Day 159 Busselton, (Collie), Western Australia

It feels great to be "touring" again.  Philip loves the driving and I sit back and enjoy the scenery!  Actually I do most of the planning and then run it by hubby who also gives input.  Today we decided to head to Collie to follow the Mural Trail.  We were away all day but in fact covered just over 200km.  Everything is so close in this area.  All the towns we passed through today are no more than 20km apart and it feels a little weird after travelling vast distances between places for much of this trip.  

The first place we head to today is the Tuart State Forest at Capel that holds the world's largest standing Tuart Trees.  These magnificent trees stand up to 33 metres in height and some have a girth of up to 10 metres.  Of course I had to hug one of these living giants.  The short walk through the trees is quite lovely with an understory of Arum Lillies.....so....many.....lillies!  Like all Euculypt the Tuart depend on fire to regenerate.

Once we had completed the short walk it was back in the car with Wellington Dam our next destination.  In order for us to reach Wellington Dam we pass through the town of Dardunup that forms part of the absolutely beautiful Ferguson Valley. As we wind our way through the bendy road every turn affords us another magnificent view.  There are vineyards of course but also lots of cattle and some sheep.

 We are driving higher and higher into the mountains and before long we reach the turnoff to Wellington Dam. The road is only short but we realise that we have missed a turn to the Wellington Dam Lookout and have in fact come to the bottom of the dam wall.  Nonetheless the Mural that covers the dam wall from below is as gobsmacking magnificent as it is from the lookout (that we eventually found!!)

Artist Guido Van Helton completed the worlds largest mural on the Wellington Dam Wall in February 2021.  It took the artist four months to complete the 8000 square metre mural that is inspired by local stories and photographs.  I can't tell you how much I loved this mural.  I am an awe that someone could paint something so large and yet keep everything in perfect proportion.  It is mind boggling.

It was almost midday by the time we got back into the car but Collie is less than 30 minutes away so we decided to have a counter lunch at one of the local pubs and then follow the Collie Mural Trail on foot.  Once we arrived into Collie we headed to the Tourist Information Centre and picked up a map of the murals.  There are forty murals scattered over the township so you definitely need a map to find them.

But first it was lunch, so after a recommendation by the Information Centre assistant we headed to the Crown Hotel for a counter lunch.  Philip ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara and I ordered the Pork Ribs.  

As you can see the meals were huge!  There really ought to be some kind of warning about the size of these meals.  Philip and I could easily have shared just one of these meals and I could only eat half of what was on my giant platter.  Philip managed to get through his pasta but we were both looking for a long walk after lunch...

So we hit the streets to find a few of the murals.  They are very easy to find and where we were parked the car was quite a concentrated area of murals.  I photographed nine murals but I was annoyed that one of the camera batteries failed so I was left with just my iPhone camera.  

The murals were very good and very lifelike.  The cars on the side of the local mechanics shop, for example, really and truly looked like the real thing!  Collie is a lovely town and a lot larger than I thought it would be.  It is renowned for its coal mining and a lot of the murals depicted scenes from the early coal mining days.  

We walked for around an hour but by this time we were looking to head home.  We found a route to Busselton on Google Maps that would mean we would complete a full loop.  It meant we travelled along a gravel road for around 20km but as it was a logging road it was in very good condition with no corrugations.  Only stop on the way home was near Donnybrook where I picked up a large bag of oranges and mandarins (around a dozen in each bag) that were certified "No Pesticides".  The bags were $4 each - BARGAIN!  We just had to sample them on our drive home and there were slightly on the sour side but neither of us mind that.  Both the Navel Oranges and Mandarins are the thick skinned variety that take a bit of effort to peel!

We were back at the caravan by 4.00 pm so it ended up being a long but very enjoyable day.  I commented to Philip that after the red dirt of the northern part of Western Australia it is great to be back in lush green country.  Tomorrow we are heading to the Margaret River Region including Daysborough and if time permits, Augusta.  We will not be going to Margaret River for the wine tasting, as would be expected,  but rather the artisan foods that I am assured are plentiful.  I'm excited....