Pemberton to Northcliffe
Munda Biddi Trail
Start
Pemberton
Time
3-5 Hours
Finish
Northcliffe
Date Ridden
3rd September 2021
Length
45.2km
Elevation
642m
Traditional Custodians
Bibbulman People
The Ride - Pemberton is one of my favourites towns in the South West and while we didn't get to spend too much time here, the excitement of one of the best days on the Munda Biddi made up for that. Often regarded as a day to really look forward to thanks to the stunning Karri forest, varied terrain, nice single trail sections and the impressive River Road Bridge, this was my first town to town ride on the Munda Biddi all the way back in 2020. Having always done a bit of mountain biking plus road riding in my younger days, this reignited an enjoyment for cycling and the freedom/opportunities that bikepacking provided. Along with an overnighter between Donnybrook and Nannup that year, this was the catalyst for starting to plan my own Munda Biddi E2E.
Staying with a friend of a friend, I had a good nights sleep on the couch and awoke around sunrise, ready for an awesome day. Aron popped into the living room and said a quiet hello as we packed up our bikes and wondered if our host was going to surface anytime soon. It was a little after 8am when we figured it would be rude to wake her, so sent her a message and tootled off down the hill into town for some breakfast. Deciding on Wild at Heart Cafe, it was busy when we arrived and I thought it was odd that there were a few men in suits given this was the country and not many dress like the CBD office monkeys we get in Perth (of which I am one or at least used to be until I started WFH full time). As we were enjoying a warm and hearty breakfast I remarked to Aron that it was strange to see people in suits and given there had been a high profile murder in the town in recent days, it eventually clicked that these were detectives down from Perth. It was a big talking point with our host and the entire community was a bit shaken as the two men involved were locals and knew each other from what we found out.
With a sombre mood hanging around town, we finished our breakfast, ordered some lunch snacks and set about riding back up the hill towards the Gloucester Tree. It's about a 70m climb from the centre of town to the Gloucester Tree so no easy start to the day but luckily it served to warm us up in the chilly September air. Passing old timber cottages and through the semi-rural backstreets of Pemberton was pleasant and we were soon passing the DBCA office, the place we had stayed overnight and the high school. Entering the Karri forest leading towards the Gloucester Tree was a welcome sight but as we rode along the paved path, it wasn't as I remembered it. There had been some prescribed burning in this area between my last visit and now so the scenery had a scorched aesthetic to it. Given this is close to town and the canopy seemed untouched, it is warranted so it was just bad timing for us riding through. The thickness of the Karri trees through here was still impressive and we soon reached the Gloucester Tree that had some tape around the bottom as the decking structure was being replaced.
Not keen on heights, especially when it's a cold and dewy climb, I elected to skip the Gloucester Tree and instead opted to take some photos instead. Thwarting me a little this morning was a combination of wet everything and bright sunshine, meaning the contrast between light and dark was large and that never makes for great photos in the Karri forest. There wasn't much I could do about it so we made our way to where the Munda Biddi starts heading down an epic set of switchbacks that is a great way to lose altitude. With photos to take I wasn't going to be setting any Strava records and there was also the issue of fallen branches over the trail. This slowed progress the last time I was here and with a lush undergrowth, I think it's a constant battle for the maintenance volunteers. Shooting the best angles that I could, I quickly put away the camera after realising the magic wasn't going to happen and instead concentrated on having a blast as the trail heads down to the Eastbrook Trail. Aron was waiting for me at the bottom and thought he saw two Bibb walkers heading off into the undergrowth towards the Cascades. Pondering if this was the couple we met at Donnelly River, it would be confirmed a bit later on that it was indeed them.
The Munda Biddi follows a different path through the forest to the Bibb as we headed uphill to continue along the Eastbrook Trail, a route we had followed the previous day (and one you can use to skip Pemberton if you don't want to stop in town). Your travels on the Eastbrook Trail don't last too long as you hang a left and ride along a very wide vehicle track that is a bit of a shock compared to the nice scenic track you were just on. Riding past a plantation isn't lovely after the beauty of Gloucester National Park but luckily this section doesn't last long. Reaching a trail marker pointing you into a tunnel of vegetation, this is where the enjoyable rail trail starts and the magic of the Karri forest returns. This also marks a long flat or downhill ride so you can sit up and enjoy some really pleasant scenery as you tootle along. With the harsh sunlight disappearing behind some rain clouds, I would accept getting slightly wet for better lighting conditions as we weaved in and out of single trail and old vehicle tracks. Crossing Spring Gully Road, a section of recently burnt forest awaited us and it was a stark contrast to the lovely greens we had just experienced.
Luckily it was only a brief section before we crossed Gloucester Road and entered back into the lushness of the Karri forest. Continuing through some absolutely stunning forest, it's these stretches that you really appreciate in the moment. How often would you be travelling along empty paths through scenery this beautiful in regular life? This is what you want out of a holiday and it was a special feeling just being out there and appreciating it all. With forest this tall, I'm not fussed about whether I'm on purpose built single trail or old vehicle tracks as I've said before that sometimes the wider roads provide a better perspective of the scale of the Karri forest. On the old rail forms however I was on the lookout for an old loading ramp that I remember passing in 2020 and eventually I came across it. While I don't love what logging has done to the forests of the South West, there is something about coming across these old relics from a time when logging was labour intensive and machines couldn't clear fell big sections in one afternoon, like we had seen on a few sections this trip. After taking a couple of photos I continued on, trying to catch up to Aron, who had sped up ahead given he wasn't taking photos.
There was so much to enjoy through here with Flame Peas and Hovea providing a splash of colour and a few types of late season fungi that thrive in the moistness of the shadier parts of the forest. A lovely section of Karri She-Oaks made for a spooky scene and it was nice to see these trees as they provide a different aesthetic (and a comfy bed of fallen needles to ride over). Continuing to switch between single track and vehicle track, at one stage you have to cross a vehicle track but the trail spits you out of the forest at an angle pointing down the road instead of across to the other side. Luckily I had my wits about me and didn't travel too far downhill before realising the trail didn't go this way. Riding up a small pinch climb, my chain decided to come off as I hit my lowest gear and this would mean for the rest of the trip that my bottom two climbing gears would be unusable. A quick but fix and I continued to climb, turning onto single track that led to a massive tree I remembered from my last trip. After riding for a bit, I thought maybe it had blown over in the winter storms but eventually I spotted the giant and smiled.
I caught up to Aron as the track headed downhill on a long section of vehicle track and I knew one of the highlights of the day was close. Before then I had to stop as there was a nice crackle of Black Cockatoos hanging about in the trees ahead and it was a great pleasure over the course of the trip to photograph these cheeky and endangered birds. They eventually flew off and we were soon staring at River Road Bridge, the crossing point of the Warren River for Bibb Track hikers and Munda Biddi riders. This was my third visit to this particular spot with the first being a very damp crossing when I came through on the Bibb in 2018 and in 2020 when I rode this section with my podcast partner. On both occasions I didn't stop for very long but with perfect sunny weather and all the time in the world to make it to Northcliffe, we parked our bikes at the end and took an extended break here. I sat on the edge of the bridge looking over the water with camera in hand while Aron paced up and down, checking out the various views and angles. With the loss of Long Gully Bridge on the Bibb and no other significant wooden bridge on the Munda Biddi, this is the biggest old rail bridge of both trails and is a special spot.
Enjoying a snack and a drink, I realised that I'd only ever photographed the bridge as I crossed on top of it, so set about getting down to river level and checking out those characterful wooden beams. With the police out searching this area for the body of the murder victim I mentioned at the start of the post, I was kind of hoping not to find a body floating down the river. It's a beautiful old thing and I hope it survives for decades to come. After a good break, some calories and fluid back in the body and some promotional shots of my bike parked up, we hopped back on the steads for a big puppa climb out of the valley. While the Bibb follows the meanders of the Warren River for a while, the Munda Biddi heads straight up a 100m hill but thankfully the gradient is fairly gentle and the forest scenery is spectacular. While it would have been nice for some more river riding, the thick bois you pass as you puff up the hill are simply outstanding. With a big climb like this, Aron and I usually go at our own pace but I was stopping so often to take photos that Aron caught up a few times.
Reaching the top of the climb was a relief and our reward was a change of scenery as the trail became much sandier and then much farmier. The change was nice to start with thanks to more Peppermint Trees, a favourite of mine in the South West, but the farmland took me a bit by surprise. Having ridden through here before, I swear this section was between Donnybrook and Nala Mia in my mind but after a while it all clicked and I remembered the awkward little farm and powerline riding. It's not entirely bad with green fields and blue skies but the sandy riding along the overgrown powerline track could be much improved. After a fun downhill on a gravel road, you reach a wider road that is lined with some impressive Karri trees. As Celine Dion once said "It's all coming back to me now" and the rest of the day was less of a blank from this point on. While Aron faffed about on his phone, I photographed the golden trunks of the Karri trees and looked for the turnoff. It wouldn't be long until we reached a crossing of the Bibb Track and the spot I had said to Aron we would take our longest break of the day.
After a little bit of single trail, I found the crossing and we followed the Bibb for the short journey into Schafer Campsite. Some people get funny about riders on the Bibb but this section of trail is only 300m long and we were only popping in for a break. Schafer is home to a man made dam and the picnic table on the edge of the water makes for a great lunch spot. When we arrived there was already a Bibb hiker setup in the shelter but they didn't want to come out and say hello. As we found out the following day as we left Northcliffe, the hiker was the mythical Pack Animal. A regular on the Bibb Track and widely known to most people scanning the log books for his "All good, nice sunny day" comments, I had never run into him during my years completing a sectional end to end. Given he was having a midday snooze and I never saw him, that is still true I guess. We ate our yummy goods that were secured at Wild at Heart that morning in silence before loading up and riding out. Joining the Munda Biddi, we scooted past Karri Hill Cottages, saying hello to the doggo and geese before riding along backcountry lanes.
Transitioning away from the depths of the Karri forest, the final third of the days riding would be a mixture of farmland, sandy forests and a couple of patches of Karri forest. Passing an old forestry cottage/shed near a plantation, the trail takes you through some mixed forest that included the return of the soft greys of the Jarrah tree. Unfortunately through here we had to dodge a few fallen trees that made progress a bit slower than it would have otherwise been. If it wasn't fallen trees then it was the puddles and there were some good ones along this stretch. It's always a fun gamble going first through these narrow puddles as you never know if it will be a few inches of water of if the bike will go crank deep. We got a good mixture of both and every single one of them brought a smile to our faces and a bit of laughter. I was also appreciating the emergence of different varieties of wildflowers with a star shaped white variety and some Pink Boronia livening up the undergrowth. A scenic section of sandy plains filled with Grass Trees was a highlight and soon we had reached a little flooded section next to the trail where Aron spotted something unusual.
A whirlpool had formed as the water drained and it was something I've not seen naturally occurring in the middle of the bush like this. Knowing some road riding was up ahead, this last little stretch of riding was really boggy with either soft sand or thick mud slowing progress. It was a relief to finally reach Middleton Road and enjoy some smooth tarmac for a while. Seeing speeds north of 20kmph was a novelty and I raced ahead to the detriment of Aron. Passing a house on the edge of the road, I had alerted some doggos to our presence and they decided to chase Aron down the road. Jokingly I said that maybe we should have had them all along to keep the pace up but that's not very nice. With Middleton Road linking South Western Highway to Northcliffe, you do have to be aware of traffic along the road and the shoulder isn't the easiest place to ride. We reached the Hikers Crossing sign and I knew to turn left as the Munda Biddi and Bibb Track converge as they head towards the Gardner River. Passing more beautiful Karri trees as the trail follows a back country lane, ahead is one of the more confusing spots on both trails with the local farmer taping off the road. It's there to guide his cattle between paddocks but with no markers of any kind, it's not quite clear that you are meant to continue straight through the muddy bog.
Knowing the way, I had warned Aron to continue onwards if we weren't together at this stage but this was unnecessary. Soon we were riding towards one of my favourite spots along this section, the old wooden bridge that crosses the Gardner River. I love the moss covered log that guides you towards the crossing and the soft grey of the bridge that is draped with moss and lichen is an absolute treat to photograph. Capping it off is a moss covered boulder in the water that really makes the photo of the water rushing downstream. Aron wasn't quite as keen to hang around like I was given the pinch climb ahead so I lingered, savouring the moment as you never know when you will be back in a particular location. With many photos in the bag, I hopped back on the bike for the final run into town. Catching up to Aron as he negotiated the small climb ahead, this spot has some really nice Karri forest that towers over you. With that being the last climb of the day, we pedalled along, admiring the forest in the afternoon light before reaching the Hollow Butt Tree, a giant hollowed out tree (fancy that) with a small picnic area. Aron posed for photos inside the tree before we headed off again, riding past the footy oval and then along the railway towards the Visitor Centre to officially finish the day.
There are a couple of accommodation options in this old mill town but I had lined up a treat for us, staying at the old fashioned bed and breakfast, PipinnVale. The allure of a comfy bed and home cooked meal was a nice way to finish off this town to town section of riding before we were roughing it at the campsites for the next two nights. Located south of town, we rode along Wheatley Coast Road to our final destination and greeted our host Pippa. We were both pleased to see Pippa had a doggo called Tilly and she would enjoy plenty of love and attention over the course of the afternoon and evening as we both missed our own dogs. Unloading our bikes and having a chat about our journey so far, I let Aron shower first while I watched Pippa preparing what was the best meal of the trip by a large margin. Pippa is a great cook and for dinner we were having fish cooked in butter and herbs, many different kinds of vegetables and a cheeky bottle of red. After a chill afternoon, Pippa's husband came home and we all settled in for the wonderful meal that was topped off with a homemade dessert too. I cannot recommend PipinnVale enough to anyone passing through on the Munda Biddi or Bibb Track. It was a very restful sleep that night with a few days of excellent riding to look forward to heading into Walpole.
Final Thoughts - While planning this end to end, this day between Pemberton and Northcliffe was marked off as one to enjoy.
The variety of scenery through here is remarkable, ranging from towering Karri forest to Peppermint Trees to sandy plains to farmland.
While the variety is enjoyable, the real treat on this day in being immersed in the Karri forest and really appreciating how special it is to have these giants.
Add in the history of River Road Bridge, the rail trail sections, the wildflowers and the two rivers you see along the day and this is certainly one of the best sections of the Munda Biddi.
Get out there and experience it!!!
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