What a delight! Potter’s Gorge is a camp ground in the Wellington Dam National Park and it’s on the shores of Wellington Dam. Between Bunbury and the coal mining township of Collie.
We needed to get some work done on the van, and the fastest we could get it in for a service was to travel to Bunbury (Perth caravan servicing outlets are snowed under to COVID and vans and camping trailers everywhere). So we booked in last week and spent the weekend prior at Lake Brockman Tourist Park (long story).
Dropped the van off for a service and some repairs. Came back a week later to pick it up to find only the basic service had been done. None of the major work had been done and the quotes asked for? We’re still waiting. Super disappointed!
The locals are friendly!
So we needed some quick R&C, and we headed for somewhere close, and back to nature.
Voila! Here we are.
If you’re coming on the weekend you need to book ahead of time, and we’d even would recommend that you book anyway – we lucked in for three days because of a cancellation.
There are several “best spots”. We booked site 29 and it is fantastic. Full view of the Dam, cannot really be blocked out, and not on the lower side of the road.
Easy access, plenty of room 
Rest of site in awning area
Great spot, we can highly recommend the one. It’s basically a free camp – no water or power, but there are fees involved as it’s in a National Park. Blocks are not close together, plenty of room, and literally amongst the trees. But if you have solar panels, there is sufficient sunlight through the trees to give you power. There are rubbish bins and a dump point on the way out.
Depending on demand, you can book a site that will fit your van, or needs, there is a proper drum on each site for a fire, and attached to each is a flat BBQ plate. Each site also has a park bench and table unit, but you have to bring your own firewood, as collecting it in the National Park is illegal.
The camp also has shower and toilet blocks and kitchen areas, all clean (at least at the start of the weekend).
There are fabulous walks through the trees and around the Dam. A short drive can get you to lookouts across the dam and the dam wall. Another short drive will take you to the base of the wall, where there are beautiful murals painted. A must see.
Wellington Dam, a few kliks away
And a kiosk (not overly accommodating or friendly) which is being redeveloped along with some new sites and ground works.
A short drive, will get you to Collie, a beautiful country town, with a small city atmosphere. All commercial buildings are clean, freshly painted, in fact a sense of pride is there as the town is spotlessly clean. All supermarkets, cafes, fast food outlets are there. On the RSL building are more murals reflecting people at war scenes, and the murals around the supermarkets, depict the history of the town, coal mining.
Obviously we were here on a sunny weekend, arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday morning – camping fees are $15 per adult per day or concessions are $9 per person. Kids (6-15yrs) are $3. Not a problem, as it is helping to upkeep the National Park. And the department responsible (why do government departments frequently change their name?) is doing a great job.
View to the lake from front of our site
There are 54 sites, with 2WD access although all the roads are unsealed. Generators are permitted between 8am and 9pm. Because it’s in a National Park, no pets are permitted.
If you’re looking for somewhere to chill for a few days, within a couple of hours of Perth, you can’t go wrong here.
Leave a Comment