Derek and Kenji the dog took me to Youngs Siding for my solo ride to Denmark on the Munda Biddi Trail. Youngs Siding is a convenient place to start or finish a ride, with its General Store offering a range of food, and public toilets at the back of the Community Hall.
Youngs Siding to Keith Road (11 kms)
The Munda Biddi Trail followed Lower Denmark Road for a kilometre before turning left onto a dirt side road. As I had seen elsewhere in the region, the letterboxes for the road were lined up at the intersection.
The trail soon crossed the South Coast Highway and followed the formation of an old railway line running parallel to the highway.
Before long, the trail turned onto Sleeman Road, which continued long and fairly straight for just over five kilometres. I noticed there were many Australian ringneck parrots along this road. They were a magnificent sight with their black heads, yellow necks and green wings and body.
Towards the end of Sleeman Road and along Hunwick Road there was a bit of a climb and then I was rolling down to Keith Road.
The Hay River (3 kms)
I remembered from studying the Munda Biddi map, that Keith Road ran alongside the Hay River. Otherwise, you never would have known as the sides of the road were thickly forested.
Keith Road was very sandy. For the most part I managed to keep pedalling, although there were quite a few sections, particularly on corners, where I just ground to a halt in the deep sand.
I was looking for tracks to the right in the hope of catching a glimpse of the river. My efforts were soon rewarded.
What a beautiful tranquil river! I imagined how wonderful it would be to paddle along it in our kayak.
After just over three kilometres, the trail turned right onto the South Coast Highway, using the highway bridge to cross the river. From the bridge you could see all the way to Wilson Inlet.
Then the Munda Biddi Trail joined the Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail.
Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail (12 kms)
The Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail follows the path of a railway originally built in 1896 to service the Millers Timber Company. The timber ran out in 1905. In the 1920s, the railway was realigned to follow the northern shore of Wilson Inlet.
My heart sank when I saw the first part of the Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail – lots of sand. It was going to be a long morning. Fortunately the trail surface did improve, although for the rest of the ride it was soft and quite tiring to ride.
Once the trail crossed the South Coast Highway again, it was easy to see the railway origins of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail.
There were raised embankments
and cuttings.
While the Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail followed the shore of the Wilson Inlet, I could only occasionally catch a glimpse of the water through the trees.
About four kilometres out from the Denmark River, I came across this sign: “Springdale Tunnel”. Of course I had to investigate.
The Springdale Tunnel allowed controlled access for a small creek to Wilson Inlet.
The Inlet was eerily quiet as though shrouded in a heavy mist.
I climbed back up to the Denmark Nornalup Heritage Trail and continued on. Soon the path ran close to the shore for a while.
Only a few kilometres more and the bridge across the Denmark River came into sight.
Just like the Hay River, the Denmark River opened into Wilson Inlet.
From there it was less than a kilometre to our caravan park.
I had cycled 26 kilometres and climbed 175 metres on the Munda Biddi Trail between Youngs Siding and Denmark. Thanks, as always, to the Munda Biddi Trail Foundation and its volunteers for making these wonderful experiences possible.
Other recent short adventures on the Munda Biddi Trail have been between Greens Pool and Denmark, Torbay and Albany and near Dwellingup.
The next section of the Denmark Nornalup Rail Trail between McLeod Road and Denmark is also well worth exploring.
