Time to Roam Magazine Issue 12 - December/January 2015 | Page 16

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upfront feature

The WA coastal city of Mandurah has
been crowned as the RV capital of
Australia, with the highest number
of registrations per capita.

Welcome to Australia’s
caravan capital
BY MEGAN NORTON

In the most recent year survey, the city of just
over 80,000 had an increase of 4516 new caravan
and motorhome registrations in the one year
– a 4.4 per cent rise on the previous year.
So why do Mandurah residents have such high levels
of RV ownership? Changing demographics may
have something to do with it. Mandurah’s popularity
as a sea change destination has resulted in rapid
growth – it is now WA’s second biggest city.
Mandurah is also a renowned holiday haven and
has twice taken out WA’s ‘Top Tourism Town’ gong.
Situated 73km south of Perth on the stunning
WA coastline, the once sleepy fishing village has
undergone an impressive transformation in recent
years, and an ‘enlivening’ of the city has occurred.
Tourism officer Nadine Heinen says the city prides
itself on its friendly and relaxed holiday atmosphere

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and is the perfect base for exploring the wider Peel
Region; some 6600 square kilometres spanning
the Indian Ocean coastline, rivers, estuaries and
through native bushland to eastern escarpments.
Mandurah is also a water lover’s paradise.
“The Peel-Harvey estuary is twice the size of Sydney
Harbour and is blessed with abundant wildlife, natural beauty
and pristine,” Ms Heinen says, “And just 15 minutes south of
Mandurah, 4WD enthusiasts find the closest southern locations
from Perth where they can legally drive on the beach.”
Ms Heinen also points out that Mandurah and the Peel
Region are unusually accommodating of travellers with pets.
“RV users don’t need to worry about boarding kennels
costs when travelling through the Peel region. Many of the
national parks and camping grounds here are pet-friendly.
They can bring their dog and have a good time,” she says.
Interestingly though perhaps unsurprisingly, all of
the locations that took out the top five spots in 2013