The foreshore and the estuary
Start on the Mandurah foreshore around Mandjar Bay — the Performing Arts Centre, the boardwalk, the cafés and the dolphins that cruise the inlet most mornings. Estuary and canal cruises leave from the Dolphin Quay and Ocean Marina precincts. The Foreshore Heritage Walk leaves from the Visitor Centre at 75 Mandurah Terrace and covers Halls Cottage (built 1833), Christ Church (1871) and Thomas Peel's grave.
Crabbing and fishing
Mandurah is Crab City for a reason. Blue swimmer crabs are scooped from the shallows of the estuary from November to late autumn (check current rules and size limits with Fisheries), and the Channel 7 Mandurah Crab Fest in March has drawn more than 100,000 people a year since 1999.
Beaches and the Cut
Town Beach and Silver Sands are a walk from the centre. Falcon Bay and Avalon Beach are sheltered and good for families; Pyramids Beach at Dawesville is the surf option. Walk or fish the Dawesville Channel and look at the engineering that saved the estuary.
Yalgorup and the thrombolites
Thirty-five minutes south, Lake Clifton's thrombolites are living rock-like structures around 2,000 years old — the largest thrombolite reef in the southern hemisphere, viewed from a boardwalk. Yalgorup National Park's lakes and tuart forest are a Ramsar wetland and a world-class birdwatching spot; the Lakeside Loop is an easy 5 km walk.
Markets, parks and the kids
The Mandurah markets, Peel Zoo at Pinjarra, Halls Head and Dawesville foreshore playgrounds, and the estuary cycle paths. In summer the Mandurah Ocean Marina has the boat hire and the ice cream.
Day trips
Pinjarra for the heritage precinct, Edenvale and the Murray River; Dwellingup for the jarrah forest, the Hotham Valley steam railway and mountain-bike trails; the Serpentine Falls and dam; and Rockingham's Penguin Island for the little penguins and sea lions.