The Munda Biddi Trail – Pedal 1000km From Perth to Albany

The Munda Biddi Trail is Australia’s longest thru-bike and a bush cyclist’s paradise. Traversing over 1000km from Perth to Albany, this 15 day epic will fulfil your multi-day-mountain biking dreams.

We Are Explorers acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Country on which this adventure takes place who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants, for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

The West’s best kept secret?

The Munda Biddi Trail (path through the forest), traverses Noongar boodja Country from the Perth Hills to Albany in an epic bush mountain or gravel biking adventure. Travel hut-to-hut on your acoustic bike or town-to-town on your e-bike; the Munda Biddi caters to all. The appeal of long, remote sections of singletrack, winding through pristine bush is just too hard to turn down.

Making anyone from over east’s eyes water, the trail boasts continuous signage over its 1000km+ length, purpose-made bike bridges, 12 swanky huts, and a Munda Biddi Trail Guide app (Apple or Google), all supported by the Munda Biddi Foundation. Passing through 15 towns from end-to-end and countless bike parks and swimming holes, you really get your money’s worth. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

Some key highlights of the journey include:

• Scaling the Gloucester Tree
• Stepping back in time at Donnelly River Village
• Wildflower and orchid spotting
• Paddling the Blackwood River

The Bibbulmun in Half the Time

Chances are you’ve heard of the Bibbulmun Track – the 1000km+ walking track from Perth to Albany that takes the average punter six to eight weeks to complete. Consider the Munda Biddi its bike-obsessed cousin. Other than sharing the southern terminus and crossing paths at major towns, the track and trail are separate alignments with their own infrastructure. It generally takes less than half the time of the Bibbulmum to complete the Munda Biddi, with most groups pedalling for two to three weeks.

On this journey, you experience the same stunning southwest biodiversity hotspot as the Bibbulmun. Immerse yourself in Darling Range’s Jarrah forests, the towering southern Karri trees and ancient Tingle trees of the Walpole Wilderness before popping out at the coast. You’ll also pass orchids, livestock, and seas of WA’s best wildflowers.

Elephant Rocks, Denmark, WA

Munda Biddi Trail Towns

Trail towns are a recent phenomenon in Australia. Towns where cycling is having a significant social and economic impact on the very thread that stitches the town’s culture together. The Munda Biddi casts a transect through 15 rural and urban townships providing a snapshot of the region. Most of these towns have accommodation options (to recharge yourself or your e-bike), but supplies can be scarce in some of the smaller villages, so make sure you’re well prepared.

Of these towns, Dwellingup, Collie, Nannup, and Pemberton proudly wear the ‘trail town’ badge of honour, boasting facilities such as mountain bike parks, bike shops, repair stations, and recently, bike lockers and bike cafes.

The DIY bike workshop, free showers, and bike wash station at the Dwellingup Visitor Centre, set a high bar for trail town offerings

End-to-end or day rides?

Most end-to-end riders head north to south from Mundaring to Albany, but you can flip the map and go the other way – there are endless combinations of day trips or ‘weekenders’ to choose from. The Munda Biddi Foundation will recognise you as an end-to-ender if you complete it in one go or section-ride it over many years – so start chippin’ away at it!

To start the trail from Perth, you can get the train to Midland and then take the Railway Reserve Heritage Trail into the Perth Hills to the Northern Terminus in Mundaring. Alternatively, you can organise a car shuttle to the start from one of many local providers. To get to or from Albany, small groups (maximum of two bikes) can book the TransWA bus (make sure to book your bikes on too!). Larger groups will find private shuttle providers more economical.

Day-trippers or e-bike riders have the luxury of packing light and staying in towns, stopping by the huts for lunch. The longest town-to-town stint is a mountainous 157km from Walpole to Denmark, so you’ll need to be fit or have a big battery!

Bikepackers living the slow-grind life can take it easy, stopping at towns, huts, campsites, and guest houses. The maximum distance between accommodation options is around 55km.

Where to Stay Along the Munda Biddi Trail

Often called ‘shelters’ as they don’t have a door, these open steel and corrugated iron structures sleep 12 or 24 people on two-storey timber platforms and boast facilities including water tanks, a sheltered bike rack, toilet, tables, and a separate tent area.

The huts are generally located somewhere stupendous. Either with views making you regret how much you paid for that rental the other weekend or so immersed in the scrub you can hear the Earth’s heartbeat. You’ll likely have no phone reception, so you might have to look at the stars or be social without the media; meeting other travellers and sharing stories is one of the best things about long-distance adventures.

Whilst the huts can’t be booked and are on a first-in basis, other accommodation providers can book out fairly quickly in peak season and there might not be another option. 

Skill Level of the Munda Biddi Trail

Advanced

Mention the Munda Biddi to your mate who’s done it and they’ll either look at you with a raised brow, giggle, or yell at you about how good it is!

If they giggle, they likely rode a narrow-tyred gravel bike over pea gravel, and eagerly anticipate you feeling their pain. Pea gravel is the result of thousands of years of erosion and concretion, forming beautifully round tyre-eating ball bearings. Arm yourself with some fat rubber (or pray for some rain), and you’ll float over these beauties. Pea gravel is a fantastic road base, so you’ll find it distributed south of its origin near Perth, giving even the biggest puddles a solid base.

The trail is mostly singletrack. Saw-tooth trails in the Perth Hills and steep climbs in and around Walpole will test your legs, but generally, the gradient is fairly forgiving. In many places, the trail follows historic rail trails, providing you with a smooth and constant gradient to power yourself to camp. Tarred roads join sections of trail near towns, which are more frequent in the south, however the Munda Biddi Foundation is continually realigning the road sections to freshly groomed singletracks – the resources and investment in the trail will blow you away.

Love for rail trails is real. Flat. Fast. Fun

Navigating the trail is fairly straightforward (pun intended). Whilst it’s always recommended to have the paper map pack with you, the trail app is regularly updated with detours or new alignments from flooding, mining, and forestry impacts. Additionally, the trail is signposted the whole way, in both directions, with vibrant yellow trail markers.

When to Ride the Munda Biddi Trail

The South West’s climate is cool and wet in winter and hot and dry in summer. Don’t be fooled into thinking it doesn’t get cold in WA – winter temperatures in the hills often come close to 0°C accompanied by solid rainfall. Conversely, summer temperatures can be over 40°C and water supplies at the huts can start to run low.

Spring or autumn is ideal, providing cool mornings to crank out some kilometres, with warm afternoons for a swim.

How to Travel With Your Bikes in a Box to the Munda Biddi Trail

If you can drive there, lucky you. If you can’t, fly!

If you’ve never flown with your bike, don’t let this distract you from undertaking this epic journey. If you don’t own a bike, I recommend getting some training in before giving it a crack. There are companies in Perth that’ll hire out bikes and panniers for the trail, but it’s best to know your kit for this sort of trip.

Flying with your bike means you need to know how to partly pull your bike apart and put it back together again. You can get a cardboard bike box from most bike shops free of charge and check this in as your luggage for no extra fee – just keep an eye on your weight limit!

Please note! You can’t fly with e-bike batteries. Consider options to safely post your battery over in advance.

As for what bike is best, I’m firmly in the dual-suspension mountain bike camp, but others swear by gravel bikes. I suspect there’s a strong correlation between those who ride gravel bikes …and those who complain about pea gravel and rocks. As long as you can put wide tyres and panniers of some sort on your bike, it should suffice. Dual suspension riders should check out the Aeroe Spider rack as a mint storage solution.

Kitted out thanks to Blackburn and Aeroe

Don’t Forget to Ride the Bike Parks

If you take my advice and bring your mountain bike to the South West, congratulations. You can now experience some of the newest bike parks in the country!

From north to south, the trail passes the Goat Farm, Kalamunda, Turner Hill, Murray Valley Trails, Wambenger Trails, Tank 7, and Pemberton Bike Park, finishing in Albany with the Clarence downhill trails. Watch this space, as new trails are currently being built near Tingledale and Denmark. If you head to Margaret River after your trip, the Wooditjup trails won’t disappoint!

Essential Gear for the Munda Biddi Trail

Ultimately, the kit you take will be refined by your method for tackling the trail. Here’s a loose list of the essentials for the Munda Biddi:

• A bike – Without one, you may as well walk the Bibbulmun! Make sure it can take wide rubber (2”) tyres
• Bike bags –  Avoid wearing a backpack, especially on long trips. You can fit most things in a front handlebar roll and saddle pack, but you’ll struggle for food space. Look for panniers like the Aeroe rack that can cinch down to get your minimum volume up to around 20L
• Spares – Every bike is different, make sure you bring along a spare tube and tyre levers, pump, bike tool (with chain breaker), chain lube, and a chain master link. Bring a spare derailleur hanger too, if you can!
• Food – You’ll need space for 2-3 days worth of food, so get your dehydrator out and mix up some scroggin! Make sure to check out WA’s quarantine info if you’re coming from interstate as importing fresh food isn’t permitted

Pro Tip: The general stores along the way can be limited. If you have dietary constraints, consider posting food ahead to a town’s post office to pick up en route.

• Water – Water can be sourced at towns and huts – tank water must be purified. Carry extra during the summer months, especially if it hasn’t rained for a while

• Clothes – Less is more. A set to sleep in and a set to ride in – it’s stinky but works. Get yourself a pair of bibs or knicks (or two), to save your bum from chafing

• Sleep system – The huts have wooden platforms or tent sites. You’ll need a sleeping mat and bag at minimum. A tarp, groundsheet, and flynet are a good alternative to a tent for when the hut is full, or for choosing alternative campsites

Be creative with your gear choices!

What it’s Like to Ride the Munda Biddi – Our Journey

Bec and I started our 17-day north-to-south, end-to-end journey on the 8th of August – a bit before ‘peak’ riding season, but right in peak wildflower season. We weren’t seasoned bikepackers, but we were seasoned walkers with enduro mountain bikes…so that’ll do…right?

Despite a few hiccups along the way, we can’t wait to be back in the southern forests. We might even drive and check out the Mawson Trail along the way. 

Prequel

I first read about the Munda Biddi in 2011 when the Nannup to Manjimup leg opened – I remember the article’s title had ‘1000km’ and ‘MTB’, or maybe ‘singletrack’ in it, but that’s about it. I told Bec about it, she said ‘cool’, and that was that.

Eleven years later, we arrived in Perth – a day after storms took out power to the airport. The weather was ominous at best for a three-week slog through the bush. Deciding to delay our start date by a few days, we had time to rebuild our bikes from cardboard boxes – replace a spoke that snapped in transport, and post food bags to Collie and Pemberton. 

Day 1 – Perth to Mundaring Weir

Jumping on the train to Midland Station, we watched the swirly clouds close in as water lashed the side of the carriage. We soon realised that Bec would need a mudguard to avoid her looking like she was in need of a nappy change, so we dropped by 99 Bikes Mundaring and started pedalling east. 

The bike paths in Perth had blown us away, they were amazing, so it was to our surprise that the footpath along the Great Eastern Highway suddenly stopped dead with no shoulder, forcing you onto a dirt patch behind the guard rail. 

Hot tip: Don’t do this. 

Forced onto a backroad, we soon found the Railway Reserve Heritage Trail – a 15km Munda Biddi extension that leads to the Northern Terminus in Mundaring. After a quick photo in the drizzle, we took shelter at the Mundaring Hotel whilst the heavens opened and contemplated our life choices. 

The rain cleared and we kicked off our journey. Instantly weaving along stunning singletrack, any regret from being drenched to the core was forgotten. We flew down to Mundaring Weir Hotel where we decided to book a room with a fireplace and dry out our kit. 

Day 2 – Mundaring Weir to Wungong Hut

Starting on the trail with blue skies and crisp dry socks was a relief from the thought of sodden knicks chafe. Passing through Kalamunda Mountain Bike Park provided training for pea gravel berms and greeted us with a flock of black cockatoos – a flock that followed us past Carinyah Hut to Wungong Hut where we spent the night.

Still damp from passing showers, the temperature dropped rapidly. We cooked up a hearty meal and put on every layer we had, but 2°C was colder than we’d anticipated – concern that we were underprepared made for an uncomfortable night’s sleep.

Bec looking heaps concerned

Day 3 – Wungong Hut to Dandalup

Keen to turn the cranks and get the blood moving, we got off to an early start. The thought of a coffee at Jarrahdale may have helped with motivation! 

Jarrahdale is a quaint town nestled amongst forest – the general store has hot food, but it’s slim pickings for substantial trail food. We embraced the sunshine and made tracks to Dandalup. 

Hot tip! Bring chain lube. Grinding our gears up the pea gravel-laden sawtooth fire trails south of Jarrahdale had me kicking myself for leaving it in Perth. The days of rain and puddles had stripped our drivetrains dry. Realising we had 80km until Jarrahdale, the necessity to MacGyver a solution was paramount. Sunscreen, oily sunscreen. 

As an unintended field experiment, Bec tried zinc-based sunscreen, and I tried trusty Banana Boat. To our surprise, both did an excellent job at quietening (and hopefully protecting) our bikes. The results? Zinc-based is like wet lube; lasts longer, but attracts a lot of dirt. Normal sunscreen is like dry lube; washes off easily but keeps things clean. 

Rolling into Dandalup with clear skies and views to the ocean felt like arriving at a resort – time to put the feet up. 

Day 4 – Dandalup Hut to Bidjar Ngoulin Hut via Dwellingup

Waking to the sound of Forest Red-tailed Black cockatoos, we wound our way to Dwellingup – our first trail town. Dwellingup is a picture-perfect example of a trail town. As we pedalled in, an excavator and trail crew greeted us as they worked on maintaining and improving the town’s cross-country trails. The information centre was filled with bike merch and screens with videos of the newly revamped Murray Valley Mountain Bike Trials, as well as a DIY bike repair workshop, free showers, cafes, pump track, and more.

I spent a good chunk of time cleaning the zinc sunscreen out of Bec’s chain (my idea = my responsibility?), while we found out some information from the locals as to the condition of the bridge over the Murray River. The rain we had experienced meant the river was up and Bobs Crossing was closed. Normally, the trail crosses the Nanga Road bridge, but it was awaiting being opened to traffic after repairs. We had the option to get a free bus (provided by the town for Munda Biddi riders), around the river, or to head across. We chose the latter, bombing down a giant hill to find a blockade with a sign advising the bridge was closed to cars – but not pedestrians – a suitably bike-sized gap in the barrier did the trick and we were on our way.

As if teasing us, the trail passes through the Murray Valley Bike Park. Deep loamy soils, rollers and berms raise your stoke – however, whilst tempting, don’t jump with bike bags – restrain yourself like I did.

After sending it down the hill we had a slow rise following the Murray River to Bidjar Ngoulin Hut. Bec’s pace had dropped and I tried not to be rude by telling her she was slowing down, but we were running out of daylight. We arrived at dusk and started tinkering with her bike – and found a huge amount of friction in her drivetrain that had been holding her back. A bearing in her derailleur was a casualty of earlier puddle-stomping, splitting outwards in the cage.

Pulling it apart was a risk – what if it can’t be reassembled and we are stuck 30km from Dwellingup? Alternatively, what’s the physical risk of continuing with extra strain?
We bit the bullet and popped it open – debris had been grinding away some of the balls and created too much friction, forcing the balls on top of each other and binding up the bearing. Whilst low on balls, rebuilding the bearing with a liberal amount of chain lube (picked up from Dwellingup) did the trick.

Add a Leatherman to your packing list

Day 5 – Bidjar Ngoulin Hut to Yarri Hut via Lake Brockman

Ouch. What the heck? A sharp pain shot through both of my achilles. We’d both had some aches and pains over the last few days, but these niggles came and went – we were just settling into a rhythm: eat-ride-eat-sleep-repeat. But this was different – I could hardly walk. Had I pushed it too hard taking some weight from Bec due to her drivetrain issues? Would I have to call it quits? 

Perplexed as to the cause, we headed up the hill powered by vitamin I. If we could get to the cafe/caravan park at Lake Brockman, we could reassess. Collie suddenly seemed a lot further away. 

Criss-crossing bauxite mines and revegetation areas, we detoured to the vibrant blue lake shores, b-lining for the cafe for a cool drink. Having a smidgen of reception, Dr Google gave some suggestions as to my tendon woes and what to do about it: drop my seat and move my cleats back. My seat was likely too high after I rebuilt it from the box and to my surprise, my cleats had slipped all the way forward. Adjusting both of these provided instant relief, but it was still going to be a challenge to repair myself with two weeks of riding to go. 

Mining tunnels and bridges all have barricaded cycle paths

From Lake Brockman to Yarri Hut, the trail travels through stunning burnt country. The forests are regularly burnt for hazard reduction with spring regeneration about to boom.

This section of trail sees a large vegetative shift, from open dry Jarrah forests into the moist wildflower-laden Collie River Valley. Yarrie Hut sits at the beginning of the descent into Collie – a smaller hut into fairytale land above a bubbling brook.

Day 6 – Yarri Hut to Crystal Valley Outcamp

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee! Nothing beats a big descent right out of camp. Singletrail switchbacks through thick vegetation were sadly interrupted by a small bridge – an indication that the morning’s fun was over and it was time to crank up the next rise. Feeling the humidity rise, we pushed on through the early morning and made it out of the forest before it started drizzling. 

It’s not often you find yourself in a compromised location on the Munda Biddi, but with the volume of water that fell in such a short period, we were pushing on between a railway and a wet place.

To the Biddi’s credit, the free-draining soils around Collie drained these obstacles almost as soon as they had formed and we were shortly winding through the Arklow MTB trails on our way into Collie. The trip into Collie is the largest ‘out and back’ on the trail, and it’s through gorgeous open singletrack – no complaints there. 

Collie isn’t a small town. It has everything you need, but still gives the crusty vibes of a coal mining town battling with an eco-tourism identity crisis. We headed straight to Crank’n Cycles for some much-needed brake pads and to try our luck getting a new jockey wheel for Bec’s derailleur. 

Full credit to the team there – they had a used derailleur in a parts bin and let me cannibalise it for Bec’s bike. In fact, the entire derailleur was in better condition than Bec’s one, so I ended up squeezing it into our cargo as a backup. Thanks legends!

Next up – grabbing our food bag from the post office.

Shit.

It was a Saturday in country WA, of course, it’s bloody shut on a Saturday, you plonker. That was a lesson learnt – post offices attached to other businesses (such as a news agency), are more reliable than the ‘larger’ ones. We’d have to wait until Monday to redirect it.

We stocked up on Voltaren and crumby supermarket food and pedalled out of town to Crystal Valley Outcamp. 

Day 7 – Crystal Valley Outcamp to Nglang Boodga Hut

I could rave on about Crystal Valley Outcamp all day long. It’s cosy and has character, but it’s also out of the weather and has the facilities to cook up a storm. We hung around until lunchtime to dry out our kit before cruising on to Nglang Boodga Hut. This semi-rest day was needed to let my achilles get over the healing hump, but also some downtime to embrace and appreciate where we were. 

The trail through Wellington National Park is an absolute ripper. A gentle upward gradient brings you to a steep and flowy downhill to the Collie River and Honeymoon Pools. We didn’t know it at the time, but fresh mountain bike trails have been built a kilometre east at Wellington Dam – I’m sure it won’t be long before the Munda Biddi links to this stunning trail network

A few more switchbacks and we were at Nglang Boodga Hut where we met Walt – a QLD bloke living in London who was riding solo on a fairly janky hire bike. Walt soon became a trail comrade for encouragement through to Albany. Cheers Walt – I hope we cross trails again one day.

Day 8 – Nglang Boodja to Doonybrook

South of the Collie Valley, the trail spills onto the plains. The shrubs shrink but bloom with colour and the trees inch ever taller. We got phone signal and battled Aus Post to forward our food package to the Denmark post office – right near the end of the trip.  

From Boyanup to Donnybrook, the trail follows country roads and orchids through some fairly flat terrain. Some tarmac crunching got us into Donnybrook at a good time to check into the backpackers and get some laundry done – our first load in over a week!

Donnybrook is known for apples and a wiz-bang playground. Don’t expect much more, but these two features certainly don’t disappoint. During the harvest, accommodation can be hard to find so don’t expect to be able to find somewhere last minute. 

Day 9 – Doonybrook to Nannup

The day started quickly – flying along gravel fire trails through regenerating native forests and pine plantations, we made it to Nala Mia Hut at Jarrahwood by lunchtime. 

From Jarrahwood to Nannup, the trail follows a stunning rail trail that was once used to cart timber to the Blackwood River. This is where I fell in love with rail trails. Almost 30km of gentle gradient bliss. A dozen rail bridges converted to bike infrastructure and a near-unbroken path to follow got me absolutely stoked.

Riding on a rail trail high, we descended past stunning farmland into the river town of Nannup. I didn’t realise I could fall in love twice in one day – Nannup is rad!

We’d tried to book into the caravan park, but had no luck on a Sunday or Monday so settled for a room at the pub. With Nannup self-proclaimed as the ‘halfway town’, it was fitting to put our feet up for the night.

BYO bike lock for this in-town bike locker

Day 10 – Nannup to Karta Burnu Hut via Donnelly River Village

Nannup’s cute. It’s quirky. You don’t know what shops will be open or when – especially the ones with hours out the front – and the locals will convince you they’ve seen a Thylacine. With a coffee-to-go, we peddled up and out of the halfway town. 

The ‘halfway’ line could also be called the ‘big tree’ line. The forest south of Nannup brings out the big guns – these show-stopping trees are dangerous – if you look at the tree, you’ll hit the tree! We had a few down across the trail that you literally could not climb over.

Almost out of nowhere, Donnelly River Village appears. It couldn’t have been better timing as a cold front was approaching (which we later found out had blanketed Perth in snow-like hail!).  However, between us soggy humans and the Jarrah-burning wood heater of the general store was a particularly nosey flock of… emus. 

Similar to the possums of the NSW South Coast, the wombats of Tassie’s Maria Island or the dingos of Queensland’s K’gari, Western Australia’s Donnelly River emus are pretty annoying. Sure, they’re the cute native version of Big Bird, but when they won’t let you open the bloody ‘Emu’ gate to get into the general store without a pet and a snack, they’re flippin’ annoying. After a hot lunch, Bec dragged me away from the fire to cruise down to One Tree Bridge and then up the switchbacks to Karta Burnu Hut (oh what a view!). 

One Tree Bridge – originally constructed from one fallen Karri Tree across the Donnelly River

Day 11 – Karta Burnu Hut to Quinninup via Manjimup

The ride from Karta Burnu to Manjimup is nice but fairly uneventful. In fact, apart from a cool playground and a supermarket – Manjimup was fairly uneventful.

The forest from Manjimup to Quinninup makes up for this with some stunning flowing singletrack across some fairly easy-going gradients with a descent to the Warren River. 

We love singletrack

Quinninup is quaint. It’s a small town with a caravan park, a tavern, and some swimming spots nestled amongst the giant Karri trees. We opted to camp and tried out our minimalist camping setup – worked a treat!

A minimal tarp setup might be all you need!

Day 12 – Quinninup to Schafer Hut via Pemberton

Out of the forest and into the countryside. Quinninup to Pemberton traverses some of the most stunning farm properties I’ve ever ridden past. Avocados as far as the eye can see, green pastures, lakes and giant trees – beautiful!

Enough avos here for an average Sydney weekend

We made it to Pemberton for an early lunch, getting a taste of the Pemberton MTB Park on the way through and picking up our food drop from the post office. The trail then beelines for the Gloucester Tree – a giant Karri tree once used as a fire watch ‘tower’. Steel pegs have been drilled into this magnificent beast allowing you to climb over 50m into the canopy.

Climbing the Gloucester Tree

The trail south of Pemberton is on the highlights reel. Fast, flowing singletrack amongst flippin’ huge trees! If you haven’t gathered it by now – I looove big trees. Another large bike-specific bridge lets you cross the Warren River (again) and then it’s upwards towards Northcliffe.

For the diehard Munda Biddi or Bibbulmun fans, you’re probably already calling us out on staying at Schafer Hut, which is a Bibbulmum shelter. At this point, there’s only 100m or so difference between the track and trail and no Biddi hut nearby – we walked the bikes in and the Bibb walkers we met were more than welcoming, even if they did tax us some food for our stay.

Day 13 – Schafer Hut to Yirra Kartta Hut via Northcliffe

Northcliffe is real and wholesome. It’s got that free-spirited vibe without the commercialisation of tourist areas within an agricultural setting. We stopped for a cafe breakfast… which can only be described as eccentric. Leftover artichoke pizza (from yesterday’s dinner) on a kid’s Frozen plate with a squeeze of tart orange juice in a whisky glass on the side. Delicious, but odd. The epitome of upcycling.

It was a big day to make it to Yirra Kartta Hut. Mostly a fire trail burner, initially passing farms, but then traversing swathes of forestry littered with wildflowers. Yirra Kartta Hut is on top of the world. The hut is named after the granite dome that provides 360 degree views of the surrounding forest – it translates to ‘high mountains’; a great place for sunset.

Day 14 – Yirra Kartta Hut to Walpole via Fernhook Falls and Kwokralup Beela Hut

Wildflower day – woohoo! The first leg of this day is going to be told by pictures, enjoy!

We made solid progress past Fernhook Falls to Kwokralup Beela Hut. There’s a stunning walk from the hut to Frankland River that isn’t to be missed! Unfortunately, we got drenched as we descended into the valley. We were faced with two options: 

1. Hang around at the hut, wet and cold, and try to dry out/warm up 
2. Pedal through the rain up two big hills and one massive one, hope to find reception before the Walpole caravan park closes and hope a cabin/tent site is available.

We chose the latter. At 3:55 pm (just before close) and after a few hundred metres of vert, we were able to call and book a cabin at Coalmine Beach – they were going to leave a key out for us. However, we still had 25km of Walpole wilderness to navigate and a fish and chip shop to hunt down. 

The swollen Frankland River at Kwokralup Beela Hut

Day 15 – Walpole to Booner Mundak

With our cabin still acting as a drying room, we took the liberty of a bike-bag-free pedal into town for pies and coffee – how good is real food! 

The storm had passed and the south coast was putting on a stunning display as we followed the Frankland River upstream. However, without warning the trail breaks away from the estuarine waters and sends you up one of the steepest fire trails I’ve ever attempted towards the Valley of the Giants – stunning old-growth Tingle and Karri forest. 

Leaving the tingle trees behind, the trail takes you inland to the arid plains. The trees shrink but the wildflowers return in the sandy nutrient-poor soils.

Day 16 – Booner Mundak to William Bay via Jinung Beigabup Hut

You really can’t ask for a better warm-up to the day than the morning roll from Booner Mundak down to the Kent River (great camping and river swimming too!). The trail continues this gorgeous, but otherwise fairly unremarkable ridge to Jinung Beigabup Hut – the last hut on the trail – sitting at the top of the hill looking out into the canopy. 

We stopped for a quick bite to eat and then descended down some tarmac to the coast, making it to (diehard Bibbulmun fans cover your ears!) William Bay Shelter, right at sunset.

Please note! William Bay Hut is a Bibbulmun walking shelter a stone’s throw off the Biddi, but it’s a slog of a push up a sand-dune 4WD track to get to it. 

Day 17 – William Bay to Cosy Corner via Denmark

Fancy a sunrise ocean swim? Today’s the day! Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks are your tick-list items this morning, and they won’t disappoint.

What’s better is that you won’t even work up a sweat following the tarred share path along the coast, which continues onto the ‘Wilderness Ocean Walk’ and descends into Denmark.

Denmark is a pretty big town, and well known for being fairly alternative, so it was to my surprise that their award-winning pie shop’s vegetarian pie was shit. Really shit. And expensive. Disgruntled, we crossed the Denmark River and jumped on the Wilson Inlet Heritage Trail; overpriced pea and mash pastries were a distant memory – I ❤️ rail trails.

We headed to Cosy Corner, a free campsite by the beach only a slight detour off the official trail.

Day 18 – Cosy Corner to Albany

We broke camp, jumped on the saddle and after a short stint of backroads, found ourselves on the busy Lower Denmark Road all the way to Albany – cars whizzing past with almost no shoulder to ride on.

You always expect the final day of an expedition to be a show-stopper, filled with glee looking back at the mountain you just summited or coastline you’ve traversed. Unfortunately for us, the ride into Albany was fairly anticlimactic. After 17 days of blissful small towns, forests, rivers, and beaches, the chaos of entering Albany was like being hit in the face with an oversized novelty cheque. 

It’s worth noting that since we completed our end-to-end, the Munda Biddi Trail Foundation has formalised a trail realignment that takes you south of Lake Powell and through the coastal wind farm. A longer but safer route that does a darn good job of delaying your re-emergence to society. 

Albany does turn it on with its recognition of the trail; trail signs embedded into the pavement and a Southern Terminus seating area at the information centre – we’d bloody made it! Woohoo! Time to sign that last logbook and go stuff our faces with delicious fried food. 

Munda Biddi FAQs

How long does it take to ride the Munda Biddi?

The Munda Biddi can take anywhere between 10 and 20 days to ride – there are a range of different itineraries that allow you to spend more time on the trail.

What does Munda Biddi mean?

Munda Biddi means ‘path through the forest’ in the local Aboriginal Noongar language.

How hard is the Munda Biddi?

Although the terrain isn’t particularly technical, the sheer length of the Munda Biddi makes it difficult and a ride for more advanced bikepackers and mountain bikers.

How many km is Munda Biddi?

The Munda Biddi Trail is 1072km long

Can you do the Munda Biddi on a gravel bike?

Yes! You can certainly ride the Munda Biddi trail on a gravel bike. While they may not have as much suspension as a mountain bike and likely won’t handle the rougher sections of the trail as well, gravel bikes are quicker and smoother on the flat and well-packed sections of trail. Ideally take the widest tyres that you can to manage riding over pea gravel.

How many huts are on the Munda Biddi trail?

There are 12 huts along the length of the Munda Biddi Trail, as well as accommodation at trail towns and additional campsites.

Where does the Munda Biddi trail start?

The Munda Biddi trail starts in Mundaring in Perth’s south, however it can also be ridden in the opposite direction, starting in Albany on the south coast.