Dwellingup  Pindjarup Country

On the previous Places that Rock Road Trip we rode Dwellingup. Why are we back? Quite simply because one day isn’t enough, and in the past two years the Murray Valley trail network has grown significantly.

Heading out of Dwellingup Holiday House to get breakfast, Dwellingup is living up to its Noongar meaning, “on and by the whole place there is fog, dew and mist”. So, with wet weather gear and collective groans from the media squids behind the lenses, we roll across the road to the glistening new trails and visitor centre.

With a range of walking, mountain biking, four-wheel driving trails and canoe routes in the vicinity, the Trails and Visitor Centre is busy. The centre was devised by the Shire of Murray, whose vision and investment has seen Dwellingup blossum into a true trail town. We eat, caffeinate, and plan the days’ activities at Waypoints Café inside the centre. As the rain persists, we take the time to look around. As well as a café and an information centre, Dwellingup Adventures is located in the complex and offers bike, canoe, raft, camping gear hire and a bike shop. The centre also houses showers, a bike wash and repair station, free Wi-Fi, charging stations and lockers, all within 50m of the Hotham Valley Railway, as well as a large pump track and skate park.

It is quite a set up, and word is that there will potentially be a hops-based drinks facility in the not-too-distant future. It looks like it will remain busy all year round.

TAKING TO THE TRAILS

Meeting with a crew of locals, including John Cusack, Josh White and his son, it is decided that we will ride out to the Marrinup Circuit via some of the trails used in the Dwellingup 100 event, while the guys with cameras will take protective measures and drive. Their loss. Groomed recently, the trails are in perfect condition. The ride out isn’t a hard one. The climbs are mellow and the descents, although short and pedally, flow well. At Marrinup Campsite, we meet the rest of the team.

The Marrinup Circuit is an old XC racecourse built in the late 90s by the Peel Districts Mountain

Bike Club. Hand cut singletrack is interspersed with a few fire trails for passing. You will find beginner groups riding the short loop from the campsite and the more experienced or adventurous completing the long loop or riding from town. Dodging bushes laden with water, sagging onto the trail, we head off. A combination of the pea gravel and recent maintenance means there is hardly a puddle to be seen. At the junction of the long and short loops, we divert off to visit the Marrinup Prisoner of War (POW) Camp. It is only about 600m from the circuit and the history is interesting. John regales us with tales of its operation during the Second World War, post war stories of inmates abscondment to the Dwellingup Hotel and how some jumped from the train never to arrive at the Fremantle port when they were sent home. Heading back, some of us return to town via the long loop dodging some of the damp Northshore-esq log rides, like the POW Camp, relics of a previous era.

In the afternoon, Rod, Brett, Denzel and I visit the Lane Poole Reserve. Rod has completely embraced his role of tour guide, showing us

some of the best the reserve has to offer. We call past Treetops Adventure, a mix of ropes courses and ziplines catering for children from 3 years old to adults. We see the new canoe launch at the Chuditch Picnic Area and stop at the Chuditch Campground. The Chuditch Campground is one of the access points to the Murray Valley Mountain Bike Trails. And here begins our deep dive into the nomenclature of trail names on DBCA estate. A Chuditch or Western Quoll is the largest carnivorous marsupial in Western Australia and 200m from the camp on the southeastern most extremity of the trails is a flowing green trail Quollity Street. A little bit of a pun, but a lot of fun.

MORE MURRAY VALLEY GOODNESS

We continue the tour to the Murray Valley Trailhead and park up. Here Rod talks more about the naming of the Murray Valley trails as we get kitted up to ride. Being later in the afternoon, we decide to do a quick loop of Captain Hook and Quokkamoly.

Charles Edward Lane Poole, namesake of the Lane Poole Reserve, was the second university trained forester in Australia. As a 19-year-old he lost his hand in a shooting accident, and having the hand amputated he replaced it with a steel hook. In 1921, working as Conservator of Forests, he developed Western Australia’s first forestry legislation. A tough advocate for responsible use of the forests, he often fought with both the government he was employed by and the timber industry. Captain Hook is a fitting trail to be named after him: a tough blue-rated climb with scattered rock gardens and steep climbing switchbacks, it’ll make you fight.

At the top of Captain Hook, a little bit cross-eyed from the exertion of keeping pace with Rod and Brett and their e-bikes, we drop into Quokkamoly, a trail in three parts. The top half of the trail consists of ripping berms and tabletops. Once we cross the fire road, we hook into what feels like one of the original Murray Valley trails. The trail narrows and turns dark as we enter the thick pines, but the speed doesn’t drop off. Punching gaps between the trees before we know it, we hit the flat turns and are climbing to the final section of the trail. The final section of the trail can only be described as dual slalom. Two lanes wide with parallel jumps and berms, it’s a perfect place to get a late trail pass on a mate and bragging rights as to who got down the trail fastest.

Back at the cars, Brett and I load our bikes onto the Thule Velospace XT 3 rack on the back of the Isuzu MUX and drive the 15 minutes back to Dwellingup Holiday House. A quick shower and some photo and video downloads and we wander across the road to the Dwellingup Hotel for dinner.

DAWN OF DAY THREE

The morning of day three begins with an early start at The Roost, the top trail head of the Murray Valley trails. From here, you can access the four shuttle-able trails in the regrowth section of the network, or you can head out into the native forest for some longer loops. We decide to knock off the loops before finishing on the shuttle trails. With Murray Valley being only about an hour and a half from the Perth Hills, it wasn’t that hard to convince my good friends Tim and Jo Bennett, and their son Ollie to make a day trip to join us and ride. Ollie stumbles out of their car looking ready for a big nap. Along with Nic, Jake, Alan from Loz Trails and Ash from Loose Riders, we head out.

Later-rite lives up to its name: small rocks and pea gravel everywhere. We chat, looking forward to the target trail, Inzamia. If you hadn’t guessed, this trail is insanely good. The team of rock stars from Magic Dirt Trailworx absolutely nailed this one. Flowing and rolling along the top of the

hill like we’re on a pea gravel pump track, the stoke builds. We skim over a small rock garden and we’re off the edge, into a series of bermed switch backs. The soil changes. What was pea gravel with just the right amount of slip is now clay-based loam with perfect grip. Berm roller, berm roller, roller berm. Pushing harder trying to hold the wheel of the rider in front of you, hoping to open a gap to the rider behind you. We’re in the flow zone now. The gradient has flattened (slightly). The switchbacks have been replaced by gently sculptured turns and the speed is picking up. Faster and faster, tyres glued to the matte brown dirt, vivid green zamia fronds brushing our arms and whipping our legs, a roller to pop, a dip to squash, flick, flick two berms, big dipper. This trail is Inzamia!

Riding back up the Munda Biddi trail there are grins all round and Ollie’s sleepiness has been replaced by eagerness to hit the next trail. For another lap, we could turn left at the Faultline Quollity Street intersection and climb Faultline to the start of Inzamia or Karrakatoa, but we head onward.

Blue Marron is described as a cross-country trail. A good cross-country trail it is, too. Along with the requisite climbs and descents, it has magnificent views of the Murray River and surrounding countryside. We take a break at the top of the first climb, catching our breath as we discuss the upcoming features. Built by Three Chillies Design, and with Sam Hill involved in the design, you know there will be more to the trail than one line. The discussion revolves around the optional black features on the otherwise blue trail.

“Are you going to take the inside log hit on the tight right hander?”

“Do you huck the rock at the top of the offcamber granite rock garden?”

“I’m definitely taking the inside rock garden on the left turn; you can save over a second.”

I follow Tim down the trail. We don’t ride together as much as we used to, but instantly the trust is there. Years of chasing his wheel come back. I’m pushing harder than normal but it feels right. We all stop to session the rock garden. I crash. My pride takes the big hit as knee, shin, elbow, glove and demo bike all receive superficial injuries. As the group moves on, I go back for another crack, and Tim hangs back to make sure I survive. Cheers mate.

We ride back up to The Roost on Yarri Up. Rod has arrived with breakfast, and I quickly wolf down some banana bread and a coffee whilst dressing my wounds.

“Do we get to do jumps now?” Ollie wants to know.

“Yes, we’re riding Busted Nuts.”

The kid is beaming as he leads the charge. “Ready to Shreddy!” he yells as he takes off from the car park.

The Karrak (Red Tailed Black Cockatoo) is the mascot for the Dwellingup Adventure Trails. It has a large beak and is known for ripping open Marri nuts to feed. You can identify what bird did this by how the nuts are busted. And so, to Busted Nuts. It’s a black trail and my confidence is off. I roll through the well-crafted berms, step downs and tables, content to watch as Jake, Alan, Tim and Ollie get sendy. More sessioning follows. A stepdown burps Alan’s rear tyre before Jake rides out the heaviest nose landing I’ve seen in ages. They move on to a sneaky inside gap. Hidden in in the dappled light of some thick pines, on an otherwise clear-cut face to the hill, it is tricky to judge speed and take off. Ollie balks first time through; Jake nails it; and Tim just makes it without casing the landing.

At the bottom of the trail, we jump into Ash’s Loose Riders Shuttle van and head back to The Roost. With the morning’s riding over, it is back to Waypoints Café in Dwellingup for lunch and a quick rip around the pump track before we part ways and head to Collie.

“The trail narrows and turns dark as we enter the thick pines, but the speed doesn’t drop off. Punching gaps between the trees before we know it, we hit the flat turns and are climbing to the final section of the trail.”