlier than beginning the climb to the highest. Quite a few steep switchback corners examined our health, however this was all forgotten with a phenomenal Northern Jarrah forest backdrop, full with epic views down the Collie River Valley.
The climb earned us a brief break on the prime earlier than we made our descent down the ridiculously-fun, Money Out. Berms, ladder options, log rides, and doubles greeted us to begin, adopted by a extra technical and rockier path that ended with a rollercoaster of steep corners dipping up and down because the path traversed the gully.
We climbed once more to drop into Ship It, a black diamond path. Move is the go right here. Tight, tremendous enjoyable corners and tabletops damaged up with a rock backyard or two. Ship It, lives as much as its title.
Wellington Dam Trailhead
Subsequent cease, the Wellington Dam trails. After fueling up on the cute and quirky café, The Kiosk on the Dam, we began the light, picturesque climb up inexperienced path Huge Dipper on our strategy to Pipe ’n Scorching. It was a straightforward blue stream path up prime, as soon as it handed the powerlines factor began to warmth up.
Steep corners, berms and rocky sections challenged us earlier than being greeted by a view of the mega mural on the Wellington Dam wall on the path’s finish.
This took us to the highest with its switchback rock partitions and fairly moss-covered granite giving very Derby-esk vibes.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon hooting and hollering down blue path Dam It, a crowd favorite, and Black Glove, which is black by title black by nature, earlier than heading over to the paths that land at Potters Gorge campsite.
Scull and Elixir, the blue stream trails, have been on suggestion and didn’t disappoint and Van Dam Inexperienced delighted as a cruisy traversing path the place brakes have been optionally available.
Wagyl Biddi Trailhead
We’d heard there have been a number of brief trails within the coronary heart of Collie that have been value testing so earlier than we hit the pub for dinner, we took a fast spin. The Wagyl Biddi community has some enjoyable berms, techy rock sections, and even a wall journey for individuals who can get on it.
For essentially the most half although, Rocky Horror, Drop Lifeless Fred, and Marri Meander twist and wind by means of the bush bordered by the Collie River – offering an excellent little community for individuals who don’t wish to journey out of city for successful of trails.
Dip and Dinner
A dip on the gorgeous and surprisingly heat Minningup Pool was the right antidote to the gathering of dust and mud from the day’s journey and made us considerably respectable to hit the Feddie (Federal Resort) for dinner.
An excellent quaint nation pub rooster parmi and a beer later, we have been able to make our method again to the gorgeous forest-fringed Potters Gorge campsite, our house for the night time, for a fireplace and to regale one another with tales from the paths.
A Weekend Filled with Motion – Day 2
Kylie Trailhead
The Wagon in Collie, our breakfast vacation spot, served up mouth-watering breakfast bagels, clean espresso, and smiles. Sufficiently fuelled, we started day two on maybe essentially the most lovely of all the paths, the Kylie Path.
Beginning at Minningup Pool, the Kylie Path is a 10km cross nation delight that follows the Collie River west by means of the Westralia Conservation Park passing the scenic Djinang Koorliny Lookout and Kaniyang Wiilman Bridge.
It winds and twists, up and down the contours of the valley by means of spectacular bush, affected by wildflowers in spring, till ending at first of the sealed Karak Path, named after the Noongar phrase for the forest red-tailed black cockatoo. This path takes you again to city and to Minningup Pool, by way of the Collie River Path.
Arklow Trailhead
The final trailhead we wished to tick off the record was the Arklow Trails, a few of the first trails within the space. Beginning with Ray’s Path, we couldn’t assist however smile as we made our method alongside the 7km blue path over some old style options together with log rolls, drops and tight rocky sections, reminding us of a time earlier than machine-built trails have been a factor.
Subsequent, we headed throughout the street on the hunt for one more 7km blue path, Far Lap, and its soar line, ladders, log rides and drops. 220 Path warmed us up on the way in which and the Arklow Adaptive Path supplied an ideal quiet down on the way in which again to the automobile. We ran out of steam to suit any extra in however good additions listed below are Bull Ant, Pet Cemetery, and Lifeless Cat Path.
Wildflower Stroll
We rode in spring, a magical time within the south-west when the bush bursts to life. Wildflowers abound, we didn’t wish to go up the chance of a Wildflower Stroll with Forest Explorers.
After visiting Harris River Property – a labour of affection hand-built by the house owners Karl and Julie Hillier – for some tasty farmhouse meals and a fast pattern of their very quaffable wines, we met the beautiful Alison on the Collie Customer’s Centre for the Forest Explorers tour.
She took us out to a particular place within the bush the place the flowers have been in full bloom. A blanket of Kennedia coccinea or Coral Vine for the layperson and a smattering of Purple Hovea welcomed us. We additionally noticed the odd Donkey Orchid whereas Alison defined a few of the wealthy historical past of the realm.
It was the right finish to an excellent weekend.
Scorching tip: Go to Bunbury Geographe’s web site for much more concepts about what to see and do!
Collie, lengthy synonymous with coal, shocked us all. It’s a city on the transfer and we will’t wait to see the way it continues to rework. Come for a day, come for every week, you received’t be disenchanted.
