Munda Biddi Trail

This is an account of mine and John's ride on Stage 1 of the Munda Biddi Trail, WA. It took us 4 days to cover the 330km from Mundaring to Collie staying in shelters and one caravan park. We both rode hard tail mountain bikes and carried our kit (including sleeping mats and bags, cooking equipment and food for up to 1.5 days) in panniers. As my bike has disc brakes I used an Old Man Mountain Sherpa rack which attached to the rear axle. This worked well. John used a more conventional Blackburn rear pannier rack.

Click here to see some more photos of the trail.

Day 1 - Mundaring to Wungong Campsite (76.7 km)

At the start at Mundaring Sculpture Park

Pushing out of Mundaring Weir

It was a driech morning that Michelle dropped us at Mundaring, only 40 minutes from Perth. With the photo shoot complete we enjoyed the initial 8km descent to Mundaring Weir whilst getting used to handling of the bikes with the panniers. The long, steep, loose climb out of the valley soon saw us shedding layers and gave us out first taste of how surprisingly technical the trail was going to be.

With the long climb in the bag we enjoyed our lunch in a sunny spot and chatted with a young family out on the trail for a couple of days. Dad was doing sterling work towing a Bob Ibex with everyone's gear loaded in. For the rest of the afternoon we admired the bush and enjoyed the tight, twisty trails.

We arrived at the Wungong Campsite, about 1km off the trail, with just enough time to cook in the light. The campsite consisted of some areas to pitch tents, a sleeping shelter (wooded platforms) to sleep up to 25, a couple of picnic tables, a bike storage area, a simple work stand and a toilet. We marvelled at the simple privy which dehydrates the waste to 3-5% of its volume and left no odour.

We were not alone at the campsite. A couple about our age were having a first go at mountain biking and an older man was touring with his tent. They didn't really speak to us, which turned out to be a relief. Instead the older guy and the girl spent the evening talking over each other trying to out do one another with their travelling tails. These are the type of backpacking Aussie that give the rest a bad name.

With our pasta cooked and consumed we got an early night, or at least we tried to over the increasing loud boasts of how great the McDonalds in Cairo is.

Day 2 - Wungong to Dandalup Campsite (61.6 km)

A loose descent

Nice bush

Having actually got to sleep at a reasonable time we were up early and crept away from the campsite before we had to speak to our fellow campers. After slight delay to change a faulty inner tube we sped along the 26km to Jarrahdale on much flatter, smoother trails than yesterday.

Jarrahdale is little more than a shop but they were able to supply us with the toasties, cakes, cold drinks, coffees, day's food, bike oil and torch batteries that we needed.

Despite the easy morning and low mileage today the afternoon was to prove a good challenge with many more steep, technical sections both up and down. Progress was hampered a bit by the soft sandy conditions and infamous WA pea gravel.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon's biking in hot sunny weather we arrived at North Dandalup Dam looking forward to a swim to cool off. Despite being a lovely picnic spot with a man made sandy beach signs warned us not to swim in the water because of the risk of catching Amoebic Meningitis. The local kids didn't seemed bothered so we jumped in. This was a popular and pleasant spot. There was even a baby kangaroo hopping about.

A bit cooler and cleaner, we climbed over the last hill to our second campsite. This time we had the place to ourselves. It was a stunning location on the side of a steep hill with views all the way to the coast.

Day 3 - Dandalup to Lake Brockman Tourist Park (108.8 km)

Don't be so soft

Our trusty steeds

With a long way to go today we were up early and on the trail by 0650. A steep descent Whittakers Mill woke us up before some easier kilometres. However there were two more very technical sections left before lunch. The second of which we had been warned about by a guy cycling the other way. Ignoring his advise to push and the signs to dismount we carefully made our way down the steep, rutted path relatively unscathed.

Some more hard climbing saw us arrive at the town of Dwellingup on schedule. Here we did some grocery shopping and got a hot meal. The short rest and sustenance was needed as we were beginning to flag and there was still 60km to cover before dusk, which occurs at the early our of 1830.

A steep, loose climb almost straight away didn't help with the digestion. At the top we met a couple touring who looked more shattered than us. We were soon to find out why as we blasted down a very fast, long hill to Ranger Station.

Forest fire roads took us to the Murray River at Nanga camp ground, which looked a great spot. The next 20km were spent climbing slowly and steadily on a good track. In the early afternoon sun we stopped frequently to shed bike helmets and drink.

A short section of unsealed road took us to some wooded singletrack where we made our only navigational error. Despite having already covered 90km today this was not a complete disaster as we enjoyed a great trail that we wouldn't have ridden and were able to return to the turning we missed on a rare, if deserted, tarmac road.

Right at the end of the day a couple of sharp climbs tested our weary legs and a fast, narrow descent tested our tired reactions. It was in the soft light of late afternoon that we spun around Lake Brockman to the caravan park where we enjoyed our first shower for 3 days, a huge meal of ice creams, pies, steak, salad, chips and more ice creams and a bed to sleep in.

Day 4 - Lake Brockman to Collie (91.3 km)

Nice weather for platypuses

We had learned our lesson; these could be deep

Out early again today (just after 7). Some overnight rain had firmed the trails up but John was convinced that the threatening skies would come to nothing. Obviously, no sooner than he said this the heavens opened. The rain, which was pretty torrential, was one thing, but the trail was also blocked with bushes hanging down with the weight of water they held in their leaves. Pushing through even one branch was akin to having a bucket of water thrown over your head and there were dozens of them.

Damply we arrived at Yarri campsite where we were able to dry out a bit and cook some lunch. The last of our pasta was heated on the last of the gas and washed down with black tea. Just as we were leaving a couple arrived, who had also been staying at the caravan park. They were less impressed with the weather than us, coming from Darwin. At least as Poms we were used to it.

Apart from the occasional shower the weather perked up in the afternoon. The firmer, flatter trails meant we made good time. The only hazards were the huge puddles that had formed. These looked big enough to me to contain crocs.

The final 18km was all downhill and we were soon tuning our banjos for the spin into Collie. John tells me that towns like this are the norm for WA, with Perth being the cosmopolitan exception where you don't have to drive a ute and marry your cousin.

Big thanks to Michelle for picking us up, and dropping us off. I look forward the completion of the second stage of the trail from Collie to Northcliffe. In the meantime I am going to revisit some of the more technical sections without the panniers to really appreciate them.

Posted: 04/10/06