Pemberton to Albany
At Pemberton, I was finally where the Munda Biddi trail runs. My route down the coast had taken far from the trail. I could now give it a try.
I headed out to the Gloucester Tree which is where the Munda Biddi track starts from Pemberton. It is also where the Bibbulmun Walking track also passes the town.
The curious thing about all the pamphlets and maps for the Munda Biddi Track is that none of them have a picture of the symbol that appears on the sign posts you should follow.
You guessed it – I followed the signs for the walking track and not the signs for the bike track!!!!!!!!!!!!
Resorting to the Garmin
I followed the walking track for a few kilometers before it became far too difficult. I had to resort to letting the Garmin take control. That was wasn’t too bad for a while. It led me down forest tracks towards Northcliff. One of the tracks ran fairly close to the main road. It was clear but then suddenly became very overgrown. I decided to persist as I had ridden down a rather steep hill and wasn’t inclined retrace the route.
The track became even more over grown, but I could hear traffic and the Garmin was telling it was on 500 metres before it wanted me to ‘turn right on to the highway’. That 500 metres took forever.
On the Bus Again
The Munda Biddi track from Northcliff to Walpole is apparently really tough. I had already decided to give that a miss and take the bus from Northcliff through to Walpole. It was cold and wet. I had a beer in the pub waiting for the bus.
As we approached Walpole I noticed a cyclist on the road.
I checked into the hostel. Like the in Albany there was hardly anyone staying there. The only place to get a meal was the pub. It looked pretty shabby, but the meal was very good.
I had decided to stay a day in Walpole.
Giant Tingle Tree
The main thing to see in Walpole is the Giant Tingle Tree. This is about 10 klms from town. The Munda Biddi Track runs near the tree. This time I knew its symbol and was able to follow the trail. To get to the tree, you have to follow dirt road. I could see bike tyre marks in the dirt.
When I arrive at the park area where the Giant Tingle Tree is located, I came across the cyclist responsible for the tyre marks. We introduced ourselves and had a chat. She is a Dutch girl currently living in Kuala Lumpur. She was on a short holiday in WA and had decided to hire a bike to see the South West. We worked out that she had been the cyclist I had seen on the bus the day before. We checked out the tree and headed our separate ways. I rode back to Walpole.
Valley of the Giants
In the morning I head into the town centre for breakfast. I ran into the bloke with the Bob Trailer that I had met in Pemberton. He had ridden the Munda Biddi Track including “most of the Northcliff to Walpole leg”. He said it was really tough and had “ridden on the highway for the last 30 or so kilometers because of the sand”.
I head off to the next stop which was the ‘Valley of the Giants’ – very big trees. This park is about 10 klms off the highway.
When I got to the park I noticed the Dutch girl’s bike. As I was buying my tickets she arrived after doing the ‘Tree Top Walk’ through the trees. We had another chat before she headed off towards Bow Bridge.
I did the ‘Tree Top Walk’ through the Karri Trees and another walk through more Tingle Trees. Check out the Flickr Link
On a Very Tough Rail Trail
Not far from Bow Bridge, I came across the Dutch cyclist yet a again. We stopped for a very late lunch in a rather interesting café. It had a pool with Marron – very large freshwater crayfish.
There is a rail trail into Denmark from the place where we had stopped. It took a bit of finding but we did find and decided to give it a go. Some of it was very overgrown and sandy. At one point I almost ran over a Tiger Snake. My language was a bit on the ‘French’ side. It was late in the day the snake appeared to be asleep.
The trail improved as we continued. However we came to a point where it was ‘closed’ and we were forced on to highway. The last 14 kilometres in the dark seemed to take forever. We found the hostel, check in and headed off to the pub for dinner.
Day in Denmark
The Dutch cyclist headed off for Albany to catch the bus to Perth and her plane back to KL.
I spent the day in Denmark dealing with ‘administrative stuff’ including the ATO. They were very good.
Ride into Albany
The ride into Albany was mainly on the Munda Biddi Track. A lot of it was very close to the highway, but it is a good single track with not much sand.
It was great to finally arrive in Albany
Flickr Link
Garmin Links
Permberton to Northcliff
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/637035961
Around Walpole
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/637596387
Walpole t Denmark
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/638903257
NB Whole route not plotted
Denmark to Albany
billrider2013 