Munda Biddi Trail (WA) - Pemberton to Northcliffe

Day 19 of the Munda Biddi Trail, this section takes cyclists between the towns of Pemberton and Northcliffe. Leaving Pemberton via the Gloucester Tree, the day's riding is almost continuous Karri forest to the iconic River Road Bridge over the Warren River. Rising up from the river, the trail heads through picturesque farmland before returning to forest just before reaching Northcliffe. One of the Munda Biddi's best and most scenic days

Distance: 43 km (one way)

Gradient: Mostly gentle with some moderate 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: 4-5 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: 4th July, 2020
Entry Fee: No
Getting There: The Pemberton trailhead is outside the Pemberton Visitor Centre on Brockman St/Vasse Hwy, while the Northcliffe Trailhead is outside the town's visitor centre on Muirillup Rd.

While riding into Pemberton was completed during my penultimate weekend ride of the Munda Biddi in mid-September, the journey onwards to Walpole requires a significant jump backwards in time to the first week of July. This was a week Alissa and I had planned in the before times for our trip over to Queensland to do the Thorsborne Trail, but with Queensland still experiencing COVID cases and WA's hard border still in place it quickly became apparent there was no way this was going to happen in 2020. Still wanting to make use of my annual leave, the week would be used instead to complete a longer multi-day stretch of the Munda Biddi from Pemberton through to Walpole and beyond.

While Alissa would be running support, it was really important for me to do this section 'for real' to get a feel for it, and I loaded the bike up with all the things I would need if I were doing this as an unassisted multi-day ride. Joining me for this first day was my friend and Real Trail Talk co-host Mark Pybus (of Life of Py fame), who at this stage had joined me to check out the new alignment near Mundaring but had not yet done the overnight from Donnybrook to Nannup. Also unlike the Donnybrook to Nannup trip, Mark was still sporting a rather impressive quarantine beard from his extended working from home stint. 

Leaving the Pemberton Visitor Centre, the Munda Biddi runs along the main road of town, following Brockman St before turning right on Ellis St to head through the main residential area of Pemberton. 

Joining up and then running concurrently with the Bibbulmun, the Munda Biddi makes use of a shared section of trail to enter Gloucester National Park. Compared to other sections of the Munda Biddi, which can take surprisingly divergent paths to the Bibbulmun, this is a day where the two trails continually intersect - much more than is common for the two trails. 

Upon leaving the residential streets and entering the national park, the scenery made a dramatic change to beautiful, tall Karri forest which would remain the most common scenery type for almost the entire day. The trail into the park is sealed and with only about 15 metres of elevation gain is very easy going riding. 

While the Munda Biddi takes a sharp turn as it reaches the main car park, it is thoroughly worth taking the short detour to check out the Gloucester Tree. One of two climbing trees left in the Southern Forest area after the recent closure of the Diamond Tree, the Gloucester Tree has been a popular tourist attraction for many decades and is the second tallest lookout tree in the world after the nearby Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree.

With Mark not being much of a fan of heights and looking after our bikes, I decided to add another Gloucester Tree ascension to the collection. I've climbed this tree a handful of times now, and I have to say that while I think the Gloucester Tree is easier than the others, it does seem to get more unnerving the older I get. Doing it as a kid, it seemed like a piece of cake climbing up, but I felt less confident this time around. Partly this was due to not taking off my riding gloves and finding the lack of tactility a bit off-putting. Nevertheless, I was determined a reach the top as the weather was near perfect for a climb. 

The view from the metal lookout tower is worth the effort; given that the Karri is one of the tallest trees in the world, it is incredible to have the opportunity to have 360° views so high up in the forest canopy. 

Back down on terra firma, Mark and I made our way back to the Munda Biddi as it descends from the Gloucester Tree's high perch towards East Brook. A nice feature of the descent is that while both the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun Track have the same destination, they both follow their on stretches of single track downhill. 

Given the rapid 100 metres of elevation loss from the Gloucester Tree to East Brook, the Munda Biddi descends along a continual series of fun switchbacks that Mark and I really enjoyed riding down along. While the sharp turns meant we couldn't maintain speed the whole way, we were nevertheless able to maintain a good speed through the spectacular Karri forest. 

Ever a fan of the 'devil in the detail', Mark was really pleased by all the little details along the trail, including the rather sizeable mushroom in the photo above. 

Reaching the bottom of the descent, the Munda Biddi and the Bibbulmun join up again to cross over East Brook. At this point, the Munda Biddi intersects the same bridle trail that it had followed in the previous section from Quinninup to Pemberton. Indeed; it would be possible for those who are not sticklers for doing the official trail and who wanted to skip Pemberton to use the East Brook Trail as a shortcut to this point of the Munda Biddi. 

The Bibbulmun and Munda Biddi diverge yet again on the other side of the brook crossing. Where the Bibbulmun uses the narrow rail trail closer to the brook, the Munda Biddi uses the higher vehicle track that is also apparently shared with the bridle East Brook Trail. The broadness of the vehicle track made this section a bit unremarkable, even if the forest on display was still very nice. 

Things did improve as we went along. A major treat of the day is a significant stretch of the trail is along old rail forms, which brings narrower trails, generally gentle gradients and a less compromised feel to the riding. Up to this stage in July I had been predominantly riding through Jarrah closer to Perth, so I could barely contain my excitement to be enjoying such excellent quality, sustained Karri forest scenery along such excellent quality trail. 

It wasn't entirely on rail trail, however the road sections were not too bad either and would usually give way to some more rail trail at some stage. With Karri forest having a large and imposing quality (some even find them claustrophobic), the broader trails are not quite as obviously a compromise as they are in the Jarrah forest. 

Heading back along more old form, it was nice to see the remains of an old loading platform along the trail. While disintegrating with ever passing year, it was good to see this one in much better condition than the charcoal log I would see a few months later near One Tree Bridge. 

After returning to some road sections, it was an interesting change of pace to not only return to rail trail but to enter an area filled with She-Oak. Mark has been a longtime fan of these trees, and it was cool to be able to show him how She-Oak is really the cyclist's friend, although with the Karri loam soil having replaced the slippery ball bearings of the Perth Hills, the improved surface conditions were much less pronounced. 

Again following some nice narrow trail, the Munda Biddi rises up and seemingly away from the creekline. The benefit of this was that it entered a pocket of forest with more tall, mature Karri as we began our approach to River Road Bridge. 

The Karri along the trail were quite impressive through this section, and while not the King Karri of Donnelly River Village were nevertheless worth stopping to appreciate. 

Passing by some trail maintenance volunteers and stopping for a quick chat, Mark and I assumed correctly that the volunteers were a good sign that we were probably getting quite close to River Road Bridge. Our inference proved to be correct, and in less than 10 minutes we were at the bridge. I was last at River Road Bridge with Alissa during the Easter weekend of 2016, and it was great to be back here given it was one of the major points of interest on this day of the Bibbulmun Track. Being such a major landmark and 18 kilometres into our 43 kilometre day, we decided to stop on the eastern side of the river for a bit of a snack and water break, which included my first time trying stroopwafels thanks to Mark. 

After our break, Mark and I continued along the bridge while stopping to take in the river's beauty. While not exactly the highest level it can reach, the river was still much higher than what Alissa and I witnessed in 2016, which is completely understandable given it was late March at the time. 

After crossing the bridge, the Munda Biddi heads uphill along River Rd for a slow, sustained ascent for about two kilometres. Most of the riding is through more excellent Karri forest, making the climb that much more bearable. 

Flattening out, the trail transitions away from the Karri forest as it enters a pocket of sandy soils that were thankfully not too soft. The sandiness definitely made me think of the sections of the Bibbulmun Track south of Northcliffe, and I wondered if it would herald a change towards Pingerup Plains-type scenery. 

While that scenery would be in our future, the sandy soils gave way to rolling grassy farmland as Mark and I crossed Wheatley Coast Rd. For Munda Biddi End to Enders, the reappearance of Wheatley Coast Rd after having last seen it in Quinninup indicates how circuitous a scenic route the Munda Biddi takes via Pemberton. Staying on the road for a few metres, the Munda Biddi turns off and along the powerlines before following some back roads through farmland. 

While quite a change from the wild Karri forest earlier on, the farmland scenery beyond Wheatley Coast Rd was very enjoyable, with many Karri-lined back roads framing the idyllic countryside. 

Mark and I had noted that the Munda Biddi intersects the Bibbulmun Track very close to Schafer campsite, and we decided to park up our bikes and follow the short walk trail to the hut for a lunch break. Bikes are discouraged from being at Bibbulmun Track campsites (unless officially diverted), so it is best to leave them at the trail junction if going to check out Schafer. 

While the forest setting of the hut is excellent, Schafer's best feature is its location along the shores of a large dam with an area marked off for walkers to use to cool off. While it was definitely way too cold for a swim at the time of Mark's and my visit, Alissa and I did go for a refreshing dip when we were here in March 2016 given the somewhat warmer conditions. 

Back on the Munda Biddi, the trail passes more farmland, including some of the properties that can be glimpsed on the other of the dam at Schafer. Something I hadn't realised when we were here in 2016 was that the Karri Hill Cottages are just a few hundred metres off the Bibbulmun, and the Munda Biddi literally goes right past it. For those looking for something a bit less spartan or who don't want to stay in Northcliffe itself, this may be a good alternative stopping point. 

The Munda Biddi crosses the Bibbulmun again on the other side of its way to Schafer hut. From here, the Munda Biddi runs along the road parallel to the Bibbulmun Track for about 2.5 kilometres. 

For Mark and I, the riding was a mostly easy, downhill trend which meant we could cruise along at autopilot as we made our way through Jane National Park. Along this stretch we passed three cyclists going the other way who looked a lot less enthused about this section of the Munda Biddi. As we kept going and realised how much longer the downhill was, it made sense why they looked so glum; it would have been quite a long and continuous section uphill! 

The one real lowlight of the day was a section through fairly burnt forest that was thankfully relativelty brief. 

Leaving the burnt trees behind, the trail finally entered some Pingerup Plains-style scenery in pockets of tufty grassland. This type of scenery becomes increasingly common further along the Munda Biddi, and mirrors a similar transition that happens along the Bibbulmun Track between Northcliffe and Walpole. 

Emerging out of the forest, The Munda Biddi turns onto Middleton Rd. Mostly downhill, Mark and I enjoyed the high speed ease of this section and the relatively low number of cars at the time of our ride. Both of us knew Middleton Rd is only a short distance from Northcliffe so this was definitely feeling like the home stretch. 

Reaching the end of our time along Middleton Rd, the Karri forest grew more and more impressive with a large number of tall, impressive trees on either side of the road. 

The Munda Biddi and the Bibbulmun Track join up again as they follow the winding Smith Rd as is passes through farmland. I remember this section feeling pleasant but overly long on the Bibbulmun but on a bike it went by at a much faster and more acceptable clip. There is a weird section where the road looks like it has been bulldozed by the private property owners, and it can be a bit unclear as to which way to go as the way forward seemed cordoned off. While signage could be improved, Mark and I were able to work it out without too much difficulty. 

Our time along Smith Rd came to an end as we crossed the bridge over the Gardner River. When Alissa and I crossed the bridge back in 2016, the Gardner was little more than a stagnant pool but was flowing well in July 2020. 

Rising up from the Gardner River, the Munda Biddi heads up into Northcliffe Forest Park's beautiful stands of Karri forest. From here, Mark and I only had three more kilometres to go to reach the Northcliffe Visitor Centre. 

One last major feature of the day is the Hollowbutt Picnic Area. The area looked a bit worse for wear when Alissa and I walked through here in 2016 but the area has since been upgraded with much better and more inviting facilities for day users. With the end so near in sight, Mark and I didn't linger for very long as we pushed on and out of the Forest Park. 

Reaching Wheatley Coast Rd yet again, the Munda Biddi follows the abandoned railway line into town passing by the remains of an old loading crane just before reaching the visitor centre, where Alissa was waiting to pick us up. 

With so much of the Munda Biddi in Jarrah forest and with the Karri forest being a bit less consistent, Pemberton to Northcliffe is a particularly special day of the Munda Biddi. The Karri forest of this day is some of the best and most impressive of the entire trail, with the run from the Gloucester Tree to the climb on the other side of River Road Bridge being almost entirely in Karri forest. With a decent amount of single track and quality scenery, this is easily one of my favourite days of the Munda Biddi, and with TransWA coaches between the two towns it makes it an excellent candidate for a day ride weekender.

We didn't realise it at the time, but Mark was really lucky picking this as his full day to join me given the unusually high quality of the scenery, and he would again strike it lucky joining me for Donnybrook to Nannup. Thus began the first of what would be my longest continuous stretch of the track, with one day done and five more to go.