Need to spend your weekend driving infinite trails and absorbing some forest ASMR? Collie needs 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 situated on the standard Nation of the Wiilman and Kaneang peoples, who’ve occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for 1000’s of years. We pay our respects to them because the Conventional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was by no means ceded.
Fast Overview
Situated a simple 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 be sure to come and get amongst it.
Wambenger Mountain Bike Trails
There’s been some hype within the West. In the event you’re not a MTBer or don’t dwell within the space you could be forgiven for not getting caught up in it. For the remainder of us although, the anticipation has been shortly constructing.
That’s proper, the absolutely 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 Frequent Floor Trails, Magic Filth Trailworx, and Three Chillies Design have give you 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 situated throughout the Collie and Wellington Nationwide Park neighborhood.
There are trails for all ranges of mountain bikers starting from inexperienced (straightforward) via 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.
In the event you’re unsure what’s best for you, the Wambenger Trails App, Trails WA, and Trailforks app are helpful companions to seek out out the very best trails to fit your ability stage.
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 individuals of the Noongar Nation for a lot of 1000’s 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 signifies that the ocean of excessive vis usually on show on the town is regularly being changed by Frankd, Fox, and Dharco threads.
Learn how to Get to Collie
Collie and Wellington Dam are simply accessible from nearly wherever within the southwest.
From Perth hit the freeway south till you get to Raymond Street and head inland.
You may 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
In the event you prefer to trip until you drop and simply roll right into a beer by the campfire you’ll be able to’t go previous tenting at, our selection, Potters Gorge or the Honeymoon Pool campsites. Each are situated in Wellington Nationwide Park and are fashionable with the locals and guests for his or her beautiful, jarrah forest-fringed websites which might be a stone’s throw from the paths. Bookings could be made on the Discover Parks web site.
In the event you favor 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 one in every of Collie’s oldest trails, Ray’s Path, a brief trip over the dam away.
Within the coronary heart of city, the Federal Resort additionally gives rooms as does the lately renovated Crown Resort. Contact the Collie Customer Centre for extra lodging choices (a lot of them are bike pleasant!).
The place To Eat Close to the Collie Trails
We have been fairly impressed by the meals on supply 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 low in addition to native craft beer and wine.
Later that night, the Federal Resort handed the pub take a look at after serving up enormous and scrumptious hen parmi for all.
Sunday morning didn’t disappoint as we tucked into mouth-watering breakfast bagels and the very best espresso on the town at The Wagon, a well-liked transformed prepare carriage. Later that day Harris River Property welcomed us with a Farmhouse Platter and a choice of their finest wines.
We additionally heard murmurs concerning the wholesome choices on supply 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 Stuffed with Motion – Day 1
Want a motorcycle?
E-bike rent is accessible from Journey Connections on the Journey Hub at Wellington Dam, whereas mountain bike rent is accessible 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 good looking Northern Jarrah forest backdrop, full with epic views down the Collie River Valley.
The climb earned us a brief break on the high earlier than we made our descent down the ridiculously-fun, Money Out. Berms, ladder options, log rides, and doubles greeted us to start out, 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. Circulation 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 identify.
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 mild, picturesque climb up inexperienced path Massive Dipper on our option to Pipe ’n Sizzling. It was a simple blue circulation path up high, 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 identify black by nature, earlier than heading over to the paths that land at Potters Gorge campsite.
Scull and Elixir, the blue circulation trails, have been on advice and didn’t disappoint and Van Dam Inexperienced delighted as a cruisy traversing path the place brakes have been elective.
Wagyl Biddi Trailhead
We’d heard there have been a couple of brief trails within the coronary heart of Collie that have been value trying out 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 trip for individuals who can get on it.
For essentially the most half although, Rocky Horror, Drop Lifeless Fred, and Marri Meander twist and wind via the bush bordered by the Collie River – offering a terrific little community for individuals who don’t need to journey out of city for a success of trails.
Dip and Dinner
A dip on the beautiful and surprisingly heat Minningup Pool was the proper antidote to the gathering of filth and mud from the day’s trip and made us considerably respectable to hit the Feddie (Federal Resort) for dinner.
quaint nation pub hen parmi and a beer later, we have been able to make our approach again to the attractive forest-fringed Potters Gorge campsite, our dwelling for the night time, for a hearth and to regale one another with tales from the paths.
A Weekend Stuffed with Motion – Day 2
Kylie Trailhead
The Wagon in Collie, our breakfast vacation spot, served up mouth-watering breakfast bagels, easy espresso, and smiles. Sufficiently fuelled, we started day two on maybe essentially the most stunning 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 via 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 via spectacular bush, plagued by wildflowers in spring, till ending initially 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 needed to tick off the record was the Arklow Trails, a number of the first trails within the space. Beginning with Ray’s Path, we couldn’t assist however smile as we made our approach 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 highway on the hunt for one more 7km blue path, Far Lap, and its bounce line, ladders, log rides and drops. 220 Path warmed us up on the best way and the Arklow Adaptive Path offered an ideal settle down on the best way again to the automotive. We ran out of steam to suit any extra in however good additions listed here 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 need to move up the chance of a Wildflower Stroll with Forest Explorers.
After visiting Harris River Property – a labour of affection hand-built by the homeowners 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 number of the wealthy historical past of the world.
It was the proper finish to a terrific weekend.
Sizzling 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 are able to’t wait to see the way it continues to rework. Come for a day, come for every week, you gained’t be dissatisfied.
