Munda Biddi Trail (WA) - Denmark to Albany

The last day of the Munda Biddi Trail, this section takes cyclists from Denmark to the Southern Terminus is Albany. Following the Denmark-Nornalup Heritage Trail along the inlet, the trail heads through a mix of Karri forest and farmland before travelling along the Torbay Rail Trail to Elleker. After some busy road riding and one last lot of country back roads riding, the trail reaches its end in Albany. A fulfilling finale to a great trail

Distance: 73.99 km (one way)

Gradient: Mostly gentle with some moderate climbs and descents

Quality of Path: Mix of sealed roads, unsealed roads, rail trails and single track

Quality of Signage: Mostly well signed at all trail junctions

Experience Required: Mountain Biking experience recommended

Time: 6 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: 27th September, 2020

Entry Fee: No
Getting There: Access points are located along most of the trail except for the trail sections. Section starts at the Denmark Visitor Centre on South Coast Hwy with the Southern Terminus located on Proudlove Parade in Albany

Having more than covered my bases by taking the alternate Denmark-Nornalup Heritage Trail route into town due to the William Bay Diversion, all that was left for me to do to complete my sectional End to End of the Munda Biddi was the final stretch from Denmark to Albany. My initial plan had been to split the section in half by taking a side trip to Cosy Corner for a lunch catch up with Alissa, but I was feeling both fit and emboldened; instead of splitting the ride over two days I would tackle the entire 73.99 kilometres in one go.

From the visitor centre, the Munda Biddi heads down the footpath along South Coast Hwy, passing through the main shops of town. Denmark has continued to be vibrant regional town along Western Australia's south coast, and in recent years has added pizza, a gelateria/pasta bar and good quality Vietnamese food to its surprisingly varied offerings (on top of its natural beauty). With my in-laws living in Denmark, it is an area Alissa and I visit often, and feels a bit like our home away from home. 

Reaching the Denmark River, the Munda Biddi turns off the highway and skirts the edge of Berridge Park. During major long weekends, the park becomes a vibrant market for the local community. As a kid there used to be a boat hire at the jetty pictured above, and while that business in long gone it is still a very popular spot for a calm and pleasant paddle.

At the end of the park, the Munda Biddi joins onto the Mokare Heritage Trail, which itself is a fine local walk along the Denmark River foreshore. The trail winds its way through a mix of Jarrah, Karri and paperbarks and has a surprisingly dense feel in spit of being so close to town. 

On top of many other positives, here is one area where the Munda Biddi is superior to the Bibbulmun Track; as has rightly been pointed out, the Bibbulmun Track is not a truly contiguous trail due to the way it is broken at the Denmark rivermouth, and exacerbated by the very tenuous nature of the ferry which has changed hands and gone in and out of business multiple times. The Munda Biddi does not have this issue, as it makes use of the Mokare Heritage Trail's bridge across the Denmark River. 

A substantial structure that seems almost too good given it is for pedestrians and cyclists only, the Munda Biddi and multiple other trails are very lucky to make use of an existing repurposed rail bridge. The alternative for a lot of these trails would have been to cross at South Coast Hwy, but it would have meant cyclists missing out on some truly excellent views. 

Cycling across the bridge, it is well worth taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of the Denmark River. Looking back upstream towards town, the tall trees along the riverbank give the illusion that this is largely unmodified and pristine natural environment. 

On the other side of the bridge, the view looks towards the Rivermouth Caravan Park and the Wilson Inlet, which Munda Biddi cyclists would have seen the previous day on the home stretch from Ocean Beach. 

On the other side of the bridge, the Munda Biddi leaves the Mokare Heritage Trail to run concurrently with the Wilson Inlet Heritage Trail, which itself is a subset of the Denmark-Nornalup Heritage Trail. A feature of this trail is that it has a series of shelters along its route, which has always piqued the interest of Bibbulmun Track hikers wondering if it was possible to use the heritage trail as a way to get around the inlet with an overnight stay at a shelter. 

The riding along here is flat and easy thanks to the old rail form, and the canopy of peppermint trees makes it feel nice and enclosed. The shelters along the way are clearly marked, with the first being only a short distance from the bridge over the Denmark River. 

This first shelter is easily in the best condition, with its only mildly weathered wood suggesting it is a recent rebuild. Bibbulmun Track hikers hoping for a camping shelter will be disappointed; there is definitely little to no space to set up a sleeping mat with the shelter only just a bit larger than the picnic table that dominates the space.  

The next shelter along is located at Bandicoot Point, and requires a bit a more of a substantial side trip to get to the shelter. As someone who really endorses the touring quality of the Munda Biddi, I encourage getting of the bike and exploring the nearby sights and this is one such opportunity. 

Passing through some fairly muddy sections, the Bandicoot Point shelter is arguably the shelter in the worst condition, with the roofless structure looking like someone took a chainsaw to it, leaving behind a simple, raised platform that is not a shelter at all. 

While no longer a shelter, the platform is actually perfectly located for birdwatching as it provides expansive views of the Wilson Inlet, though I would suggest chaining up the bike at the junction if staying here for an extended period of time.

Back on the trail, I had flashbacks to the Abel Tasman Coast Track as the trail rounded the corner to Springdale Beach, with the dense forest right to the beach looking much more like New Zealand than the more heath-centric vegetation of Western Australian beaches on the Southern Ocean. 

Prior to the 'discovery' of the vastly superior Greens Pool by the European settlers, Springdale Beach was the main beach in the area and remains an attractive looking spot along the Wilson Inlet. The skeletal remains of an old jetty speak of the area's greater importance in the past, however the somewhat sulphurous smell of the inlet waters nearby make it a less than inviting option for a dip compared to the beaches along the coast.

Just a little further along the trail from the beach is another of the trail's shelters, with this one having a shabby, heavily weathered appearance that suggests a shared lineage with the vernacular huts of the Tasmanian wilderness. Nearby is the surprising feature of a concrete couch, which is heritage listed as it apparently is all that is left of the old Springdale Guesthouse which burnt down in the 1960s. 

From Rudgyard Place onwards, it is obvious that the rail reserve has been reclaimed by a road, and as such the trail runs along the road for 1.2 kilometres before returning to a narrow rail reserve on the other side of Crusoe Beach Rd. 

With young Karri trees on either side of the trail, the area provides more pleasant and easy rail reserve riding before taking a sharp left turn along some private farmland. 

At this point along the private property, I finally had my first (and last) snake encounter of the entire Munda Biddi! My biggest fear being on a bicycle rather than walking had been that I would be travelling so fast I would run into a tiger snake that would get caught in my wheels, get thrown up into the air and then land on my back for a repeated (and frankly justified) attack. The reality was far less thrilling; I came around the corner, the tiger snake heard me coming, I slowed down and it went into the bushes with neither of us harmed.

After my snake encounter, I continued along the Munda Biddi as I reached the crossing over South Coast Hwy. As with many other highway crossings, this is something I've seen many, many times driving between Denmark and Albany and it was nice to finally be able to cross it and add context to the crossing in my memory banks. 

The riding along this stretch of the rail reserve is not particularly thrilling given it is largely just riding along a powerline road. Nevertheless, I was just glad to be riding along a cycle trail and not having to brave a ride along South Coast Hwy itself. 

The Denmark-Nornalup Heritage Trail and the Wilson Inlet Heritage Trail reach their end at the Hay River Bridge, with the Munda Biddi going alone from this point onwards. Due to a lack of infrastructure, the Munda Biddi unfortunately has to cross the Hay River along South Coast Hwy. Thankfully I had been gifted with a fairly quiet lull in traffic as I crossed, however I do feel like a developmental opportunity exists here to add a cycle lane on the northern side of the bridge to address safety concerns.

Something that is quite interesting along the Hay River here is that you can see the old posts of a rail bridge that would have crossed over the river when this was a railway line. Given how little is left, it suggests to me that the bridge must have been lost in a fire. 

On the other side of the Hay River, the Munda Biddi turns onto Keith Rd for its most compromised and unexciting leg of the day. Heading north and following a big loop around, it is obvious that other land usage and a lack of funds led to the Munda Biddi having to go around the Sleeman River rather than following the rail reserve along the highway. This effectively doubles the distance that would be required if the route just stayed along the highway, and is not particularly interesting from a scenery point of view. 

At least the riding is pretty straightforward, and while there is some small climbing involved it was not particularly challenging. Additionally, other than car campers camping along the Hay River and the occasional farmer, there is not a lot of traffic along these back roads. 

Reaching the crest of the hill at Sleeman Rd, the views improve greatly as the trail heads back in a southerly direction. The low hills of the Bornholm/Kronkup area can be seen across the green pastures. I knew I would be soon riding through that landscape, and with its islands of Karri forest, I was becoming quite excited 

From the top of the hill, it is a quick descent along Sleeman Rd back towards South Coast Hwy. Near the bottom of the main descent, I cycled past a couple on a tandem bike who were also doing the last day of their end to end. My immediate response upon seeing them and their bike was 'very cool!' and I stopped to have a quick chat. Being on a single person bicycle and being a bit younger, I would outpace them but crossed paths with them a few more times after stopping for a break at Youngs Siding. 

Back to the highway, the Munda Biddi turns left as it again follows the route of the old railway line. The trail here is narrow single track, which while a nice change of pace from the broad roads was a bit disconcerting with the slightly overgrown grasses and sunny skies meaning snakes could be around. I would not see any for the rest of the day, but I was definitely on high alert.

Given the obvious cost cutting of the big loop over the Sleeman River, I was grateful that a small cyclists' bridge has been constructed along the Munda Biddi at Cuppup Creek right next to the old railway bridge. 

Beyond the bridge, the narrow single file track continues. Being late September, the flowers (both wild and introduced) were in bloom, and it made the otherwise scrappy bushland prettier than it would have been otherwise. 

A short distance after Cuppup Creek, the Munda Biddi crosses South Coast Hwy one last time as it cuts the corner of Lower Denmark Rd.

Being a bit swampy and reedy, this was again an area where I was on high alert for snakes, however it proved to be more memorable for the flowers in bloom than any reptilian encounters. 

Riding along Lower Denmark Road for a just over a kilometre, the Munda Biddi pulls into Youngs Siding. An old railway siding, Youngs Siding's station street is now basically a small park, and general store/petrol station combo. Given that the park features a large gazebo, I pulled in for a quick snack and water break and to check out my progress. Having covered about 27 kilometres, I was close to a third of the way through my day in about two hours; hardly a cracking pace given I wasn't really pushing it and was stopping constantly for photographs, but ahead of the conservative schedule I had set for myself. I let Alissa know how I was going, and also messaged my podcasting partner Mark Pybus (from the Life of Py) who happened to be in the area and was going to meet me in Albany at the end. 

After my break (and with the couple on the tandem bike overtaking me), I pushed on along Lower Denmark Rd which quickly turns onto Lake Side Rd. The riding here was easy and uneventful road riding along pleasant farmland scenery, even if the headwind made it slightly more challenging than it would be in calmer conditions. Along the way I overtook the tandem bike couple one more time, who were surprised to see me again given they hadn't seen me stop at Youngs Siding. I would not see them again after this point, and it made me wonder if they would make the same mistake I would make a few kilometres later. 

Turning onto the unsealed Thompson Rd, the pleasant farmland scenery continued. With fairly repetitive scenery meaning less need to stop for photographs, I was really getting into a rhythm and this was the likely cause of my missing the next turn on the Munda Biddi. 

Reaching a bend in Thompson Rd that lacked clear directional signage, I began to suspect something was not right, and after another few hundred metres without signage realised I most definitely had made a mistake. Looking at the map and working out where I was, I decided it was easier for me to just push on with my mistake on Thompson Rd as I would be able to rejoin the Munda Biddi from Tennessee Rd South onwards with some added uphill as penance for my inattention.

Reaching Tennessee Rd South (and passing a turn off to Knapp Head Rd), I realised how close the Munda Biddi came to the West Cape Howe and Lowlands Beach without really engaging with it. While the sandy and often super windy conditions are not really conducive to bike riding, it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity, even if I actually reckon the route of the Munda Biddi through this area is a lot better in reality than it looks on paper. 

Seeing the 'bicycles on road' sign along Tennessee Road South let me know I had rejoined the Munda Biddi once again as the trail heads north back towards Lower Denmark Rd. The scenery of tall Karri forest amongst the farmland was a nice change of pace. On the Bibbulmun Track you don't really see Karri again after leaving Denmark until you reach Little Grove near Albany, however the whole Lower Denmark Rd area is actually filled with islands of Karri forest amongst the cleared grasslands. 

Given the generally descending nature of the landscape towards the coastline, it was a nice surprise to find the riding from the Tennessee Rd South junction was mostly an easy roll downhill, passing by some of the area's lovely Karri forest. 

Turning very briefly onto Lower Denmark Rd, the Munda Biddi then heads along Tennessee Rd North before taking a long back road that runs north of and parallel to Lower Denmark Rd. The first bit along here is a broad single lane vehicle track that looks to be used as an access road for a handful of private properties. 

Further along, the trail narrows and becomes a cyclists and walkers only stretch of single track. 

This was a really lovely surprise; after so much open road riding it was nice to feel enclosed within the forest again, with the flowering wattle of springtime adding that extra level of beauty to this section of the trail. 

Coming out the other end of the single track riding, the Munda Biddi turns up Bornholm Rd North for more riding through the picturesque farmland. 

The riding through this area was clearly expedient, compromised due to other land use and was merely making use of back roads to keep bikes off Lower Denmark Rd as much as possible. Nevertheless, there was something really lovely about riding these Karri lined streets, and I have to say I enjoyed this section for what it was.

The views along Rosedale Rd in particular really make this section worth the ride. The grass pastures are dotted with magnificent, tall Karris and on the day of my ride the sky was clear enough for me to make out the Porongurup Range in the distance.

After more road riding towards Kronkup and then along Railway Rd, the Munda Biddi finally returns to a stretch of single track through some low forest and reedy plains country as the trail begins its approach to Torbay Hall. 

Before reaching the hall, the trail runs alongside a creek that feeds the Torbay Inlet. A gauging station is located along the banks where the Munda Biddi first joins onto it, however a more natural looking river bank is seen further along. 

A nice mixed wood and metal bridge provides a crossing point over the creek and allows cyclists to stop and take in the views of the tannin-stained waters below. 

On the other side of the bridge is the old Torbay Community Hall. Built in 1912 and thus over one hundred years old, the hall is still used by the local community for events, and is home to a semi-regular market. 

In front of the hall is the trailhead for the Torbay Rail Trail. Running from Torbay Hall to Elleker, the rail trail provides nice and easy rail trail riding for the eight kilometres to the Elleker trailhead. 

After initially heading through some forest obviously recovering from a recent bushfire or heavy-handed prescribed burn, the Munda Biddi/Torbay Rail Trail heads along a corridor between farmland. The bushes on either side of the trail were filled with little birds constantly flitting back and forth across the trail, making it a lot more interesting an experience than the photo suggests. 

An incredible and bizarre highlight of this trail is the Wilsons Wrecking Yard. Containing hundreds, maybe even thousands of cars, trucks, buses and farm machinery spread across acres of land, it looks like the most crazed collection of a super hoarder were it not a legitimate business. Quite extraordinary, and this photo does little to illustrate the sheer scale of the operation. 

Leaving the farmland behind and returning to more natural wonders, the rail form passes by some lovely creeks and swampy areas that provided a pleasing soundtrack of frogs, birds and insect chirps. 

In the distance, the wind turbines of the Albany Wind Farm came into view for the first time, definitely making me feel a sense of anticipation and excitement being on the home stretch. 

Widening to an actual road used be farmers to access their properties, the pleasant Karri forest scenery helped smooth over for a brief stretch of road riding along Wilgie Rd. 

Just before reaching Lower Denmark Rd again, the Munda Biddi veers off to the right to follow the rail reserve which runs alongside the road. There's something weird going on here with the signage, with the directional arrows indicating that those doing the Torbay Rail Trail should head along the left side while those on the Munda Biddi should take the right. This is a bizarre and frankly useless distinction to make, and in many places there are sections of the track where it is so overgrown on one side there really is only one way to go. While next to the road, the riding here is peaceful and surprisingly enjoyable.

Just before reaching the Elleker Tavern, the Munda Biddi crosses over Lower Denmark Rd to follow the rail trail across a dedicated cycling bridge. 

From here, the Munda Biddi takes some quiet back streets before returning to Lower Denmark Rd to cross Marbellup Brook. 

Unlike the other road bridges earlier in the day, it was nice to see that the bridge over Marbellup Brook featured a cyclist/pedestrian lane making getting to the other side just a little safer and less daunting. 

After stopping to briefly take in the views from the brook, I continued along the path to the Munda Biddi trailhead located in the middle of the park near the Elleker public toilets. While a measly 15.82 kilometres from Albany, Elleker has the distinction of having the penultimate trailhead along the Munda Biddi heading south and thus could be considered the last trail town along the way.

While Elleker is a charming place with its quaint country cottages, the fact it is so close to Albany means it is unlikely many people would break up their day by staying here on the last ride in. Nevertheless, it was nice to see that they were trying to be a cyclist friendly area with the provision of bicycle parking in a shelter on the main road. 

With under 16 kilometres to go to the end of my Munda Biddi End to End, I was keen to get going as soon as I messaged Alissa and Mark to let them know of my progress. With it being around 12:45pm, I was way ahead of schedule for my conservative arrival time of 3pm so let them know it was looking more like 2pm at this rate. Leaving town, the Munda Biddi again heads along Lower Denmark Rd before turning onto Old School Rd. From here the Munda Biddi crosses a train line and takes a service road for about 2 kilometres before turning back onto Lower Denmark Rd. 

This next stretch along Lower Denmark Rd is easily one of the worst 4 kilometre stretches of the Munda Biddi as it goes along the highway that entire time. With very little in the way of a shoulder and a lot of trucks going past, I found this section to be extremely disconcerting. Worse still, there is a section where there is a railing right along the road which means there is no where for you to go if a car is too close to you. Normally I would put aesthetic improvements ahead of safety improvements on the Munda Biddi or Bibbulmun Track as I think the unsafe sections are really not that bad, but I certainly did not feel particularly comfortable along this stretch and really hope it can be improved with a dedicated cycle lane.

Having pulled over at one point for a quick Snickers bar power boost, I had a bit of a surprise when a red SUV pulled over to the side of the road where I was parked. Worried it was someone who was about to mug me or steal my bike, I was relieved to see it was my cousin-in-law Jessica who lives in the area. It was nice to see a familiar face and have a quick chat before continuing onwards. 

Not long after the break, my experience of riding along Lower Denmark Rd finished in dramatic fashion as I was continually swooped and attacked by a magpie! The swooping probably only lasted for 30 seconds to a minute, but it felt like forever as I pedalled hard and tried in vain to move my head to be a more challenging target. As with the snakes, this is something I was expecting at some stage along my Munda Biddi experience and there I was having my first swoop attack on the last day of the ride. 

After the unenjoyable busy road riding and animal aerial assault, I was glad to finally turn off Lower Denmark Rd for the very last time and onto Robinson Rd for the last stretch of country back streets riding. 

Basically just a bit of back roads riding to take you off the main road like many other sections of the day, this was probably the most appreciative I was to no longer been on a main road and to just appreciate the farmland scenery. As if a nod to all the farmland scenery I'd seen along the Munda Biddi, I had my final bovine encounter as a herd of cattle came to their farm gate to witness my ride. 

With my last cow greeting behind me, I wonder what other lasts I would experience and while I would experience a few more along the way, I began to look at every Karri tree as if it were the last Karri tree of the Munda Biddi. 

The ending started to feel really real when I crossed over Frenchman Bay Rd, with Mt Melville towering overhead (or much as a peak can in the South West), and passing the iconic Frenchies restaurant on the corner. This transition from Robinson Rd felt like a very sharp line in the sand as I left the country and was well and truly in the city. 

Following a similar route to the Bibbulmun Track, the Munda Biddi passes by the old Albany Woolstores. Long abandoned, there have been sporadic plans for the area over the years but none have come into fruition. One suspects that land so close to the waterfront will eventually see redevelopment given its prime location, but for now the Woolstores provide a bit of historical influence on the ride in. 

Crossing the railway line, the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun Track part ways again as the Munda Biddi heads up Carlisle Street. The section of road just at the intersection is fairly narrow and divides the sides of the street in such a way that there is a solid median strip in the middle. This again makes for some disconcerting riding given the speed some people take this corner, and it made me feel like the grass verge was a bit of a missed opportunity to either widen the road or put in a cycle path. 

The riding along Carlisle and then Grey Street West provides some lovely views of Princess Royal Harbour and across the bay to the Torndirrup/Little Grove area. 

Clearly some efforts have been made through the area to be more cyclist/walker friendly, and with the Bibbulmun Track and the Munda Biddi once again running concurrently, Grey Street featuring a dual use path along its northern edge. From this vantage point, Mt Clarence dominates the landscape providing one final 'mountain' view of the Munda Biddi. 

Following a different series of back streets to the Bibbulmun Track (including skipping a stop in at the Brig Amity), the Munda Biddi crosses York St on Stirling Terrace. In the near future, the Munda Biddi will turn left here and head up to the Albany Visitors Centre, however for now it continues along Stirling Terrace past the main coffee strip (including the excellent Gourmandise and Co) and then turning down to the old train station at the University of Western Australia Albany campus. From there it is a short ride along Proudlove Parade to the old Visitor Centre/Albany Railway Station where the Southern Terminus is currently located. 

Arriving early to the terminus at 2pm, Alissa and Mark had not arrived yet to greet me. As such it was a bit of a quiet end to an epic day of riding that allowed me to reflect on the experience I had just completed. I have to admit I went into this last day thinking I was going to compare it to that Game of Thrones horse meme, with a rushed and overly compromised end to the trail. While it is certainly true that not all of the day was top quality, with surprisingly substantial sections of the day along rail trail and with most of the back road riding being quite enjoyable, Denmark to Albany was a better day of the Munda Biddi than I had expected, give or take a few less than stellar sections of road riding. Sure, it doesn't interact much with the coastline, but than it is also true that the Bibbulmun Track also only superficially with West Cape Howe's best features, and in avoiding the coast altogether at least allowed the Munda Biddi's route to shine a light on the lesser known Karri forests of the Kronkup/Torbay and Elleker area. 

Waiting for Alissa to arrive and then going to get a drink with Mark at the pub a bit later, ending the Munda Biddi felt a lot more satisfying than my Bibbulmun Track sectional End to End, in a large part thanks to the fact I actually finished the track at its Southern Terminus rather than randomly finishing in Balingup. However there was more to it than that; the sectional Munda Biddi experience had been a lot more like the Bibbulmun Track experience I had wanted. Ultimately I found some sections of the Bibbulmun Track boring and monotonous and while there are certainly similar sections on the Munda Biddi, I had a lot more fun through those sections thanks to the adrenaline aspect of cycling. Additionally, the fact I was able to complete the whole thing between the 25th April and 27th September in a calendar year over weekends and one week of annual leave meant it still felt new and exciting at the end rather than something that I had to spend years undertaking. 

Above all these things however, the Munda Biddi Trail was my saving grace in a 2020 that had been completely turned on its head by COVID-19, as it gave me a multi-day trail project to sustain me - first within the Perth and Peel regions while the intrastate borders were up, and then within the South West while interstate travel remained unachievable. This was not the 2020 I had planned (and I'm grateful to live in Australia where travel plans was worst of our problems), but I am eternally grateful for the half year of adventure the Munda Biddi allowed me, and for making me make the transition to cycling. I loved this trail and the experience of riding it, and I can't wait to ride it again in the years to come.