Okay, so what am I getting at by using the title  “How boom times busted low cost travel accommodation”? Let’s begin back in the early 1990’s to get some concept of why you will find it more difficult to locate lower cost accommodation in 2009 in Western Australia!

Back in the early 1990’s if you travelled to the coastal holiday town of Mandurah,  80 k’s south of Perth, for example; you would have had little trouble locating very affordable motel, caravan park cabins or on site vans, or mid level basic resort accommodation at affordable daily tariffs. Ten years ago you could have selected from several caravan parks, a couple of motels, &  two mid level holiday resorts. I have stayed at most of those places over the course of many years & knew the pricing structures were well within the means of the average family for their annual holiday.

Then the late 1990’s arrived. With them commenced the slow, but certain demise of affordable holiday accommodation  to Mr & Mrs Average Citizen in & around Mandurah! I actually moved from Perth to Mandurah to live in 2001, just in time to witness the rapid destruction of most of original Mandurah.

The glorious old Peninsula Hotel that was located on the  estuary foreshore opposite central Mandurah since before the 2nd world war (at least), is a classic case of the wanton destruction caused by rampant delevelopers since 2001. The Peninsula Hotel was a famous landmark. The delightful old building had served the general public extremely well for a long, long time. At the rear of the Peninsula there also used to be a delightful, very large caravan complex where families had holidayed at very low cost way back into the distant 1930’s!

Then, around 2004, the boom time developers moved in big time. Despite the best efforts of the general public to have the Pensinsula Hotel & the lovely caravan park left alone, within a couple of short years the bulldozers moved in & now they are gone…for ever!

In their place you will now see an eye sore of a  towering multi story apartment style complex, where the Peninsula used to stand. And where the caravan park used to stand there are now multi million dollar complexes of ugly “millionaire” style gigantic homes on man made canals. Mr & Mrs Average Citizen certainly can not afford to purchase such properties, nor could they afford to outlay the upmarket prices to stay in the apartment style complexes now occupying the place of the Peninsula!

They did build a small, very ugly, supposedly cheap set of holiday villas, squeezed in between the hideous new building complex’s. However, they aint low cost & they look hideous. Small change for what the developers & the city council bulldozed!

In one foul swoop, modern “boomtime” property developers removed low cost accommodation at that caravan park, & simultaneously eliminated one of the most popular & historic hotels in the region. And that is just a small sample of the rampant development in that holiday region.

Now the town is a mess of ever increasing  high rise buildings, massively heavy traffic, hotel & resort accommodation way too expensive for Mr & Mrs Average, & I am sure they aint finished yet! Hold on a minute though. Maybe they are finished because the boom went bust in mid 2008. The tragedy is that Mr & Mrs Average is also well out of pocket due to the “bust”.  And the removal of so much low cost holiday accommodation also means that Mandurah is no longer the place for the average Joe, Josie & kids to go to enjoy the simple pleasures of a low cost family holiday!

And of course the story does not end there. Such development is taking place all over the state. Rottnest Island is about to become the latest casualty for the average citizen as another up market resort is built!! Maybe the end result within another ten years will be that the average family will have to stay home & enjoy their annual holiday in their own back yard!

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Mandurah, some 80 kilometres south of the capital city of Perth, Western Australia, is renowned as one of the fastest growing regional centers in Australia. I resided in Mandurah between 2001 and 2004. During those years I saw massive land & infrastructure development, in & around this popular coastal holiday town. In actuality the town is now classified with city status due to the 70,000 plus, rapidly growing population.

An example of continuing Canal development in Sept 2008, just half a kilometre west of Mandurah central

I lived in the suburb of Erskine, opposite the Mandurah estuary, on what is referred to as the Island. The Island is exactly what that tract of land is…because you can only access the Island  from the north via the Old Traffic bridge from central Mandurah, or by the major bypass traffic bridge two kilometres to the south of Mandurah central. Access to the Island by road traffic from the south is via the huge bridge over the Dawesville Cut. The Dawesville Cut, located some 10 kilometres south of Mandurah central, is the result of a massive removal of earth to create a canal between the Indian Ocean & the huge, expansive Mandurah Estuary.

That project was undertaken in the late 1980’s & required a number of years earth works & bridge building to complete. Once the canal had been dug, the canal walls & the bridge built, the dams were removed & the Dawesville Cut filled with water from the Indian Ocean, thereby connecting the Mandurah Estuary to the Indian Ocean via a man made canal. A major reason for building the canal was to assist the flow of water into & out of the Mandurah Estuary, which was in environmental trouble due to massive algae blooms caused by inneficient movement of water from the estuary to the open sea.

Mandurah has always been famous for the catching of Blue Manna crabs…a much desired delicacy fished for by hundreds of people & boats during the season. Between late November & March each year, the estuary is alive with boats laying & pulling crab pots, or holiday makers walking through the shallows towing a baby bath (or similar) scooping Blue Manna crabs with scoops into their floating containers. Ensure that you check on season dates, crab sizes, & catch limits before doing any crabbing. Large fines apply for law breakers…& I mean large fines!!!

A consequence of the construction of the Dawesville Cut was to provide idlyic tracts of land for the building of palatial homes with both ocean, estuary & views over the expanse of the watery Cut. Developers very quickly seized on the concept of building a canal system off the main Dawesville Cut. Now, in 2008, the region known as Port Bouvard, which adjoins the Dawesville Cut, is covered with canals, huge two & three story homes, apartment complexes on newly created islands within islands, & boats everywhere. An added plus which makes Bouvard a magical destination, either to visit or reside, is that it has numerous beaches everywhere.

Recently, an added attraction was built on the south banks of the Dawesville Cut…the Cut Resort Golf Course. There are now numerous huge homes erupting all around the Golf Course. So there you have it. The perfect place to live. You can reside in a massive mansion on a canal, with your personal jetty to moor your 30 footer cruiser, views to die for, an 18 hole golf course on hand, fishing & crabbing in abundance, & a beautiful beach with pure white sands, crystal clear water & surf right next door. However,before you get too excited & tear off to move there, you will need around a million Aussie dollars just to purchase one of the large homes or apartments!!

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Mandurah, one of Perth, Australia’s most popular holiday towns is only 80 k’s south of the city. Only takes around an hour to drive from Perth city to Mandurah. Mandurah is without doubt a holiday destination that provides every human need! If you are into staying at  luxury resorts or a basic caravan park you will find the ideal setting in Mandurah.  Whether fishing, boating, ski jets, crabbing, surfing, dining out are your delights Mandurah provides the lot in abundance.

From a local’s aspect, I preferred Mandurah the way it was some 20 years ago. Back then, Mandurah was still a small, typical friendly coastal holiday place, mainly enjoyed by us local folk. The coastal town was a lot more basic then, without all the glitz & glamour that is now available to all varieties of travellers from around the globe. That’s progress in a world overcrowded with us humans & Mandurah rapidly grew into a high class holiday destination in the 1990’s. In the event that you place Mandurah on your holiday list to Western Australia I want to tell you about a resort that I have stayed at several times. The Mandurah Seashell’s resort provides what I consider equivalent to  the best  accommodation available anywhere in the world.

A major plus for the Seashell’s is that it was built only a couple of years ago right on the beach of the newest marina complex in the Mandurah region.

East wing of Mandurah Seashell’s Resort – Gorgeous, large apartments with fantastic ocean & inland views – Our last stay in 2008 was the apartment second from the top – Wow…double wow!!

You can select from one, up to three bedroom apartments. On our last stay, in 2008, we enjoyed an exquisite two bedroom apartment, the one second from the top in above photo. The apartment was beautifully fitted out, provided a huge main bedroom with giant bed, with views over the ocean  with a northern aspect. At night the large balcony was a perfect setting to enjoy the lights along the coast, & in Mandurah itself.

Section of main living area in the two bedroom apartment – Exquisite quality

View north of beaches, from the walkway that surrounds the apartment – The plate glass windows to the left are the main bedroom

Main bedroom from the balcony with reflections of Million dollar homes!

The Author with northen beaches on Seashell’s Resort Balcony

The swimming pool & spa at the Seashell’s resort backs almost onto the beach. The beach is a delightful expanse of pure white sand leading into crystal clear ocean with good surf. The pool is an ideal setting to relax away a few pleasant hours enjoying the ocean views.

Seashell’s gorgeous pools – Kiddies wading pool – main pool – spa pool to the left

Staying at the Seashell’s resort has a very positive bonus. The resort is only a five minute walk from the marina complex. The complex provides a variety of restuarants ranging from Nemo’s fish & chip restuarant to delightful Italian and Thai cuisines. Our favourite dining place is Nemos where you can enjoy a scrumptious,  yummy serving of fish & chips, squid, salads, etc; as well as a full bar service. The views out over the surrounding marina make all the dining spots  most enjoyable experiences.

Enjoy excellent cuisines at the main marina complex – only five minutes stroll from the Seashell’s Resort

You can enjoy a healthy walk into Mandurah town proper. Only takes around 10 minutes at a brisk pace via the marina complex & over the amazing walking bridge to the south of the marina area. On the way you can enjoy the amazing opulence & views. Once in Mandurah proper you can select from numerous restuarants & cafes to enjoy lunch, morning or afternoon teas, or delectable evening dinners looking out over the Mandurah estuary.

Enjoy a walk from the Seashells resort, via the marina complex into Mandurah town, via millionaire’s rows

Just around the corner from the Seashell’s resort – water & boats & more water & boats – glorious!

Enjoy these views on your walk – Building huge apartments on even more canals!

You will be hard pressed to find a more ideal resort and setting than the Mandurah Seashell’s Resort. I would add that I dont work for, or represent the Seashell’s, nor do I receive any commissions from them. I just adore the place & will be staying again in the near future.

You need to book well ahead to get a perfect room. Be warned, if you want an apartment with ocean views you have to book a two bedroom apartment. Make sure you specify that you want an apartment with ocean views. The one bedroom apartments are perfect, except they look out over the marina complex. The cost of a two bedroom apartment is very reasonable, out of peak season that is, for the quality, views and ideal position in the marina complex.

I trust you find this article informative to assist with your accommodation choice when holidaying in West Aussie next time around.

Trust you enjoy your visit to West Aussie & Mandurah.

Find out what others think about travelling & holidaying in Western Australia by joining my travel forum now.

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