Bicycle Tours in South Western Australia:

Midland - Yealering - Armadale

8 days, Cumulative distance: 512km [map]

the wheatbelt tour

The purpose of this ride was to reach Yealering and come back to Perth by a different route. The original plan of stops was Sawyers Valley - York - Brookton - Yealering, but I found that Sawyers Valley offered no accomodation, so I booked at El Caballo Blanco instead. This raised the possibility of bypassing York and cutting through back roads to Beverley on Day 2. This would make days 3 and 4 easier.

Day 1, Midland - El Caballo Blanco

Tuesday 24 October 1989.

Left Midland rail terminal at 11.20 am with a good tailwind. My contour map showed that the steep part of Greenmount Hill would finish about 8km from Midland. I got to 6.5km without changing to bottom gear, then had to leave the road because of two overwidth trucks, and their escorts, crawling up behind. After that I completed the climb in bottom gear with no trouble. Stopped at Mahogany Creek and again just after Chidlows. Reached El Caballo Blanco at 2 pm. Had rest and swim. I was the only guest staying there. At dinner, waiter Danny Bailey expressed interest in reading a copy of my biketrip report.

Reading at Midland: 17020km. At ECB: 17062km.

Distance for day: 42km.

Day 2, El Caballo Blanco - Beverley

Wednesday 25 October.

Left El Caballo Blanco at 7:45 am., clear cool morning, light southerly wind that would freshen and turn south-westerly later. The AM section of my radio suddenly ceased working. Thought it was poor reception. Turned down Wariin Road, steep climb up gravel. Surface OK. I decided to divide the trip into 4 18km legs and take 3 rest-stops at about 18-km. intervals.

Reached Great Southern Highway, turned onto it for a short way then turned again left onto gravel, at West Talbot Road, which would take me all the way to Beverley. The road went through State Forest. I was impressed by the abundance and variety of wildflowers. Took the first break after 18km, second after 39, third after 56, at the point where the sealed road began. ABC-FM radio increased in signal strength towards Beverley. Mozart's 39th symphony in full stereo accompanied my final approach to the town. The wind turned south-westerly as the road altered course to be heading finally ENE into Beverley. This was a help.

I arrived in Beverley at 1:15, booked into the hotel, rested, then showered, changed, shopped and looked round the town, which is quite old with ornate buildings. I was struck by the quantity and variety of flowers in front gardens, and the general feeling that the people took pride in their town.

The hotel was above average with a good dinner and breakfast - $28.

Reading at Beverley: 17137km. Day's ride: 75km.

Cumulative distance: 117km. Average km/day: 58.5

Day 3, Beverley - Pingelley

Thursday 26 October.

Started down the Great Southern Highway at 7:55 into a moderate headwind. Pleasant country. Arrived at Brookton (17171), an attractive town, about 10. I had an early lunch and a sleep on the grass in front of the railway station. I arrived in Pingelly about 11.55. The hotel was a bit run-down and the owners had gone to Perth, leaving people in charge who didn't know what they were doing. There is a motel in Pingelly but this wasn't listed on my accomodation guide, otherwise I would have used it.

The town wasn't as well cared for as Beverley and the railway station was ruined and vandalised like the one at Mt Barker (qv 1987). I bought an AM radio - needed for long rides far from FM. Checked the correct road to take out of town for the next day's ride to Yealering. Had chicken and squid and chips from the local takeaway for tea. In the Pingelly evening the profound country silence was broken by the squeal of tyres as the local youth came to town. They caroused in the bleak pools of light cast by lamps along the otherwise deserted main street.

During this day I was able to check my odometer against a succession of kilometre posts and find that it was giving accurate distance readings.

Reading at Pingelly: 17192km. Day's ride: 55km.

Cumulative distance: 172km. Average km/day: 57.3

Day 4, Pingelley - Yealering

Friday 27 October.

I left Pingelly at 8:04. I couldn't pay my hotel bill because I couldn't find anyone anywhere in the place. I resolved to pay by money order later in the trip. It was a lovely cool sunny day with a light breeze that the radio promised would freshen and tend westerly during the day - perfect for the day's ride.

Nice country, large fields of grain, some forest, lots of wildflowers and birds. I stopped for a rest at 17207km, 17222 and 17237. The last rest was at the intersection, of the straight sealed road that runs due east into Yealering, with the 10km of gravel track which I had taken as a short cut from the main Yealering road.

I arrived in Yealering at 11:54. The day was quite warm now and the town looked attractive as I entered the wide main street. Tall gum and pine trees and silver-painted wheat silos and the traditional country pub (which appeared in a movie some years back) gave a stately look to the place. The blue lake gleamed through trees in the background.

The lake has a nice swimming area and water-ski club. The water is clean but salty. Trees grow right down to the water's edge. The town is larger than I expected with several streets of pretty houses and gardens, also numerous tall trees including bristle-cone pines and palm trees. I sent five postcards from the post office, also the money order to Pingelly Hotel, after which it was pleasant to sit outside on a bench and watch the local people coming and going and bustling about on this pleasant warm afternoon. Two little girls were trying to outdo each other riding their bikes on-and-off the footpath with sickening bumps over the high kerb. Bits of bike and thong and hair-ribbon scattered about.

Dinner was prawn curry with salad and chips, which the hotel had on special for $4. Then I went to the deli (open 7 days) to get some milk and had a long talk with Rosemary, who was in attendance there. She is a member of an informal group who are piecing together the history of Yealering, restoring and improving the place and trying to promote it as a tourist destination. I agreed particularly with the last objective and promised to help.

Reading at Yealering: 17250km. Day's ride: 58km.

Cumulative distance: 230km. Average km/day: 57.5

Day 5, Yealering - Narrogin

Saturday 28 October.

The Yealering Hotel was the first on this trip, where they were willing to get up at 6:30 am to get me a decent breakfast.

Started riding at 8:07 am, went to look at two things Rosemary had recommended; the old manse built in 1912 and the mural painted by the children at the local school, on the outside of the school library. This shows the lake with some happy faces and in big letters "Yealering Welcomes You".

Turned onto the Wickepin Road at 8:16 on a fine morning with a moderate north-westerly that helped me until I reached the turn-off to Wickepin. After this I had strengthening headwinds all the way to Narrogin. I stopped at 17267, then again at Wickepin, 17282. I had a drink and a talk with the man who ran the deli. He told me about his bike-riding days and how lucky I was to have missed the big trucks that had crammed the town the previous week.

The road to Narrogin presented plenty of hill-climbing and increasing headwinds. I had expected the climb because my contour map of the area had shown how Yealering was at a low point and the country rose about 200 metres before falling again towards Narrogin. I stopped at 17295 and 17308. It was good finally to come to the top of a hill and see Narrogin spread out ahead. This is quite a big town with its railway station in good order, I reached the Duke of York hotel at 1:20 pm, nice room, colour TV and private plumbing, $30. A window with no flyscreen overlooked the noisy main street but there was no problem.

Looked around the town, saw many flowering trees, old buildings, park and war memorial. After tea (takeaway Chinese food) I went into the bar of the hotel for the nightlife. A good loud juke-box played good tunes and the patrons at the bar, mostly young, grabbed buckets of ice from behind the bar and threw the ice at each other and at the bar staff. In a hotel further up the street was a live band. 'Paris', with a lead singer who seemed to model herself on Pat Benatar. However she wore a tight yellow skirt that kept riding up, so she would pull it down with a jerk every few bars. Pat Benatar wore a short skirt slit up the sides and didn't worry about it.

During the small hours I was woken by a couple having a loud domestic [argument] involving much obscene language. This went up and down the stairs, along the passageway, round outside the hotel, intermittently for two hours. The people didn't sound young. Should have known better.

Reading at Narrogin: 17320km. Day's ride: 70km.

Cumulative distance: 300km. Average km/day: 60.

Day 6, Narrogin - Quindanning

Sunday 29 October.

I left Narrogin at 8:25. South-westerly headwind. Got to the top of a rise and a sign pointed sharp left saying 'Alternative route to Williams and Perth'. This was in fact the short way but it didn't look like it and I had no detailed map. A boy pointed up the hill and said that was the usual way to Williams, so I took it. It added 4km to my journey and included 14km of gravel. This is the sort of mistake to avoid when there is a longer distance to travel under worse conditions, but at the end of this day it didn't matter and there were three advantages; very little traffic; I saw a fox trot across the road in front of me and vanish into the wheat; and I reached Williams (17356) just when the rain began and so was able to find shelter.

The rain cleared and I took the Quindanning road. The wind was west to south-west and freshening - a stiff headwind all the way. It was very cold. More rain caught me with no adequate place to shelter. The country was nice. I arrived at Quindanning at 1:40. The hotel is an old-fashioned inn where groups go for weekends. DBB $45. Food was good. Did the only maintenance needed by the bike for the whole trip - a bit of oil on the moving parts that had got a bit wet.

There is nothing else at Quindanning but the church. I looked in and signed the visitors' book. The countryside is very easy on the eye and I enjoyed watching the sun set over the gentle hills and pastures.

Reading at Quindanning: 17391km. Day's ride: 71km.

Cumulative distance: 371km. Average km/day: 62.

Day 7, Quindanning - Dwellingup

Monday 30 October.

Very cold morning. Left Quindanning at 7:55. Stopped at 17406, passed through Marradong (17416). Steep descent in, steep climb out. Nothing much there any more - no shop. Stopped again at 17422. Saw two different coloured varieties of a wildflower I had seen at New Norcia in September. There was plenty of hill-climbing to be done all day. Got into the jarrah forest and saw plenty of blue leschenaultia [wildflowers]. Third stop at 17436, fourth stop at 17450. The wind was no factor on this day. Arrived at Dwellingup 12:55. Pleasant hotel, bit expensive at $25 without meals or private plumbing. Looked around the town, did some shopping for breakfast and drinks for the next day. The railway station is in good repair because it is used by the HVTR. Numerous pallets of sawn timber waited in the railway yard for transport. Walked up to Bunnings mill and saw many large black cockatoos with scarlet tails high in a tree, eating the seeds and scattering leaves as they did so.

Had Chicken Kiev for tea. During the evening I met a botanist called Jenny and we had a long talk. She told me the name of the flower I had seen in two varieties.

I woke at 4 am when it was still dark and went down the passage. After I returned to my room I shut the door quietly, and I was still holding the bottom door handle, the old brass one (not the small newer one that went with the Yale lock) when I felt it twist in my hand. It twisted right round and I couldn't turn it back. I heard no sound and I hadn't seen or heard anyone in the passage. I wasn't game to open the door and see who or what was there and I couldn't go and call "Ghostbusters". I crept back to bed wide-eyed and waited for it to get light. I probably managed another hour's sleep before having to get up.

Reading at Dwellingup 17460km. Day's ride: 69km.

Cumulative distance: 440km. Average km/day: 63.

Day 8, Dwellingup - Armadale

Tuesday 31 October.

I left Dwellingup at 7:45 on a lovely morning and headed up Del Park Road, which joins the Southwestern Highway at North Dandalup and is the quickest way to Perth. The jarrah forest was splendid and full of birdsong. The trend was downhill but there were still some steep climbs. Stopped after one hour's riding at 17478. Came to the edge of the scarp and saw the view of the coastal plain before rushing downhill towards North Dandalup. (17486). I didn't stop there but waited until 17495, reached after the second hour's riding. When I resumed I found that I had stopped 1km short of a shop. After Serpentine the road headed back into the foothills and there was climbing to do. Stopped for another rest at 17512, to find again that this was just 1km short of a shop. The scenery was nice and a slight tailwind was developing.

I reached Armadale (17529) at 11:45. I wandered around looking for the railway station, found it eventually, bought Chicken Treat lunch, boarded the train. The ride ended here as the train started to move off.

Final reading at Armadale: 17532km. Day's ride: 72km.

Cumulative distance: 512km. Average km/day: 64.

Charles A. Pierce, 1989

Do you have questions about bicycle touring in Western Australia's SouthWest? You're welcome to ask Charles!

Email Charles

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