Munda Biddi Trail (WA) - Karta Burnu to Manjimup

Day 16 of the Munda Biddi Trail, this section takes cyclists from Karta Burnu into the town of Manjimup. Leaving camp through Foresters Wood, the trail heads along roads and rail trails that feature a mix of forest types - including some lovely Karri forest. Passing through the historic milling town of Deanmill, the trail heads along the Deanmill Heritage Trail into town. A pleasant and easy day of the Munda Biddi

Distance: 23 km (one way)

Gradient: Some undulating areas with some mild climbs and descents

Quality of Path: Mix of vehicle tracks, single track and roads

Quality of Signage: Mostly well signed at all trail junctions

Experience Required: Mountain Biking experience recommended

Time: 2 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: 29th August, 2020
Entry Fee: No
Getting There: No direct access to Karta Burnu. The trail can be accessed from Ipsen Rd in Deanmill and in Manjimup from outside the Manjimup Train Station

With Donnelly River Village to Karta Burnu being a very short section of the Munda Biddi, my time at Karta Burnu was fairly brief; it was a good opportunity to review the map for what was to come, rehydrate and chow down on a Snickers for energy. Having completed the longer of the two sections and with only 23 kilometres left to go, I gave Alissa a better estimate of my arrival time in Manjimup and then headed out through Foresters Wood. 

Leaving the exotic plantings behind, the Munda Biddi leaves Foresters Wood by turning out onto Coutt Rd. 

One of the not great things about the Munda Biddi going by areas with plantations is that they will inevitably be cut down at some stage, and at the time of my cycle it passes a massive, desolate clearing. Unfortunately this will take a very, very long time before the replacement trees grow large enough to be of interest so I guess we're stuck with a less than ideal view along this stretch. 

Thankfully the cleared plantation did not last very long before it was back to scrappy Jarrah forest. The trail immediately after the plantation may have been uphill, however with the entire section marked as green trail it was pretty easy cycling. 

The ascent didn't last long before I was cruising along the trail through an area that looked like it had recently either had a prescribed burn or a recent bushfire, with its close proximity to a nearby private property suggesting to me it was probably the former. 

Skirting the edge of the private property, the Munda Biddi follows a fast and fun descent between the fence line and the forest. 

Near the bottom of the descent, the trail passes by the private property's dam. The dam had an intensely blue colour which, in spite of the hype that surrounds Black Diamond Lake in Collie, is actually very common with dams and artificial lakes in the South West. The trail actually runs below the dam once it passes it so there are no clear views of it up close. 

Passing the dam, I was pleased to see the quality of the forest pick up greatly, with a lot more mature and interesting looking trees than the scrappiness immediately after Karta Burnu. This was enjoyable riding, and with easy going terrain I was almost on autopilot.

This proved a double edged sword; passing a sign for Dentata Rd (which made me chuckle a bit as it made me think of the 2007 film 'Teeth'), I somehow missed a turn onto the Long Formation and instead found myself on Stump Rd. Realising it had been an unusually long time without seeing a Munda Biddi sign, I took stock of where I was and the pros and cons of doubling back. Having already completed about a third of Stump Rd, I decided to just persevere and while it was more winding it was still nice enough cycling.

Rejoining Long Formation/Dentata Rd and the official route, the regrowth nature of the forest was most apparent and I have to admit I was looking forward to it coming to an end. 

Crossing over into Water Corp-managed lands, the forest quality took a massive step up in quality as it entered sections of more mature forest. 

Rather than the long, often straight sections of road that defined much of my cycling since Karta Burnu, the trail here was much more engaging; grown in and narrowed, and with some curves along with the straights to keep it interesting, there was a lot to like about this stretch of trail. 

After all the lovely forest cycling, I was sad to see it end as I joined Peter Rd. From here, the Munda Biddi enters a section of farmland cycling, briefly turning onto Appadene Rd and then following some country back roads.

Lined with tall Karri, the cycling through here is fairly pleasant and again embraces the quality farmland scenery that can be offered in the South West. 

The farms here seem to predominantly be growing avocadoes, with rows and rows of trees filling the orchards that the trail passes by. 

Returning to a small pocket of forest, the Munda Biddi continues for around 2 kilometres before reaching the small settlement of Deanmill. 

A historic timber town not dissimilar to Donnelly River Village, Deanmill is filled with similarly charming cottages, except unlike Donnelly River Village is primarily a tourist attraction (with some residents) Deanmill is still an active town where people live and work, with its close proximity to Manjimup probably being responsible for its continued sustainability as a settlement.

Passing the Deanmill Workers Club, the Munda Biddi cruises down Ipsen St towards the Deanmill Heritage Trail. 

Lacking a clear and distinct trailhead, the Munda Biddi turns onto a vehicle track off Ipsen Rd as it heads towards the start of the Heritage Trail. 

Being a good old Aussie town, Deanmill has quite an impressive footy oval, with the Munda Biddi passing by the rear stands.

From here, the Munda Biddi is on the five kilometre home stretch to Manjimup as it follows the Deanmill Heritage Trail along a very obvious rail form. With tall Karri forest on either side of the trail and relatively flat cycling, this was a lovely stretch of trail. 

Emerging out of the forest at the Macedonian Hall, the Munda Biddi follows a narrow rail corridor that runs alongside Ipsen Rd towards Manjimup. 

Most of the views here are dominated by grassland pastures, which were somewhat inundated and filled with ducks, swans and ibises at the time of my ride. 

Closer to town, the trail switches to a sealed path as it passes through paperbark swampland that again was filled with interesting birdlife in spite of the narrowness of the corridor. 

Only a few metres from the Munda Biddi's Manjimup trailhead, the Munda Biddi passes the Deanmill Heritage Trail's trailhead and follows the sealed path towards the main park in the middle of town. A cool feature here is that bits of the old railway line have been left in place, offering an interesting glimpse into the area's rail heritage. 

The day's riding ended for me at the Munda Biddi trailhead, which is located adjacent to the large playground and the old Manjimup Train Station. Looking at Google Maps, it was clear the station had been the town's visitor centre for sometime but has since moved. With a population of just under 4,500, Manjimup is the main service town for the Southern Forests area. While it was (and still is) primarily a logging town, it can also lay claim to being the place where the Pink Lady apple was first developed by the Department of Agriculture and has become world renowned for being one of the best areas for producing the black Perigord truffle in the Southern Hemisphere. Being late August, Alissa and I were lucky enough to pick up one of the last truffles of the season, which we used for a delicious, pimped up carbonara when we got home. 

Combined with Donnelly River Village to Karta Burnu, the journey from DRV to Manjimup was a good day of riding on the Munda Biddi, however I'd have to say Karta Burnu to Manjimup was the lesser of the two. While perfectly pleasant and with some very nice Karri forest on either side of Deanmill, it was also less distinctive as it lacked the focal point of Donnelly River or even the crazy amount of switchbacks up to Karta Burnu to make it distinctive. Still, seeing places I'd never visited like Deanmill and riding its namesake heritage trail made the day worthwhile, and my lower enthusiasm is really only a comparative reflection of how much I enjoyed the stretch along the Donnelly. Having reached Manjimup, I was now done with Map 5 of the Munda Biddi which proved to be an enjoyable stretch overall.