The Southern Dams and Murals Tour will visit a number of dams south of Perth, in the Waroona, Harvey and Collie areas. The tour will also be visiting towns and locations on route (and around Collie) to see many murals, including the recently completed 8,000sqm mural on the dam wall of the Wellington Dam.
The tour has two main options:

• an 8 day (7 night) pannier tour that starts and ends at the Mandurah Train Station, or
• a shorter 3 day (4 night) spoke tour that is based in Collie

The 8 day tour will have overnight stops at Waroona Dam (Lake Navarino) and Logue Brook Dam (Lake Brookman) and arrive in Collie on the third day for four nights. The return trip will have one overnight stay in Harvey.

Accommodation will be arranged for those participants that wish to camp (for all or some of the nights). Participants are also welcome to arrange their own alternate accommodation, for which they will be responsible to book and make their own payments direct to the provider. Refer to the Tour Itinerary (listed below) for the accommodation locations.

Tour itinerary summary:

Day 1: Meet at the Mandurah Station for a 9:00am departure – Note: Bicycles are not permitted at Perth stations (Perth, Perth Underground or Elizabeth Quay) from 7:00am to 9:00am, nor are bicycles allowed on trains passing through these Perth stations during that time. Bicycles are allowed on any trains travelling to Mandurah that leave from Canning Bridge station or stations further south.
After leaving Mandurah, it will be bike paths and quiet streets and roads before a stop at Midvale Farm Stall for coffee. The tour will continue onto Waroona for lunch, where you can follow the Waroona Art Trail to check out several murals included in the trail. Don’t forget to ensure you have something for your dinner tonight before riding the remaining 8.5kms to Waroona Dam.

Day 2: Ride back to Waroona and take Weir Road for the short (4.0kms each way) ride to the picturesque Drakesbrook Weir. At the Weir, there is the option to walk/cycle the Noisy Scrub Bird Trail (length 500m) to the Noisy Scrub Bird Memorial which was placed at the Weir in 1948. Return to Waroona for coffee and to purchase lunch (and something for tonight’s dinner). Then it’s back across South West Highway onto flat, quiet roads via Yarloop and Cookernup, before crossing back over South West Highway to Logue Brook Dam (Lake Brockman).

Day 3: From Logue Brook Dam, it’s back to Cookernup for more flat, quiet roads through Harvey (coffee/lunch) and onto Collie for a four night stay.
Those participants only doing the “Collie Spoke Tour” portion of the tour, should arrive in Collie on Day 3 to meet up with those that have ridden from Mandurah.

Days 4, 5 and 6 – Collie:

At least two different rides are planned for each day while in Collie – this is for safety (to have fewer riders each day on the various roads) and also to reduce the numbers of people at cafes and other venues.

The following is a summary of the rides planned while based in Collie:

Wellington Dam via Black Diamond Lake (63.5km) … Ride the 5kms to one of WA’s Top 10 rated Instagram spots, the Black Diamond Lake (on the sealed ‘Karak Trail’ bike path). Then continue onto Wellington Dam (coffee and lunch available at the Kiosk at the Dam, on Wellington Dam Road before the Dam lookout area) to see the 8,000sqm ‘Reflections’ mural painted on the dam wall. This mural – which was completed in February 2021 – is considered one of the largest in the world.

Stockton and Kepwari Lakes (44.9km) … Ride from Collie via the Collie River Walk-Ride trail to Stockton and Kepwari Lakes. Like Black Diamond Lake, both Stockton and Kepwari Lakes were previously coal mines that have been flooded. Kepwari Lake was opened in December 2020 and is a popular spot for boaties, with BBQ’s, toilets and camping/caravanning available.

Stockton and Kepwari Lakes and Glen Mervyn Dam (74.3km) … After riding to Stockton and Kepwari Lakes, continue onto Glen Mervyn Dam, walk the Dam wall (which the Bibbulmun Track crosses), before returning to Collie. Note: Mumballup Tavern is another 3.5km further south (7.0km return).

Mumballup via Stockton and Kepwari Lakes and Glen Mervyn Dam (81.3km) … Ride via Stockton and Kepwari Lakes to Mumballup, a small town 22kms south of Collie and visit the 115+ years old ‘Mumby Pub’. On the return to Collie, stop at the Glen Mervyn Dam – a popular water-skiing, swimming and fishing spot.

Collie Valley Scenic Road and Minninup Pool (30km) … A shorter ride closer to Collie – Ride out on the ‘Karak Trail’ to the start of the 7km Collie Valley scenic drive to Minninup Pool, which is one end of the 13km Collie River Walk-Ride Trail. At the other end of the river trail, the ride returns through the Collie township.

Harris Dam (30.2km) … Ride the 15Km to Harris Dam which “supplies high quality drinking water to approximately 40,000 people in more than 30 towns and small communities on the Great Southern Towns Water Supply Scheme including Collie, Narrogin and as far away as Hyden.” Option to stop at the Harris River Estate winery for lunch (12:00noon to 3:30pm) on the return to Collie.

Explore Collie … Walk the Collie Mural Trail; do a tour of the replica coal mine (self-guided, or for $5pp, a guided one hour tour can be arranged – maximum of 15 people, 24-48hrs notice required); visit the Art Gallery or Coalfields Museum. More info is available at the Collie Visitor Centre, 156 Throssell Street in Collie. (website: collierivervalley.com.au)

Day 7: For those riding back to Perth, we will leave Collie for Harvey (participants doing the Collie Spoke tour only, will return home, driving or by their own other arrangements). After settling into Harvey and with panniers offloaded, ride the 4.1kms (from our accommodation) to the Harvey Dam (there is a separate bike path along Weir Road to the Dam). Check out some of the murals in Uduc Road, Harvey.

Day 8: Ride from Harvey on more flat, quiet roads to Pinjarra for coffee/lunch. Then it’s back to Mandurah Station where the tour ends. Note: For those people that will be getting a train that passes through the Perth stations, you will need to get a train that leaves Mandurah no later than 3:185pm, to ensure you are not on a train passing through Perth between 4:30pm and 6:30pm.

NOTE: Please ensure you have planned for your evening meals on Days 1 and 2 as we will be staying in caravan parks at Waroona Dam and Logue Brook Dam, which are both some distance from any towns and have limited options for food at the parks.

To participate in this tour, please complete the Registration Form in the following list of tour documents.

Registration Form – Southern Dams and Murals Tour (to Collie). The Registration Form has fillable form fields which may be supported by your browser. For users who may encounter problems (e.g. some Apple users) an alternative form is available here.
Tour Itinerary – Southern Dams and Murals Tour (to Collie)
Cuesheets – Southern Dams and Murals Tour (to Collie)
Daily GPX files – tour routes (Note: the Day designations for Days 4, 5 and 6 might not be correct)

Enquiries: Christine (Tour organiser)
Phone: 0400 570 077
Email: tours@ctawa.asn.au