Donnybrook to Nannup 1981

Donnybrook to Nannup, day 2, Tuesday 24 November 1981. I had breakfast in the old hotel dining-room, then got ready to leave. I had been on new road, for me on a bike, ever since leaving Bunbury and turning down the old South-Western Highway instead of the Bussell Highway. This was to continue today. I had decided to head for Balingup, then turn right and go to Nannup.

About 1 km south of Donnybrook the road takes a left and begins a steep climb towards Kirup, then it’s up and down all the way. I don’t remember much of a struggle with that first hill and subsequent hills. Only 2 years later, in 1983, when I encountered that first climb, it was a shock and very hard for me, as though I had never ridden up it before. This might have been due to the memory-clouding head injury in early 1982, which made events of late 1981 sketchy.

I took a rest at Kirup, then went on through Mullalyup to Balingup. I had been this way before, all the way to Manjimup in a bus with my little folding bike in 1975, and before that, in a bus or someone’s car, the first time in 1960 on the way to Bridgetown with my father.

I took a rest in the little town of Balingup, bought a drink in the shop. Then I set off on the long and winding and up-and-down road to Nannup. The straight distance between the towns isn’t so much but the road winds a lot. I still found the going hard and weary and when I reached the Leewana camping site I stopped riding and stretched out on the coarse long half-dead grass for a rest.

I stopped again about 15 km out of Nannup, at the foot of a long climb. I felt confident of making it now. On the approach to Nannup I passed by some fields with sheds and grazing cattle. I took another rest and drink stop in a shelter beside the road only 4 km out.

All roads leading to Nannup rush downhill for the last stretch into the town. I enjoyed this part of the ride. I fetched up at the old hotel, which at that time had no motel units attached. I booked into an upstairs room which had French windows opening onto a wide verandah from which I could view the town and on which I could conveniently hang the day’s washing.

After the shower and change I took a walk along the main street and bought a postcard showing the hotel, and sent it to Janet.

I forget what I had for dinner. I had a reasonable night.

Charles A. Pierce

Other Days on this Tour:

1. Perth to Cape Leeuwin Tour via Nannup, 1981
2. Perth to Donnybrook 1981
3. Donnybrook to Nannup 1981 (This post)
4. Nannup to Augusta 1981
5. Augusta to Cape Leeuwin and Margaret River 1981
6. Margaret River to Busselton 1981
7. Busselton to Perth 1981

Places Mentioned in this Post:

Related posts:

1. Perth to Cape Leeuwin Tour via Nannup, 1981
2. Nannup to Augusta 1981
3. Donnybrook to Nannup 2005
4. Nannup to Donnybrook 1992
5. Perth to Donnybrook 1981

Tags: Balingup, Donnybrook, Kirup, Mullalyup, Nannup