Construction of Mogo’s 125-km mountain bike trails finished on 9 May and officially opened to the public on 10 May. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council.
With the official opening of the Mogo Trails mountain bike network on 10 May, Eurobodalla is gearing up in earnest for the inaugural Sea Otter Australia event.
The numbers are staggering. Spread across four days, up to 7000 people – riders, spectators, industry leaders and mountain bike legends – from around the world are expected to descend on Batemans Bay and surrounds in October. The festival could generate up to $4 million for the region’s visitor economy.
The festival will be based in town at a vibrant event centre that will see more than 150 brands showcasing the latest products, technologies and innovation, plus a two-day conference preceding the festival that will be attended by leaders in the mountain bike and outdoor adventure industries. Rocky Trail Entertainment has booked out the entire NRMA Batemans Bay Holiday Resort for the event and will offer the local business community promotional and networking opportunities as part of the festival campaign.
The statistics on the Mogo Trails are equally impressive. At 125 km, to date it is the largest mountain bike network in Australia. The trails take the Far South Coast’s mountain bike trail network in Mogo, Narooma, Tathra and Eden to around 320 km.
There are three trail heads between Batemans Bay and Mogo and 72 purpose-built tracks. That includes the newly opened Burnaaga, 29 km of wilderness adventure from the top of Mount Wandera to Mogo town with a 962-metre vertical descent. Given the remote four-wheel drive access to the starting point, the trail has a shuttle service.
The first major event on the new trails will be the two-day Mogo Mania gravity stage racing event on 12 and 13 July.
It is part of Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Fox Superflow line-up of races, one of which was held in Narooma in March. It is designed so that riders of different skill levels can spend the whole race day together.
View from the Burnaaga Trail at Mount Wandera. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council.
Marketing director of Rocky Trail Group and Sea Otter Australia CEO Juliane Wisata was part of the team that managed the implementation of Mogo Trails. She said the network was built with tourism in mind. There are trails to suit riders of all ages, ambitions and skill levels and they will keep visitors in the region for several days.
“It is virtually impossible to ride all the trails in one day,” Ms Wisata said. “Mountain bike riders always want to progress and have a variety of trails to explore, so with the other trails next to us in Narooma, Tathra and Eden, it makes the region a real destination. It has real pull.
“We believe the combination of these high-quality trails and a globally recognised event like Sea Otter will create a vibrant and sustainable mountain bike tourism industry, benefiting local businesses and showcasing the natural beauty of the area.”
Sea Otter originated in California 30 years ago and is the world’s largest mountain bike festival. It has a licensed European event held in Spain each year and Sea Otter Australia is the first to be licensed in the Southern Hemisphere. Ms Wisata said the international visitors would stay on beyond the festival to explore.
“Sea Otter is a once-a-year huge promotion for the region that will spill over into the rest of the year,” Ms Wisata said. “By showcasing the trails and the region, local businesses can benefit for the whole year.”
It will also create jobs year-round.
“We are growing our team,” Ms Wisata said. “We have had locals working on the trails and with the festival we think we can create a lot of jobs that will peak in October each year.”
The expo will be held at the Hanging Rock Sporting Precinct. It will showcase the latest gear and offer demo rides and exclusive deals. Mountain bike enthusiasts will have chances to meet their cycling heroes.
The conference, a summit, will be held at Bay Pavilions on 22-23 October. One of the discussions will be how to increase the sustainability of the recreation sector.
At the top of the Burnaaga Trail, one of 72 purpose-built trails around Mogo. Photo: Eurobodalla Shire Council.
The first day of the festival is designed around schools. A range of races will be held over the following three days.
Every year Rocky Trail Entertainment organises more than 40 mountain bike events from Mackay to the Mornington Peninsula which are promoted nationally.
This time last year the Wisata family moved permanently to Batemans Bay. Ms Wisata said that reflected their commitment to growing the region’s mountain bike industry and to growing Sea Otter Australia. They have a 10-year contract licence for Sea Otter Australia.
She praised Eurobodalla Shire Council for having the foresight to invest money from the Australian and NSW Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund into building the trails. The trails also received funding from the Growing Local Economies Fund under Restart NSW.
She also commended the council’s Ride Ready initiative that had helped more than 130 people in Eurobodalla’s business community connect and learn about mountain bike trails over the past two years.
The Sea Otter Australia Cycling Festival will run from 21 until 26 October over various locations. For more information or to view the full schedule of events, check out their website.
