The Munda Biddi trail
is a 1000km off-road dedicated cycling trail from Mundaring, just
outside Perth, to Albany. Having cycled the Mawson trail last year,
this route was definitely on the to do list, and now the opportunity
has come to ride it!
Saturday 12th
November 2016
I've been working (yes,
really – despite being retired I do try and do something vaguely
useful now and then) up in Morawa, 400kms north of Perth, for the
last 2 weeks, and arrived back in Perth last night, staying with
Anthony Seymour at his house in Como. He deserves a mention here
because he has very kindly consented to loan me his almost brand new
Merida Trail 300 mountain bike for the Munda Biddi ride. Having had
the opportunity to ride it around Perth several hundred kms when I've
stayed with Anthony before, I've found it a nice performer, very
comfortable and I'm confident it will cope with the rough terrain
that I'm expecting on the trail.
My good friend and
cycling buddy Martyn Colebrook is joining me on this ride; he arrived
at lunchtime on a flight from Sydney and we met up at About Bikes,
near the centre of Perth on the Swan River, where he is hiring a bike
for the ride. He's been issued with a Merida bike as well, his is a
Big Nine model with 29” wheels so I'm going to struggle to keep up
with him, no doubt.
By about 1pm we were
ready to roll, and crossed the Swan River before heading east towards
Midland:
Perth is well endowed
with good cycle paths, which include routes along most of the north
and south banks of the Swan River:
We stopped in Guildford
for a good lunch at the Guildford Hotel; from there the cycle path
followed the railway line for a few kms till we reached Midland:
From Midland we
followed a scenic Railway Heritage trail, along a disused rail line:
The ride through the Swan View tunnel was pretty scary. It was very dark and long, and the surface
was really rough, and there were quite a few big puddles of water:
Apart from inside the
tunnel, the rest of the trail had quite a good surface and we were
able to go at a decent pace:
There were a lot of side
trails and it was necessary to stop and check the route frequently.
We both have the route marked on our phone navigation apps.
There wasn't much water in Hovea falls despite there having been a lot of rainfall a few weeks ago:
After about 40kms we
reached Mundaring, where the Munda Biddi trail starts:
We stayed the night at
the Mundaring Weir Hotel which is about 5kms down the trail from
Mundaring, and right by the huge dam built back in 1903 to create a
water supply for the goldfields at Kalgoorlie, some 600kms to the
east. This involved, as well as building the dam, the laying of what
was then the world's longest pipeline. There's a section of the original pipe in the foreground of the photo below:
Along the short walk to the weir we saw lots of wallabies:
This is a memorial to C
Y O'Connor, the driving force behind the creation of Mundaring Weir:
Mundaring Weir:
Distance today 46kms.
Sunday 13th
November
We got an early start,
leaving at 7.40am, since we knew that today would be a long day and
there would be no food or services available until we reached
Jarrahdale. Even at that time it was already hot, and the
temperature would climb to 35 degrees later.
Back on the trail, the
going immediately became tough. It was very hilly, and the surface
was not only rough but mostly covered in either pea gravel or sand.
The trail wound a circuitous route through Jarrah forest and was hard
to follow at times; fortunately we had it marked on our GPS mapping
app on our phones which helped a great deal. We were out of phone
signal most of the day but using the preloaded map we were still able
to determine our exact position at all times.
The route ran alongside
the water pipeline for some of the way:
The little blue
triangle on the yellow post is a Munda Biddi trail marker. These were
fairly frequently sited along the route but it wasn't always easy to
spot them as they were often somewhat faded:
At times the route was
so steep that we had to get off and push, but it was hard to get a
grip on the gravel surface:
Eventually we realised
that the air pressure in our tires was too high, and having taken
advice from some expert mountain bikers who passed by us, we lowered
our pressures to about 28psi which improved the bikes handling considerably.
There had been a
controlled burn quite recently and the smell of burning was quite
intense:
It took us about 5
hours to ride the first 30kms, when we arrived at Carinyah, one of a
number of free campsites along the Munda Biddi trail. We stopped for
lunch and a rest:
After this the terrain
did get a bit less hilly, though the gravel surface persisted. The
wildflowers for which WA is famous were frequently to be seen:
As a change from the
gravel we sometimes encountered deep sand which was even more
difficult to ride through:
Around 5pm we arrived
at Jarrahdale and made straight for the Jarrahdale Tavern to enjoy a
well-deserved pint:
Accommodation was found
above the nearby Post Office:
Distance today 77kms,
total so far 123kms
Monday 14th
November
We left Jarrahdale at
about 9am after a brief stop for Martyn to get his caffeine fix:
...and the trail immediately began to follow a steep gravelly
ascent:
It was even hotter than
the previous day and the going seemed even tougher.
Extreme caution was
required on some of the descents:
Progress was so slow
that it took us nearly 4 hours to travel the 22kms to North Dandelup
Dam, where there was a pleasant picnic area. Despite many signs
forbidding swimming, we could not resist the opportunity to cool off
in the water there:
It was another steep climb from the picnic area back to the road crossing the dam:
It was so hot by now
that we decided to take a short cut and miss out the next section of
the Munda Biddi trail, keeping to the tarmac road for the rest of the
day. We're both fit, experienced cyclists but this is proving much
tougher than we expected. We have been over ambitious in expecting to
complete the entire trail in just 12 days; most people take around 3
weeks.But we have to be in Albany, the end of the trail, on or before
Thursday 24th November because we have flights booked back
to Perth on that date. So we have to stick to our pre-arranged
itinerary even if that means taking a few more shortcuts along the
route.
A bit further along I
spotted this echidna by the roadside, which unfortunately turned out to
be dead:
We arrived in
Dwellingup, today's destination, around 4.15pm and stopped off to buy
some cold beer in the hotel, before checking in to the town's only
accommodation, in a tourist park set in dense forest:
After a rest we walked
back to the hotel and enjoyed a good dinner:
Distance today 53kms
which doesn't sound like much but was in fact one of the toughest
days riding I have ever done.
Total so far 176kms
Some pushing was required...
Accommodation was at the nearby Manjimup Motor Inn. On arrival Martyn crashed out...
Tuesday 15th
November
It was even hotter than
yesterday. We didn't leave Dwellingup until around 10am because the
waitress in the Blue Wren cafe misplaced Martyn's breakfast order so
we had to wait a very long time for it to arrive.
There was time for a
quick look at the historic railway station before we hit the trail:
Although the trail
surface was improving as we headed further south, with less gravel
and sand, it remained very hilly:
Martyn's pannier flew
off after he rode over a particularly big bump:
After 20kms we stopped
at Nanga brook for a paddle in the cool fresh water:
The trail followed a
wide, fairly smooth dirt road for much of the day. Everywhere we
went, the trees showed evidence of recent burning:
We saw another echidna,
this time it was still alive:
There were a few fallen
trees obstructing our progress:
Some pushing was required...
… and the flies were
a real nuisance:
Around 4pm we arrived
at Lake Brockman, where we had originally planned to stay at the
tourist park.
We'd been looking
forward to a swim in the lake, however when we found that the
resort's kitchen was about to close, they weren't offering any
evening meals, and weren't even licensed to serve alcohol, we decided
to move on to Harvey, some 12kms away, where we found accommodation
and an excellent evening meal at the Amana Motel.
Distance today 74kms,
total so far 250kms
Wednesday 16th
November
The day started
overcast. The much cooler temperature was certainly welcome but it
was clear that rain was on the way.
We'd deviated from the
Munda Biddi trail in order to reach Harvey, so the first 10kms was
down the South Western Highway:
Once back on the trail
we were soon back onto the familiar gravel surface, with plenty of
long steep climbs:
Around noon the rain
started. It wasn't too heavy, just enough to be annoying. Martyn had
fun building a makeshift shelter so he could enjoy his lunch without
getting too wet:
We arrived at Collie, a
fairly unattractive mining town at 2.30pm, soaking wet and cold.
The Collie Motel, the
only accommodation in town, hadn't seen a facelift since the 1950s:
Dinner was at the
Rajputhana Indian restaurant, where the food wasn't bad apart from
the fact that there was no naan bread. Our suggestion that the
waitress should go to the supermarket next door and buy some met with
an indifferent response.
Distance today 54kms,
total so far 304kms
Thursday 17th
November
The rain had stopped
and it was warm and sunny again.
Martyn complained that
his legs were getting tired. While I enjoyed a fine breakfast at Mc
Donalds (the first we've seen since leaving Perth) he chose to eat at
the Collie Fields hotel which was a lot nicer than it looks in this
photo:
Back on the trail:
The trail suddenly
became extremely rough and we were confronted with a steep, treacherous descent:
After descending
unscathed we found that we had actually taken a wrong turn about 1km
back. Normally we'd have retraced our path, but the thought of going
back up that treacherous slope made us decide to hack across country
to get back on the trail. This involved a bit of trespassing on
private property, and some climbing over barbed wire fences:
We arrived at Boyanup
in time for lunch at the general store:
Around 4.30pm we
arrived at Donnybrook and stayed at the Donnybrook motel, which had
an adequate pool to cool off in:
Dinner was in the
Indian restaurant opposite the motel, and was very good. We were
joined by a couple of friends from Perth:
Distance today 79kms,
total so far 383kms
Friday 18th
November
It was yet another hot, sunny day.
We didn't manage to leave Donnybrook until 9.45 after a very big
breakfast at Tiffany's cafe. We soon found our way back onto the
Munda Biddi trail at the edge of the town, however after a few kms
there was a big diversion due to a planned controlled burn:
The trail then went
through open countryside which made a pleasant change from the
endless forests we've been going through so far:
After 40kms we arrived
at the “ghost town” of Jarrahwood (not to be confused with
Jarrahdale where we were earlier in the week) – this is a former
timber milling town which now has only a handful of homes and
inhabitants:
Fron Jarrahwood the trail followed a disused railway line to Nannup.
We stayed at the Black
Cockatoo Lodge, a quirky place with comfortable cabins distributed
apparently randomly through dense jungle...
... and enjoyed an excellent dinner at the Nannup Bridge Cafe.
Distance today 74kms,
total so far 457kms
Saturday 19th
November
Breakfast in Nannup was
at the Pickle-O cafe, and was rather filling. It was after 10 am by
the time we left town.
It was yet another hot
sunny day, but there was plenty of shade along the entire route. The
first 15kms were along a wide gravel road:
In spite of the late
start, we were making good progress and were on course for a nice
early lunch at Donnelly River, the halfway destination for today,
however about 30kms into the ride, Martyn's bike suddenly wouldn't
change gears, the problem being a badly twisted chain link:
In over 20000kms of
cycle touring I have never suffered a chain failure. It took us over
an hour to get a replacement link fitted; however eventually the bike
was fixed:
To be fair, the bikes
have put up with a lot of hard punishment on the ride so far so we
really can count ourselves lucky that this is the first breakdown
we've experienced.
We arrived at the tiny
settlement of Donnelly River around 2pm and had lunch at the general
store:
Leaving Donnelly River
the trail was somewhat obstructed by emus:
The afternoon's ride
was a real adrenaline-filled rollercoaster of steep ascents,
descents, and tight twisty turns through the forest. It was fantastic
fun but exhausting, both physically and mentally owing to the degree
of concentration needed to avoid crashing into the trees.
Back on tarmac later in
the afternoon, Martyn had to stop for a few stretching exercises:
It was after 6pm by the
time we arrived in Manjimup, and the first stop there was at the
Manjimup Hotel for a much needed beer:
Accommodation was at the nearby Manjimup Motor Inn. On arrival Martyn crashed out...
… but recovered in
time to enjoy an excellent dinner at the motel's restaurant, under
the watchful eye of Ned Kelly:
Distance today 80kms,
total so far 537 kms
Sunday 20th
November
At Albany airport we wrapped the bikes with bubble wrap, and they travelled back with us on the plane as part of our baggage allowance.
The flight back to Perth took about an hour and it didn't take long to unwrap and reassemble them for the ride back into the city:
It was overcast, and
somewhat cold, as we left Manjimup:
About 15km along the
trail, we arrived at the Diamond Tree, one of a series of very tall
trees across the southwestern forest region that was converted to a
fire-watching lookout post. A ladder of metal stakes had been driven
into the tree, allowing access to the treehouse at the top, some 52
metres above ground:
The views from the top
were amazing:
Looking down from the
top:
From here the Munda
Biddi trail followed the main South Western Highway for a while:
Just before lunch we
reached Pemberton, where there was another fire lookout tree to
climb, the well-known Gloucester Tree:
After this we had a
good lunch at the Pemberton Hotel:
In Pemberton we stopped
by the tourist office where a helpful woman told us of a winery on
our route that was open until 5pm. We thought we'd have no problem
making it there in time, as it was only about 25kms away.
However back on the
trail the going was hilly and rough:
And at Moon's crossing,
where we'd expected a bridge, we had to get across the Warren River.
The first part was
rideable:
However the river then
became deeper, the rocks underneath were very slippery, and there was
quite a strong current. With a laptop in my panniers I wasn't going
to risk cycling across this stretch:
We made it to the
Hillbrook winery at 4.55, just in time to enjoy a tasting of their
produce which was pretty good:
From the winery it was
a 15km ride on a tarmac road to the day's destination, the tiny town
of Northcliffe, where we stayed at the only motel.
Distance today 78kms,
total so far 615kms
Monday 21st
November
As usual, breakfast
took longer than it should have and it was after 10am by the time we
hit the road, It was cloudy and not very warm, but the forecast
assured us we would have a dry day, and so it proved to be.
Thee first half of the
day's ride was through the
D'Entrecasteaux National Park, where there were a few farms dotted
around:
Unusual way to store
bikes:
At 16kms we arrived at
another fire-watching tree, the Boorara Tree - this one can no longer be climbed as the lower ladder posts have been removed:
There were many gravel
roads through the park and it was necessary to stop frequently to
check the route:
Plenty of wildflowers
were in bloom along this section of the trail:
After 45kms we left the
Munda Biddi as time was getting on, taking a short cut along the main
South Western Highway for the remaining 45kms. We arrived in Walpole
just after 5pm and stayed at the very pleasant Treetops Motel where
we also had dinner.
Distance today 90kms,
total so far 705kms
Tuesday 22nd
November
We managed to get away
at 9am, somewhat earlier than usual. It was a beautiful sunny day and
we began by riding down to the jetty for a look at Walpole Bay:
Leaving Walpole we
fould ourselves almost immediately on a 5km long, very steep dirt
road up to the Giant Tingle Tree. On the way up there was a scenic
lookout:
The Giant Tingle tree
is around 400 years old, and has been hollowed out by termites, fungi, and
fire:
It was great to see
this famous tree again almost exactly 5 years since I last visited here , on an earlier bike tour – the weather then having been
cold, wet, and foggy.
From here there was a
steep downhill followed by a few kms along the South Western Highway,
until we branched off again up another long, steep hill to reach the
Valley of the Giants, a scenic aerial walkway through a forest of
huge Karri and Tingle trees:
The route then followed
the Munda Biddi trail for a few kilometers before returning to the
highway:
We arrived at the Bow
Bridge roadhouse in time for lunch:
After lunch, a few kms
further along the highway led to the start of a disused rail trail
that led all the way to Denmark:
The rail trail was nice
and flat, as expected, but encompassed a wide spectrum of different
surfaces, including thick grass, deep sand, gravel and soft mud. Most
of it was quite good riding, however the flies were a real nuisance
all afternoon:
Blue Tongue Lizard seen
on the trail:
Around 5pm we arrived
at Denmark where we found accommodation at the Denmark Hotel:
The hotel overlooked
the Denmark River where there was a pleasant riverside park:
We had a very good
dinner at the Denmark Tavern, a 10 minute walk uphill from our hotel.
Distance today 74kms,
total so far 779kms
Wednesday 23rd
November
It was a beautiful
sunny day We left Denmark just after 9am and headed along the South
Western Highway for about 10km before we could get back onto the
Munda Biddi trail. It proved to be narrow and quite overgrown:
Later the trail
returned to tarmac side roads for quite a few kms, before following
another disused rail trail:
The terrain was flat
and we made very good progress, arriving at Albany just after noon.
Entering the town we
saw the replica of the brig “Amity”, the ship that brought the
first settlers to Albany, and, in the distance, the huge Entertainment Centre and Mt Clarence:
The first thing we did
on arrival was to have our photo taken at the Munda Biddi trailhead:
In the visitors centre
close by we signed the trail register. Not many people seemed to have
been riding the trail, and those that had done so seemed to have
taken far longer than we did.
130700
After checking into the
Royal George Hotel, a heritage building nearby, and enjoying a good
lunch there, we took a ride around the town, which has many fine
heritage buildings:
We then rode uphll to
the Anzac memorial where there was a lookout with excellent views of
the harbour, from where a fleet carrying 40000 Australian servicemen
departed in late 1914 to serve in the Gallipoli campaign, a third of
whom never returned home.
Nearby is a new museum
dedicated to the Anzac force, but we didn't have time to go in:
Further on we came to
Middleton beach, where Martyn had a swim.
The route back to town
was along a cliffside cyclepath:
Back in town we visited
Alkoomi Wines and tasted 13 wines in a very short space of time. They
were all good!
We returned to our
hotel for a drink:
Dinner was at the
Venezia Italian restaurant which was excellent. We've certainly eaten well on this trip.
Distance today 76kms,
total so far 855kms
Thursday 24th November
We had booked onto an early afternoon flight back to Perth, and on the ride to the airport there was time to visit another winery, Oranje Traktor - a boutique operation that has the distinction of having welcomed Prince Charles and Camilla on their visit to Australia in 2015. We were given a very informative talk about how the wines are produced there, while enjoying tastings of several of them:
At Albany airport we wrapped the bikes with bubble wrap, and they travelled back with us on the plane as part of our baggage allowance.
The flight back to Perth took about an hour and it didn't take long to unwrap and reassemble them for the ride back into the city:
We arrived back at the hire shop where Martyn had to return his bike, just before 5pm.
Total distance cycled today was 32kms, giving an overall total of 887kms for the entire trip.
And so another big adventure ended! It certainly was a great ride through magnificent countryside, and the Munda Biddi trail is generally well signed and easy to follow. Some sections are quite technically challenging, almost all of it is hilly, and there are many kilometres of gravel surfaces. It would have been nice to have taken longer over it, but that would have involved camping, and therefore having to carry a lot more equipment. As it was, we had to take a few short cuts and so didn't ride the whole of the Munda Biddi trail, but probably only missed out about 1/5th of it.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please leave a comment if you can, also any suggestions for my next big cycling adventure are most welcome!