As the year’s seasons ebb and flow at Linga Longa, each presenting its own challenges and accompanying beauty, we live and work with the changes and embrace each new season with relish. Read on to experience what life at Linga Longa is like the year round.
Summer
As the new year begins the surrounding hills turn golden at Linga Longa and we enjoy bright, sunny days.The temperature soars and the air is hot and dry. Summer is in full swing and the place to be is sitting on the gazebo and cooling off in the lake, taking advantage of our floating trampoline. It is a huge hit with people of all ages! As dusk encroaches on the valley masses of little swallows put on a mesmerizing dive bombing display on the surface of the lake.
On Saturday evenings as the temperature finally begins to cool, we fire up our popular pizza oven, Black Betty. Locals and visiting mountain bikers alike enjoy a delicious meal in the idyllic lakeside setting, watching the sun slowly disappear behind the hills
Summer is also the time we spray the dreaded blackberries that threaten to over take the entire landscape.The majority of our time is spent watering the lawns and trees, keeping everything green and thriving. Strict fire bans are in place and we are ever vigilant about the very real danger of fire.
Over New Years Eve Linga Longa has the pleasure of hosting ‘The Wild Festival’, a boutique camping music festival and each year we are amazed at these delightful, creative, colourful and courteous humans. The passion and time put into costumes and set designs makes it a sight to behold. A crowd of approximately nine hundred people camping and partying for three energy packed nights creates an atmosphere of magical celebration like no other!
For more information on The Wild Campout, click here.
Towards the end of January we host the Ultra Series Marathon ‘Trails of Kings and Queens’ series. Our MTB trails are used as running trails, with the superiorly athletic participants going up the hill instead of down. Definitely not an activity for the faint of heart!
Autumn
Autumn is the season where Linga Longa really comes into its full splendour and glory. It’s our favourite time of the year! The deciduous trees on the property change colour, the leaves turning beautiful shades of yellow, brown and red.
Over the years we have planted over five hundred deciduous, fire retardant trees on the property from liquidambars, oaks, maples, poplars and willows. The leaves begin to fall to the ground, creating a golden carpet over the lawn. The days begin to shorten and the morning mist lingers in the valley offering an otherworldly atmosphere.
As the temperature drops the time has come for us to gather our firewood supplies in preparation for the fast approaching winter and the grass slows down it’s growing rate as the weather takes a chilly turn.
In April we host WAGE ,a Mountain Bike Gravity Enduro series race. This our biggest MTB event of the year with over six hundred participants and spectators descending upon Linga Longa.
Linga Longa Bike Park takes up over half of the property, with downhill, enduro and cross country mountain bike trails. The trails require endless amounts of work and maintenance to keep them in tip top condition!
Winter
Winter is a time for us to burrow in and indulge in a little rest. We enjoy the longer nights by warm cozy fires, listening to the sound of rain on a tin roof (one of the greatest sounds there is!) and rug up for the chilly days. The bare tree branches have their own stark beauty this time of year.
Our days are occupied with lots of pruning as well as the planting of a fresh crop of bare-rooted trees to add to our growing collection of ornamental and fire retardant deciduous trees. It's all a part of our never ending quest of landscape enhancement at Linga Longa! Over the years we have purchased our trees from a local, family owned business, Balingup Small Tree Farm.
We work on preparing firebreaks and burning off piles of debris. On top of this, all of the olives from our thirty olive trees need picking and preserving. The rain turns the ground soft and soggy and the lake gradually fills up. Cold misty mornings leave us shrouded in a world of white while the rolling hills turn lush and green once again. The mighty Blackwood River swells to its peak, some years higher than others. Our campers enjoy standing around the warm fire pits, toasting marshmallows and swapping yarns.
Spring
At last, Spring has arrived bringing with it the wedding season! It is a time for flowers and love to bloom at Linga Longa. We enjoy hosting weddings and love seeing our guests taking advantage of all the property has to offer. Our guests enjoy spending time together in nature, swimming and canoeing in the lake, taking walks together and warming themselves by the fire pit. With multiple ceremony sites to choose from and a huge permanent marquee Linga Longa is the ideal wedding venue with endless possibilities!
To see a selection of the beautiful weddings we have had the honour of hosting over the years, click here.
For more information on Linga Longa Weddings, click here.
Spring is a time of new life and Linga Longa is no exception. Fresh green leaves start budding forth from the trees and carpets of happy, yellow dandelions spring up everywhere. Colour burst forth in vibrant purple and yellow, all thanks to the wild wisteria and wattle returning once more to the surrounding bushland.
Also on the Spring to do list; picking fresh fruit from our orchard and turning it into our dangerously addictive home made sodas! The lake swells to the highest it will be all year and as the days lengthen and warm up, it’s time to start attacking the weeds in the gardens with a vengeance. Of course, we must remain very wary of the snakes coming out of hibernation and warming themselves under the bright sun.
All the while, the robin red breasts and blue wrens are busy mating and the sweet, melodious sounds of their whistles fill the air.
We may be biased, but this little pocket of land is simply a slice of heaven, no matter the season. Whether you prefer hot or cold, sunshine or rain, there is always fun to be had and memories to be made at Linga Longa
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