Day 6 of the Munda Biddi Trail, this section takes cyclists from the trail town of Dwellingup to Bidjar Ngoulin. Leaving the town, the trail heads down into Lane Poole Reserve, entering the Murray Valley Mountain Bike Trail Network and the campground of Nanga Mill, before following the North Junction Form to camp. A day of quality trails and lovely scenery, this is one of the best days of the Munda Biddi's northern sections
Distance: 27.2 km (one way, not including side trips)
Gradient: Some undulating areas with some moderate climbs, though with extended descents and sections of flat track
Quality of Path: Mix of vehicle tracks, rail trails and high quality single track
Quality of Signage: Well signed at almost all trail junctions
Experience Required: Mountain Biking experience recommended
Time: 2-3 Hours
Steps: None, this is a bike trail
Best Time to Visit: All Year; but the South West of WA is always best from August-October
Date(s) Completed: 16th May, 2020
Entry Fee: No
Getting There: No direct access to Bidjar Ngoulin. Car access points can be located at Dwellingup, Nanga Rd, Nanga Mill Campground and the Fawcett TrackDate(s) Completed: 16th May, 2020
Entry Fee: No
With the Jarrahdale to Dwellingup section of the Munda Biddi completed in June, the continuation of the sectional End to End journey requires a bit of a jump back in time to May. Due to prescribed burns near North Dandalup Dam in May, I had to make some decisions that altered the order in which I did my sectional End to End. With the Intrastate borders still up due to COVID-19, I had a limited number of sections to choose from, so the logical choice was to skip ahead to the next section from Dwellingup to Bidjar Ngoulin as it was still within the Perth and Peel Region. Initially, this day was going to be the swan song for the Merida I started the Munda Biddi on, but I was delighted to receive the Polygon Xtrada 6 just the day before heading out to Dwellingup. As such, while the bridge over the Serpentine River marked the sequential first appearance of the Polygon, this was the first section of the Munda Biddi that I would be riding with the new bike.
From the Bibbulmun/Munda Biddi meeting point at the Corner of Newton and Marinup Streets, the Munda Biddi runs along a suburban street to the edge of town. Being autumn, the deciduous trees gave the street a lovely pop of red and orange foliage. While non-native trees, this was a nice start to the day given the rest of it would be an almost continuous corridor of Jarrah.
Leaving town via River Rd, I was heartened to find the Jarrah forest to be the more mature and lush style common to the Dwellingup area. The last few times I'd been to Dwellingup, I'd been walking through areas that were either badly burnt by the Waroona fires or were very scrappy looking regrowth. While far from old growth giants, the trees here were at least old and relatively unburnt enough to not look like spindly used matchsticks.
Loving the forest and the easy downhill journey on River Rd, I had to hit the brakes hard to make the sharp left turn onto a single track ascent. This was a slow and steady ascent that felt much longer than it really was, but at least the quality forest kept me in good spirits. Looking at the comparison of the Munda Biddi and the Bibbulmun Track in the area, it was interesting to see that the two run parallel to each other at this point, separated by only the narrowest corridor of forest until they diverge as they reach Nanga Rd.
After the climbing, Nanga Rd signalled a shift towards a sustained descent. A wide two abreast track runs next to Nanga Rd itself, which thankfully takes bikes off the road along this winding descent. Being removed from traffic, I really enjoyed a fast descent through this section, particularly feeling more confident knowing I was riding a new and fully functional bike - and with a new helmet too!
The descent takes the trail through to the entrance of Lane Pool Reserve. With the COVID-19 campsite restrictions having been lifted only two weeks earlier and two days to go before intrastate travel was greatly relaxed, people were definitely excited to be able to go explore their own backyard. Signs at the entry pay station noted that all campsites were full, and I wondered how many disorganised people would be rocking up only be disappointed. Passing the pay station (which doesn't require payment from cyclists), the trail veers right towards the bridge over the Murray River.
Alissa and I crossed this bridge many times while doing our sectional Bibbulmun Track End to End as Nanga Rd leads to the Driver Rd crossing access point. This would be my first time crossing it on a bike, and I was keen to see what the river looked like.
Having arrived at the road after the 'no stopping on bridge' sign, I hadn't realised I wasn't supposed to stop, and with no traffic on either side, I decided to get a quick snap of the river while I was here. As I was taking the photo, two cars arrived so I quickly got going to the other side.
From the bridge, there is about a kilometre of road cycling along a very gradual, steady ascent before the track turns onto Murray Valley Rd. This part of the road is closed off to cars and the gate seemed to be very solidly barricaded to prevent vandals from pulling it out or trying to drive around it. Just beyond the gate, a sign warned of the blasting operations of Alcoa, whose bauxite mining south of Nanga are quite a significant blight on the landscape - even if I felt a greater sense of complicity than usual thanks to the aluminium frame of my bicycle.
The descent down Murray Valley Rd offers some nice views of the surrounding hills while providing the adrenaline rush of going downhill. The looseness of the pea gravel prevented me from going full speed all the way, but it certainly made for a fast and enjoyable stretch of the trail.
The trail levels out as it heads high along the banks of the Murray River. Not to be confused with the famous Murray River in the Eastern States, this Murray River has carved an impressive river valley. The river valley is what makes Lane Poole Reserve so popular with Perth residents as it provides opportunities of hiking, cycling, kayaking and camping along its shores and hills.
Arriving at a car park, I was pleasantly surprised to see the trail change to narrow single track as it wound its way through the forest. With plenty of mountain bikers around, I had to stop and check that I was indeed on the Munda Biddi as it seemed like such a stark juxtaposition from the more utilitarian wide trails I'd be following all day. Stopping to ask a mountain biking group, I received confirmation that this was indeed the Munda Biddi. I would learn later that this was a fairly new realignment that had been put in place to facilitate the expansion of the Murray Valley Mountain Bike Trail Network.
Properly constructed to mountain bike trail specifications, the cycling through here were a pea gravel-less dream of smooth, easy going riding - even in sections that went uphill. Some parts of the forest featured some unsightly blackened trunks from recent prescribed burns, however the quality trail and pleasurable riding largely trumped my negative feelings about burnt Jarrah, and again illustrated how the fun overlay of cycling can help make less impressive sections of forest more enjoyable.
Given the turn offs along the trail, the Munda Biddi markers along this stretch are less obvious than they could be, and at one point I realised it had been a while since I'd actually seen a Munda Biddi marker at all. As the trail came close to Chuditch campground, I stopped to check out a nearby map and trailhead that confirmed my suspicion - I'd missed a turn off and was now on the unimaginatively named Trail 12 of the Murray Valley Trail Network. Since mountain bike trails are one way and Trail 12 joins back onto the Munda Biddi anyway, I decided to complete Trail 12. Rated as a green (easy) trail, the descent was fun and fast without being outside of my abilities, and I really enjoyed this rather scenic and adventurous descent option. In fact, for cyclists heading southbound, Trail 12 is definitely worth the brief detour. I've not really done much true mountain bike trails before, but I have to admit I can see the rollercoaster-in-the-forest appeal and would be keen to come back and try more of the trails some other time.
Leaving the mountain bike trails after crossing a small creek, the Munda Biddi continues on some recently constructed single track as it follows a series of switchbacks up towards an old vehicle track providing a link to Nanga Mill.
While less special than the mountain bike quality trails earlier, this was still enjoyable cycling given the lush quality of the forests through the area.
Along the vehicle track, the Munda Biddi signage became a little confusing and it suggests that whoever marked this section didn't really think how the signs would appear to cylists travelling in a southbound direction. The marker in the foreground points northbound cyclists in the direction I'd come, which obviously makes sense. The yellow sign that is slightly out of focus was a bit confusing as it wasn't clear who it was meant for.
From the direction I'd come from, it looked like the sign was pointing up an extremely steep ascent, and knowing the trail standard of the Munda Biddi this seemed implausible.
Stopping to consult the map, I noted a sharp turn in the trail near Nanga Mill, which indicated to me that the sign must have been for northbound cyclists heading up the hill to take the sharp turn right to head in the direction I'd come from and that they'd simply failed to put a change of direction marker at this junction for southbound cyclists. Heading down the hill, I was elated to see that I'd read the map right when a Munda Biddi trail marker made an appearance as the trail turned onto Murray Valley Rd. Perhaps out of the elation but most likely due to the looser nature of pea gravel in areas used by cars, I ended up sliding out of control and having my second chronological accident of the trail (my third sequentially)! This time there was thankfully no shoulder injury, but it meant my right knee was joining my left knee for a bad scrape and gash.
Getting off the road, I stopped to mend the wound. A kind passerby offered a band aid to me, however I had much more hardcore wound dressings in my medikit which was definitely required given the size of the cut. After patching up the knee, I went down to check out a small waterfall that runs along Nanga Brook just off the Munda Biddi.
Heading uphill, I recognised the main grassy camping area in Nanga Mill. Nanga Mill is a very popular camping spot for families, and the pines in the area always makes Alissa and I think of Camp Chippewa from the film Addams Family Values. Without Alissa here to make a quip about 'the scent of pine', I continued up the road to join the North Junction Form.
Alissa and I had walked the North Junction Form before, as it forms the vast majority of the King Jarrah Track. At the time of that walk, I'd felt that while the forests along the form are mostly enjoyable, the eleven kilometres along a continuous corridor with very samey scenery became somewhat monotonous and taxing by the end of it. It definitely felt like something more suited to a bicycle, and I'd considered it a perfect 'dual mode' trail if you could drop bikes off to complete the home stretch along the form.
By bicycle, the trail was a lot more enjoyable; the form makes for mostly flat cycling, and at the speed of a bicycle it didn't feel like a horribly long slog even if the scenery is quite repetitive. There were some changes in scenery however, with sections of railways cuttings providing some variety and visual interest.
As I continued on the trail, it was interesting to see a lot of hikers doing the King Jarrah Track in this direction. When Alissa and I did the trail back in 2017, we did the walk in the reverse order given that's what the trailhead indicated. It made me wonder why the change in direction, and whether the walk would be more interesting if done in the way given you get the boring parts over and done with.
Sadly the tall lush forest that had dominated most of the day's walking gave way to areas that had been severely burnt in the Waroona Fires. My general rule of thumb is that these kinds of forests look interesting in the immediate aftermath because of how stark it is, then once the epicormic buds start shooting and the understory begins to grow like crazy due to the lack of a canopy, it is an unpleasant mess for at least decade before things start to get back in balance.
In spite of the ugly burnt forest, it appears that a lot of people do walk and cycle through this area based on the massive display of 'sculptural graffiti' on a granite outcrop along the trail. There's an almost religious zeal against these rock cairns in some hiking community groups, and I can imagine this image firing up a few people if I posted this to some Facebook pages.
Continuing along the form, the trail crosses a culvert over Dawn Creek. It was heartening to see even minor creeks flowing in early May.
Heading away from the creek, the forest began to leave the Waroona Fire zone and into a stand of forest that looked to have escaped mostly unscathed. Combined with a good run of flat terrain, this was a lot more pleasant to be cycling through.
After crossing the Fawcett Track with a huge convoy of four wheel drives crossing the path, the trail reaches a small car park underneath some mining propaganda I recognised from when I was here hiking. Not long after, the trail passes by the junction with the King Jarrah Track. The trail is so named because it passes one of the King Jarrahs - a massive, ancient Jarrah that was left in place while the surrounding forest was logged. Given I'd already done the trail before and it is a steep climb up from the track I gave it a miss, however it is definitely worth checking out if you've never seen it before.
By the time I'd passed the King Jarrah Track junction, I'd been on the railway form for 40 minutes and was beginning to lose interest. Literally less than a minute after I began wondering how much longer I'd be on this never ending form, I was pleasantly surprised to see a trail junction sign. While the sign does not indicate the location of a hut nearby (probably to keep it a secret from the car campers and dirt bike riders), the fact arrows pointed up and down the track and to a side trail made it clear enough a sign that Bidjar Ngoulin was not far away.
Pulling up the somewhat overgrown trail, I arrived at Bidjar Ngoulin. As this was my first time with 27.5 inch wheels, I thought I'd check out the often mentioned issue that the parking spots are too narrow for the wider and larger tyres more common on newer bikes.
One of the great losses suffered by the Munda Biddi as a result of the Waroona fires is how different Bidjar Ngoulin used to look. Seeing older photos of the hut and surrounding environment, it was clear that this was once spectacular, lush Jarrah forest in the Dwellingup style, and I could see why it was considered one of the best campsites in the Jarrah forest on the track. While it doesn't look as starkly different as, say, the area surrounding Blackwood hut on the Bibbulmun, it is a shadow of its former self.
While not as easy as Wungong to Jarrahdale, Dwellingup to Bidjar Ngoulin is one of the easier sections of the trail. On top of being easier, it is also one of the most spectacular and enjoyable days yet with high quality Jarrah forest and a good mix of trail types ranging from fast flowy mountain bike trails and easy going rail formation cycling. While Bidjar Ngoulin has been badly scarred, the overall quality of the day definitely outweighed the negatives and I'd be very happy to do this day again, or at least come back with Alissa to give the mountain bike trails a go.
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