Munda Biddi Trail (WA) - Nannup to Donnelly River Village

 

Day 14 of the Munda Biddi Trail, this section takes cyclists from the town of Nannup to Donnelly River Village. Leaving town through the rolling hill farmland of East Nannup Rd, the trail enters a mix of Jarrah and Karri forest as it passes Willow Springs campsite and a King Karri. Ending at the magical Donnelly River Village, cyclists are greeted by the village's tranquil surrounds, as well as tame kangaroos and emus

Distance: 36.46 km (one way)

Gradient: Mostly gentle with some moderate inclines and descents

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

Quality of Signage: Well signed at all trail junctions

Experience Required: Mountain Biking experience recommended

Time: 3-4 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: Direct access is possible to both Nannup and Donnelly River Village. Nannup can be accessed via current Vasse Hwy and Donnelly River Village from Sears Rd via Brockman Hwy

Alissa and I returned to Nannup two weeks after Mark and I completed our ride from Donnybrook to Nannup. In the interim, I'd gone back to complete Nglang Boodja to Donnybrook after we'd been forced to reschedule thanks to inclement weather, however the biggest event that had occurred in the interim was Alissa and I both falling sick with what we've come to believe was the flu. Being a school teacher, Alissa is always at greater risk for this kind of thing, and while we were relieved it wasn't COVID-19 (Alissa went for a test which came back negative), it left me feeling a bit weakened when I picked the trail up again. While I'd recovered from the worst of it, I still had a bit of a cough and a runny nose from the secondary infections and was concerned that the ride was going to be a greater challenge than normal. 

With a comparatively easy 36.46 kilometres to cover and with most of it being green rated trail, this would be a good diagnostic to see how I'd go given the next day was doing to be a double through to Manjimup that I could easily cut in half if I really couldn't cope. Popping in for breakfast at the Nannup Hot Bread Shop (which I highly recommend, both for its cute Art Deco design and very high quality pies), Alissa dropped me off near the visitor centre so I could pick the trail up from where I'd left it. From here, the Munda Biddi basically runs along the main street of town. 

As I rode through town, I was relieved to find that my illness hadn't greatly weakened my cycling abilities, and while not 100% it was a lot easier than I had thought it would be . Heading south out of town, the Munda Biddi finally leaves Brockman Hwy as it turns left onto Vasse Hwy and then takes an immediate turn onto East Nannup Rd. 

A sealed road, The Munda Biddi runs along the entirety of East Nannup Rd's 12.43 kilometres. While sealed road is not exactly what I'd hoped from a trail marketed as off-road cycling experience, the easy, fast riding on bitumen and the beautiful farmland scenery made this quite enjoyable. In fact, East Nannup Rd's idyllic scenery seems to have made it popular with road cyclists as a massive lycra brigade on their light, streamlined bikes rode past me at one point. 

Along East Nannup Rd is the Nannup Valley Chalets, which look like an awesome place to stay. Unfortunately at the time of my ride the place looked to be closed, perhaps due to COVID-19. Which is a real shame; local tourism has been booming thanks to Western Australians having to holiday at home this year, and this looks like just the kind of place I can imagine people really wanting to stay at given the rolling hills had a certain Tasmania/New Zealandesque charm to it at this lush time of the year.

Continuing along past the chalets, the trail once again offers lovely farmland views, with a particularly rolling hill being home to a herd of cows enjoying the shade of the valley. 

At a bend in the road, the Munda Biddi enters its first considerable pocket of Karri forest lining Long Gully. As someone who loves Karri forest this is exactly what I'd been waiting for - the arrival of Karri country!

While sustained Karri forest would still be a few kilometres further along the trail, there were a number of large, mature and impressive Karri lining East Nannup Rd for most of the rest of its distance. 

For the most part, East Nannup Rd had been a moderately flat ride with some mild undulations, it takes a moderate climb as it turns in a more southwardly direction. Being on bitumen, the climb was not too much of a challenge. 

Once at the crest of the hill, it is a fast, fun descent to the end of East Nannup Rd which I took at full speed almost all the way. 

My only stop was to check out the splodge of blue I could see off to the side of the road. On closer inspection (and with confirmation from the much more wildflower-knowledgeable Mark Pybus), it was a Leschenaultia, or as I would have called it 'blue flower'. 

Reaching the end of East Nannup Rd, the Munda Biddi turns onto Gold Gully Rd which, 15.5 kilometres into the day, was also the end of the bitumen cycling. 

Along the road, the Munda Biddi passes by some significant pockets of Karri forest which were a lovely sight.

These pockets were initially rare however, with most of the cycling being through fairly ordinary Jarrah forest.

With the trail heading in a generally downhill direction, it was most heartening to finally enter sustained Karri forest, which would be the main forest type for the rest of the day. 

A nice surprise was Willow Springs campsite, which apparently is a campsite for the Warren Blackwood Stock Route. I'd never heard of the trail before but looking it up online I discovered it is a fairly new equestrian trail with eight campsites, including Willow Springs. Willow Springs was the site of a former mining camp, and Alissa and I actually passed it when it was being used by car campers on the Bibbulmun Track. The campsite has been designed for equestrian use, with an area put aside for horses to be stabled. 

The campsite is a really lovely area, with a large flat that is perfect for setting up a tent in.

As well as a toilet, the campsite also features a shelter similar to the group campsites on the Bibbulmun Track or the one on the Wiilman Bilya, except smaller. With all these facilities, I'm surprised this trail is not really spoken about much as it looks like the campsites have been given the same level of consideration as a Bibbulmun Track or Munda Biddi, albeit with a more cut down shelter design. 

After taking a short break at Willow Springs, I continued on along the Munda Biddi. Crossing the Bibbulmun Track, the Munda Biddi heads uphill, with the trail on the other side of this rudimentary log barrier being some nice single track. 

The single track through here was actually quite narrow and genuinely single track in width. Closer to Pemberton, the local DBCA office have mandated wider trails to allow safer access in case of emergencies, so it was a pleasant surprise to see such narrow trail. Some of the riding through here was fairly steep, and with lots of branches across the track was the first relatively challenging section given my reduced lung capacity. 

Reaching some vehicle tracks, the forest once again returned to mixed forest that included pockets of scrappy, thin Jarrah, more mature Jarrah and some Karri thrown in. 

Thankfully it is not all on vehicle tracks, and there are some really lovely sections that appeared to be on old rail forms. I enjoyed the fact the trail ran through pockets of very mature Marri and Karri. 

Returning back to to vehicle tracks, it was disappointing to see that all the Munda Biddi signs seemed to have been apparently damaged by an overwide road grader that had bent or flattened all the markers. This is an example where DBCA's policy of taking the Munda Biddi marker off the trees and onto marker poles can be less than ideal as it is less likely these would have been damaged if they were on a tree. 

After some trails of mixed quality, the Munda Biddi turns onto Willow Springs Form Rd which runs alongside the Donnelly River for the home stretch into Donnelly River Village. 

An enjoyable rail form/narrow single lane track, there was a nice, fast sustained downhill which was a real treat through the forest.

Just before reaching Donnelly River Village, the Munda Biddi intersects with a dual use trail to the King Karri (or least one of the King Karris in the South West). 

the King Karri is well worth the very short detour given this is a massive tree as can be seen from its girth in comparison to the size of my bicycle. 

Looking up at the majestic giant, it is clear that the top of the tree had snapped off years ago, and yet what was left behind is still an extremely large, ancient tree of immense grandeur. 

Continuing back on the Munda Biddi, the trail crosses the Donnelly River at a rather tranquil spot. It is an area I would have loved to have lingered longer at, however with a family having a picnic and an older couple sitting at the nearby bench, I decided to just power it the rest of the way into Donnelly River Village. 

Joining onto Andrew Rd as it heads into the Village, the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun Track have a new shared trailhead outside the village general store. 

Alissa and I stayed at Donnelly River Village when we did the Bibbulmun Track, and it is easily one of the most magical places in the South West. When people from overseas imagine that we Australians have kangaroos walking down the streets of our cities, it is mostly a completely myth, however it is actually true in Donnelly River Village. Here the kangaroos and emus are incredibly tame and calm, walking the village streets with not a care in the world and quite happy to accept a pat for some food (the kangaroos anyway; I've not been game to pat an emu). 

Last time Alissa and I were here, we stayed in the old school which has been converted into budget bunk accomodation for hikers and cyclists.

For those who can't afford the meagre price of the bunk room or who want to be purists, there are also some free shelters right in the middle of town. When we were last here they were a teal and white colour, however the Bibbulmun Track volunteers had recently refurbished them and they now have a wooden finish that make them look much more like the Bibbulmun Track huts seen elsewhere.

Something Alissa and I really wanted to do last time we were in Donnelly River Village was to stay in one of the old cottages that make up the settlement. It didn't make sense last time as we were only staying one night, but as we were staying both the Friday and the Saturday nights we decided to treat ourselves. Hilariously, the smallest cottage is for six people so we decided to extend the offer to both our parents to join us as neither of them had stayed at Donnelly River Village. 

Our cottage, Cottage 25, was located at the southern end of the village near the old school. The cottage was really charming; the only weird thing was that one of the bedrooms is within another of the bedrooms (!) - something to consider when booking. 

While less of the perfect off-road cycling day that Nala Mia to Nannup is, the quiet nature of the back roads and the lovely mix of farmland scenery and forest meant that this was still an enjoyable day of the trail even if a substantial amount of it was on bitumen. The bitumen riding on East Nannup Rd actually meant the day was pretty fast and easy to get the kilometres under the belt, and as such it could quite feasibly be combined with Nala Mia to Nannup for those considering doubling. Otherwise, Donnelly River Village is so lovely it is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy one of the most magical places in the South West.