Weekend in Mandurah

We spent last weekend in a new city called Mandurah with our friends Youngey and Ali and their one year old daughter Lacey. Our friends enjoy getting away every so often and taking weekend trips down here so I was eager to check it out. We shared a huge spacious two bedroomed apartment at The Sebel situated on the Mandurah Estuary with spectacular waterfront views over the marina.  I was stunned at the views from our own very wide balcony. Although the weather has cooled down lately, it was perfect for this weekend at 25 degrees.

On Saturday morning we took a semi-circular stroll along the boardwalk around the marina passing all species of birds including pelicans and shags. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot dolphins although it is a frequent dolphin spotting (and whale watching) area. We took Lacey to the park and stopped for coffee and just enjoyed strolling around in the sun.  We conveniently ended up at some market shops and I found a couple of small things to for our new home (another French style clock and some flowers!) Our friends are getting married here in October so Ali was excited to show me the exact spot where they had chosen to tie the knot in a very low-key ceremony which we are very happy to be part of.

The highlight of the day was hiring some bicycles from just outside of our hotel and going on a sunny cycling tour around the estuary with Micky. The area certainly has a relaxed holiday atmosphere to it as we took in the coastal features.  It was only when Micky and I were cycling around and stopped to check out a pretty rustic-looking hut standing at the end of a small jetty in a secluded area near some big trees and grassland that it dawned on me that this could also be a contending spot for our friends to tie the knot later this year… I was so excited to find it and tell Ali and the next day I showed her the spot and she fell in love with it – this was now the spot for their wedding!! 

We also cycled beyond the marina and around parts of the town. The city has experienced a large population boom over the last 10-15 years and is one of the fastest growing regional cities in Western Australia. We cycled past lots of newly built unusually modern houses (Perth is also full of them) - everything from the roads to the houses and Venetian-like bridges looked newly built. Mandurah is also fast becoming very popular with tourist and it clear to see why. We had Cicerellos for dinner that night, "WA's best fish and chips" apparently, it was pretty good but in my opinion not as tasty as good old-fashioned English fish and chips back home. My obligatory gherkin and pickled onion were missing for starters!! Youngey brought along a new board game called Balderdash so the four of us spent spent the evening playing this extremely hilarious board game in our apartment and laughing for hours. A great weekend, it was so needed. We'll be coming back for the wedding weekend and I think I'll also bring my mum here when she visits in December...

The Hut!