Just WOW!

An early start for our 62km ride to Denmark on a mix of road, rail trail, Munda Biddi and the Wilderness Ocean Walk (WOW) trail.  We cycled the couple of kms to the highway and enjoyed the quiet road, making quick time.  We crossed the Kent River and a little later took the turnoff to the Nornalup Heritage Rail trail but were dismayed to see how overgrown it looked.  We hadn’t been able to find much information on its current state, as most people took the more circuitous Munda Biddi trail.  Given our quick progress on the highway, we decided to continue till the turnoff to the Top Shed cafe, our morning tea/second breakfast destination. 

The traffic was picking up as we turned off, and we were pleased to find that the cafe was open.  We enjoyed an excellent coffee and their specialty of toasted sourdough sandwiches. We picked up a loaf of sourdough bread to enjoy with the plum jam and honey that had been provided by the Airbnb the night before, as well as a brownie for afternoon tea.

We lingered a while and explored the adjacent leatherwork shop, with its interesting collection of bush tools in leather sheaths. Back on the bikes, we returned to the highway for a couple of kms, ducking into the nearby meadery, and straight out again as there was nothing of interest. Once on William Bay Road, it was only a couple of kilometres to Green Pools, our first scenic stop for the day. The south westerly wind was very gusty, and fortunately, would provide a tail wind for much of our coastal journey. 

The views were stunning as we looked back down the coast and into the not so tranquil seas below.  There was a van selling sushi in the car park, so we picked up some for a late lunch, given our substantial morning tea. 

Next stop was nearby Elephant Rocks, which was a little more protected from the wind and would have been a beautiful place for a swim if we had more time. The giant rocks are supposedly shaped like elephants facing into the ocean - they were probably more spectacular up close.  We were now on the Munda Biddi which wound its way along the coast, with amazing views as every turn.  We stopped at Waterfall Beach and wandered down to see the waterfall - clearly a good source of water for the couple who walked down after us with a 20 litre water cooler bottle.  The trail headed inland for a few kms before emerging at Lights Beach. 

We stopped for a toilet break and got chatting to a woman with her dog who expressed her preference for walking but acknowledged the benefits of bike touring, This was the start of the WOW trail, a 6.2km sealed track which is promoted as having an undulating gradient but not suitable for families doe to its steep uphill and quick turns.  It was almost all uphill, passing Monkey Rock and Back Beach and we stopped for our late lunch on a windy bench, off the path.  It was good that we were out of the way as two fat bikes cruised past with the parents in front and kids on the back. We finally reached the top at the Denmark Community wind farm, where the trail became gravel again and wound its way past the second turbine and then down towards Ocean Beach. 

It was a relief to hit the Ocean Beach cycleway, a 10kms path which took us along the beautiful clear water of the Wilson Inlet and into the Denmark town centre.  We found the Denmark Gelato co and each enjoyed two scoops of delicious local ice cream.  it was clearly a popular spot with queues of families lining up for their post-school treat. We then dropped into Wholly Local, which did pre-made meals, and stocked up with a fish pie and beef lasagne for our dinner for the next two nights.  A quick stop to buy some local Kakadu plum and apricot chocolate, and a local Pinot noir, and a final stop at the IGA for the rest of our provisions, and we were ready for the 4.6km climb to our accommodation.  We were determined to enjoy a nice meal for our wedding anniversary without returning to town. 

Our accommodation was at the Anagama Studio, and the owner, Jonathan, messaged as we were part way up the hill to find out when we would be arriving.  He met us on the road outside the studio and chatted away to us as we recovered from the long, steady climb.  The studio was very comfortable with lovely views and full of pottery made by Jonathan. 

We enjoyed our fish pie and wine, then I headed for bed - totally exhausted by our day’s efforts. 

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