Girls On Top Go Riding

The Munda Biddi Trail (which means path through the forest in the Noongar Aboriginal language) is a 1000 km off-road, hard out mountain bike ride from Perth to Albany in South Western Australia.

The Munda Biddi Trail (which means path through the forest in the Noongar Aboriginal language) is a 1000 km off-road, hard out mountain bike ride from Perth to Albany in South Western Australia. The trail passes through coastal paths, forestry roads, rail trails, technical single track and remote four wheel drive tracks. You will experience surfaces from soft sand to pea gravel and hard packed dirt. You will pass through towering eucalyptus forests, unspoilt bushland and farmland. You will see emus, kangaroos, kookaburras, magpies, parakeets, crows, flies, spiders, iguanas, pelicans and lots more. The weather will deliver every weather pattern known to mankind. This ride is a true off-road mountain bike touring paradise. It is an incredible wilderness experience and pure bliss to someone who loves mountain biking and being in the outdoors. I give this trail a 10 out of 10. Put it on your bicycle bucket list for sure.  

According to a number of blogs and the official trail website, the recommended number of days for completing this trail is around 20 or so. Unfortunately, when booking the air tickets I failed to notice this and decided that we should be able to knock it off in around nine days. After all, how hard could 1000 kms through the Aussie wilderness be?

Photo © Debbie Chambers

Day one: Albany to Denmark (75km)

Our first day started with us being dropped off 30km short of the start of the trail. This meant we had to do 30kms down the main road to the start of the trail at the Albany visitor centre. After a quick start line photo we were on our way following the well-marked Mundabiddi trail. Our aim was to try to make it to the town of Denmark for the night so we could keep to our schedule and make our flight out of Perth nine days later. The trail meandered along back roads and bikes paths and was pretty flat and easy going so we were able to travel reasonably quickly. We had been warned numerous times of the perils of pea gravel on this trail however there we were hurtling along at breakneck speed when “next minute” Emma skidded on a corner and was on the ground. Opps! Luckily, she only had minor bruising and no real damage to the bike so on we peddled at a more sedate speed, respectful of the track surface. We rolled into Denmark around 8.30pm with 75kms on the clock and made our way to the YHA. Ah bliss! Dinner, a hot shower, and a bed.

Day two Denmark to Walpole (149kms)

We were anxious to get in a good days riding so were on the road by 5am. The trail started along the coast and our first stop was a beautiful beach. Here we met some friendly locals who shared their chilli hot chocolate with us. We were tempted to swim in the crystal clear water but it was a tad cold so we chickened out. Once we left the coast our day turned into a mega mission as we went up and over every ridge in sight. We were on the road for around 13 hours, climbed 2247 metres and travelled 149 kms. We had a bit of everything on the trail from wide gravel roads to narrow single trail and hard packed pea gravel to soft sand.  We had a swim in a freezing river, managed to lose the trail, got attacked my March flies, saw a snake, swallowed a fly and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. We arrived into Walpole elated but exhausted and searched for a place to stay. It was just on dark and everything looked closed but we found a nice restaurant for dinner. We even got the chef to make us lunch for the next day as all the shops were closed. We then looked for somewhere to sleep and could only find a nice warm baby changing room where we set up our beds for the night. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best sleep of the ride.....

Day three - Walpole to Northcliff (120kms)

Once again we were on the bikes at the crack of dawn eager to make the most of the daylight. As with every day we were treated to a variety of trails and scenery. We managed 10 and a half hours on the go, travelled 120kms saw one vehicle, one snake, one lizard, one wild cat, one kangaroo with a joey and managed to spit two flies out. We rolled into Northcliff around 3pm more than happy to be off the bikes as we both had some decent chafing. We found a supermarket to stock up supplies and then headed to a camp-ground to find a nice hot shower and a comfy bed for the night.


Photo © Debbie Chambers

Day four – Northcliff to Manjiup (121km)

We started the day with an awesome breakfast of scrambled eggs given to us by the campground owner. The trail on this day was relatively easy with awesome trails and scenery and lots to stop off and see. We both rated it as the best day yet. The highlights of the day were finding a café with sensational coffee, having a delicious lunch of blue cheese, crackers and salad, climbing a 54 meter tree, spending the day on free flowing single tracks, passing through a pine plantation and not seeing many flies or mosquitos. After 10 hours or so on the go we were more than happy to find ourselves in Manjiup. The last 10kms were straight into a howling headwind and the smell of rain was in the air. We checked into a motel, enjoyed a hot shower and a massive dinner whilst listening to the rain on the roof and the wind howling outside. Bliss.

Day five – Manjiup to Donnybrook (160 kms)

This turned out to be another mega day. It started off cold and wet and we were both struggling a little with our headspace contemplating a long day in the rain and cold. Around mid- morning we found a quaint little café at Donnelly Mill. We were expecting a dilapidated old mining town so you can imagine the excitement we felt as we treated ourselves to carrot cake and coffee. We set off from the café with caffine in our veins feeling a lot more positive about the day. About an hour down the trail we discovered we had left the wallet behind at the café – doh – reluctantly we unpacked our gear, stowed it in the bushes and navigated our way on roads back to the café. To our relief it was there and back we went to the bikes. Once back at the bikes we were stunned to see a road train truck travelling about 100kms an hour down a narrow gravel road. We counted our lucky stars we were not on the road at the time.  

The day was full of ups and downs with soggy wraps for lunch, soggy lollies, a massive gravel road detour due to fires and bikes creaking due to the mud and grit. However, once the rain cleared we appreciated things a bit more and enjoyed fly free and cool riding for most of the afternoon. We noticed a real change in vegetation and trail type today, the forest felt smaller and more dense. We saw lots of Kangaroos, five baby emus and fifteen adults, one impressive eagle and one aggressive iguana. We rolled into Donnybrook just on dark, found a supermarket then a back packers, had a hot shower and a meal of fish and chips and called it a night. The full moon was stunning.

Day six – Donnybrook to Yarri (100kms)

The way things had fallen for us we had managed to spend every night in a town and hadn’t yet experience one of the awesome shelters provided for riders along the trail. Today we were determined to sleep out, so decided to by-pass the town of Collie and set our sights on the Yarri campsite. We were now confident we would make the trail in eight to nine days and not miss our flight home, so were able to relax and focus more on the journey rather than the destination. We woke to a beautiful morning with a full moon and rather chilly temperatures. Our first mission was to ride to a town called Boysup for a coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee was average but nothing could dampen our spirits. We spent the day riding and chatting and re-capping on highlights of the ride so far. The trail was slightly disappointing as much of it was overgrown, sandy and messy but we still managed some good climbs and awesome descents. We travelled 100kms with1160 meters of climb. This was our shortest day for a while with only eight hours on the go. We arrived at the Yarri shelter mid-afternoon, set up camp and prepared dinner. We spent a very pleasant evening with a 71 year old guy from Aussie called Jim who was doing the trail on his own.

Day seven – Yarri campsite to Dandalup campsite (140kms)

Wow what a day this was – it was hot as hell and tough riding. We managed to hit the trail early and stopped for morning tea at the Logue brook dam campsite hoping to gain some relief from the heat, however the campsite was full of people and March flies so we didn’t linger. We then pushed on to Dwellingup our least favourite town of the ride where we restocked and tried to escape the soaring temperatures. We met nobody on the trails and only saw the odd emu, the bush was small and scrappy but at least the trails were not overgrown. We ended up travelling 140kms spent 13 hours on the go, climbed 1937 metres and descended 1817 meters. The trails were full of loose pea gravel and sand but we now considered ourselves pea gravel and sand drifting experts and didn’t get too phased by this. For the first time on the ride we met two hills we couldn’t ride but we were rewarded with stunning views of lakes and rivers. We limped into camp just on dusk and were treated to spectacular panoramic views.


Photo © Debbie Chambers

Day eight Yarri campsite to Carinyah campsite

Wow what a night. It was extremely hot and the pesky mosquitoes were out in force. We awoke to the most incredible electric storm. We could see the lightening in the valley below and hear the thunder so decided it was a better choice to stay snug in our sleeping bags. Before long the storm was directly above us, the thunder cracked and rumbled the lightening lit up the dawn sky, then the heavens opened and the rain teamed down. After the storm had passed we set off on some incredible single trails only to be hit by another furious storm a few kms from the next town Jarrahdale. We put our heads down hoping not to be hit by lightning and high tailed it into the town where we arrived dripping and filthy. Luckily the café had an outside area and we soothed our souls with scrambled eggs, a Shepherds pie and coffee.  Once the weather settled a bit we were back on the rail aiming for the Carinyah Campsite. The trails were reasonably fast flowing although the downs were interspersed with tough climbs and lots of pea gravel. I narrowly avoided a near fatal accident involving pea gravel, a tree and a sharp left turn at speed. We covered 91kms in 8 hours 30 mins and climbed 1348 meters. We cruised into the Carinyah campsite mid- afternoon and debated whether to sleep one more night on the trail or to push the final 43 kms to the finish of the trail. We decided to spend another night on the trail in order to really appreciate what the Munda Biddi was all about. We had an awesome afternoon washing clothes, chatting and enjoying the surroundings.

Day nine – Carinyah Campsite to Mundaring

This was our last day on the trail. We woke up sad to be ending this trip but also grateful to have experienced it. The trails were awesome nearer the campsite but soon turned into rutty rocky steep climbs and we were glad we hadn’t pushed on the night before. This section turned out to be tougher than we thought. After four hours of pretty tough riding we peddled into Mundaring and the end of the trail. True to form we headed for the nearest café and ordered scrambled eggs and coffee. What a great feeling – we had pushed ourselves to our limits and achieved the goals we set. We felt calm and quiet and at peace. However, we then had to ride 40kms to Perth to the place we were staying at. Arrggh cars, people pollution ... at least it was pretty much all down hill.

Tips. Use this site www.mundabiddi.org.au/ to plan your trip:

• Plan according to your fitness level
• Allow plenty of time
• Invest in the maps
• Never ignore a detour
• Travel as light as you can without compromising safety
• Make sure you are self sufficient
• Take water purification
• Take a fly net
• Take a mosquito net or coils if sleeping out
• Don’t forget your camera

Originally published in NZ Triathlon & Multisport Issue 101, April 2015