Adventures with giants: how Mandurah, WA, is putting itself on the map

You have to give it to Santi Ikto. For someone that's five-metres-and-a-bit tall, he's a good hide-and-seeker. Same goes for Little Lui and Seba's Song: Ikto's mates and two of the other stars of Giants of Mandurah, Danish sculptor Thomas Dambo's open-air art project that launched in November.

Comprising five wooden statues hidden across Mandurah - a coastal getaway 70 kilometres south of Perth - Giants of Mandurah is as much about Dambo's thrifty upcycling (all the statues are made from recycled or foraged timber and wood) as it is encouraging people to explore the region's great outdoors.

"The plants and animals in Australia are totally different to what you find in Europe, the US and Asia," says Dambo who, together with a team of friends and 75 volunteers, spent nine weeks building these towering sculptures. "It feels like you've stepped out onto another planet. Coming to Mandurah was a great adventure and really inspired me."

I can appreciate where Dambo is coming from. In the early 1980s, my parents picked up our lives in Indonesia and relocated to Mandurah. Why Mandurah? Like Dambo, it was the area's natural beauty that caught mum and dad's attention. In an era where life was lived largely outdoors, Mandurah's dense bush, wide open spaces and myriad waterways were constants in my childhood. Almost 40 years on and Mandurah, like me, has grown up.

Today, Mandurah's population of 100,000 makes it Western Australia's second-largest city. Despite Mandurah's distance from the capital, statisticians consider it a part of the Perth metropolitan area, not least because it has been connected to Perth via the train line since late 2007.

While many residents make the 50-minute Mandurah-Perth commute daily to work and study, the city hasn't lost that tanned, barefoot optimism synonymous with holiday destinations: in particular, holiday destinations by the water. In Mandurah, many of life's good bits revolve around the local Peel-Harvey estuary.

Spread across 134 square kilometres, Mandurah's network of estuarine and saline, brackish and freshwater lakes is twice as big as Sydney Harbour and has approximately a million per cent fewer passenger ferries criss-crossing the water: reassuring news for those exploring the region via kayak, stand-up paddle board, dinghy or houseboat.

Mandurah's other major water-based attraction is its coastline. Both nature and man have chiselled myriad beaches and bays from the region's 100 kilometres of coast meaning visitors and locals are spoiled when it comes to places to swim (you can't beat Blue Bay in Halls Head or Falcon Bay), fishing and crabbing (try your luck around the Estuary Place bridge in Wannanup), taking photos (go directly to the Dawesville Jetty), or doing very little at all.

The boardwalk and eastern foreshore precinct make up Mandurah's city centre and is an excellent base to explore the region from, not least because the visitors' centre is here. The Spirit of Mandurah, the city's green tourist train, is a constant presence. Three different pods of dolphins fraternise in local waterways and make occasional cameos in Kwillena Gabi ("dolphin waters" in the local Nyoongar Bindjareb language), a swimming area by the foreshore made up of floating pontoons. The performing arts centre and Contemporary Art Spaces Mandurah gallery space anchor the city's art scene.

READ ALSO: It's moments like these

Even if the time of year isn't summer, Mandurah's state-of-mind is perpetually sunny. Beer is the locals' beverage of choice, as demonstrated by a burgeoning microbrewery scene comprising names such as Three Rivers Brewing Company and Thorny Devil Brewery. Boundary Island Brewery, the newest member of the gang, is on the lip of the Marina Quay, meaning thirsty skippers can pull up in their boat, dock, then duck in for pizzas and paddles of crisp beers.

Otherwise, taverns, alehouses and pubs vie for locals' attention. Oceanfront cafes such as the Falcon Bay Beach Cafe are on-hand for post-swim nourishment, while the made-to-order meat and salad rolls (beetroot and all) at the Novara General Store tick the boxes for nostalgic Australiana. Not that Mandurah only deals in predictable, regional eating and drinking. Dig around and you'll find signs of a local food scene starting to pick up steam.

Producers from throughout the region gather at the Peel Produce Market on Saturday mornings to sell goods and connect with like-minded eaters. Local coffee shop Groundswell Drivethru Coffee & Eats not only roasts its own beans, staff roast and temper their own chocolate, and serve fresh guernsey milk from a steel vat.

Then there's Flics Kitchen, the eponymous restaurant of veteran local chef Felicity Edwards and generally regarded to be the city's best place to eat. Edwards works hard to track global food trends. Her au courant menu stars brioche toasts freighting lobster and prawn and crab croquettes made with the region's famous blue swimmer crabs.

Cocktails use local spirits including vodka from nearby micro-distillery, Little Stiller; West Australian names rule the beer list; and the wine list is a snapshot of contemporary styles. Wooden giants aren't the only Mandurah surprise waiting to be discovered.

Getting there: Mandurah is 70 kilometres south of Perth and is a 50-minute drive from the Perth CBD and about two hours from Margaret River. Although there is public transport in Mandurah, hiring a car allows you to explore the area at your own pace. While street-side parking is free throughout all of Mandurah, time limits must still be observed.

Getting around: The Bike Kiosk (thebikekiosk.com.au) offers bike hire and bike tours, while Mandurah Boat Hire (mandurahboathire.com.au) hires boats and other watercraft.

Staying there: The Sebel Mandurah hotel (sebelmandurah.com.au) is a short walk from the Boardwalk and eastern foreshore, and is close to all the action. Rooms start from $229 per night.

Explore more: For details of the Giants of Mandurah exhibition and maps, visit giantsofmandurah.com.au.