WHY KIDS LOVE IT
An adventure in the tradition of Roald Dahl’s BFG, but without the ghastly snozzcumbers and Bonecruncher, the Giants of Mandurah is a quizzical game of hide-and-seek. Grab a map, follow the clues and lead your human beings on a journey of discovery in nature. Is that a big toe protruding from the forest? A bushy beard? A long finger raking the sand? It’s a giant troll. Squee! And finding these giants by artist Thomas Dambo is so much more fun than building a mega-mansion on Minecraft.
IN THE KNOW
While the giants are designed to stir the imagination and encourage creative play, they are artworks. It’s OK (and encouraged) to sit on them for a photo, but don’t let your kids climb on the sculptures.
To begin, pick up a Travellers Companion booklet from the Mandurah Visitor Centre or online. The booklet outlines the distances, walking grade, accessibility and facilities available in the carpark for each of the six giants (most have toilets and a water tap). You will need to drive between each giant and be prepared to walk up to 3.6km to see them. Allow a day and a-half to find them all.
Kudos to those enterprising folk at the City of Mandurah. Not content with an estuary twice the size of Sydney Harbour, a Ramsar-listed Wetland of International Importance and thrombolites (micro-organism-built structures harking back to the beginnings of life on Earth), they dreamt up a tourist draw of epic proportions. Six wooden giants that form a public sculpture trail from Perth/Boorloo halfway to Bunbury. Apart from being a hoot to find, the giants, created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, also tell an important story of sustainability and connection to nature, woven together with First Nations lore.
Each of the six giants, reaching up to 7m tall, is made from recycled and foraged wood. The heads were crafted from old furniture in Denmark and the bodies assembled on site with timber upcycled from 700 wooden pallets. Sticks and branches give some of the giants their wild manes and shaggy beards. Imbued in each is Dambo’s penchant for the fantastical, sprinkled with elements of Danish folklore and also First Nations storytelling. The giants represent the movement of the water cycle, from ocean to air to land, with nods to the Bindjareb creation story about how Wagyl the snake and her young formed the estuaries and rivers of Mandurah.
There’s no prescribed order for finding the giants — except for the last one, Jyttes Hytte, who is hidden in a secret location. Find the other five, note their hidden symbols to crack the code and Jyttes Hytte’s hiding spot will be revealed. It makes sense to start in Perth/Boorloo if you can. Download the Travellers Companion booklet (giantsofmandurah.com.au). The friendly staff at the Mandurah Visitor Centre will give you a hard copy later and use the directions to find the lost giant, Billie Bob. He’s a lone runaway who absconded to the big smoke and can be seen lounging in the sun in the Subiaco Theatre Gardens. This guy is only 100m from the garden’s carpark on a pram-friendly path. Make sure you note the symbol for each giant (the kids can draw it in the booklet or take a photo), so you can piece together the puzzle and find the secret location for the hidden giant at the end.
For another giant who delivers big wow for only a short walk, say hello to Santi Ikto at Halls Head. This 7m-tall troll sits cross-legged on a rise overlooking the ocean with open hands cast skyward and a fibrous beard tickling his navel. The 1.3km ocean-hugging walk is undulating but paved until the very end, where you must shuffle a short way up a sandy trail. Leave prams here. Also facing the water is Sebas Song, perched on the breakwater peering across Harvey Estuary. Sebas is a 1.2km accessible walk from the carpark, but manage the kids’ expectations — this giant is better viewed from the water!
My family’s favourite giant is Little Lui, which is surprising because finding him requires the most effort — a 3.6km-return walk (a sturdy pram can do it). Unlike his fellow Mandurah mates, Lui is inland, nestled in eucalyptus forest thrumming with birds and kangaroos. Lui is so well camouflaged leaning against a massive fallen tree, his hair blending with a tangle of roots, that you don’t know you’re close until you’re on top of him. Keep your eyes peeled for kangaroos along the way (we even saw a bandicoot) and don’t forget the insect repellent.
Now that you have found five of the six giants, it’s time to hunt down the secret giant, Jyttee Hytee. Return to the Mandurah Visitor Centre and turn the wooden blocks at the entrance to align with the symbols you have collected. Once in position, scan the QR code which will take you to a website where you need to drag the five symbols into the correct order. Get it right and the location of the secret giant will be revealed. You’ll find Jyttee Hytte hugging a tree by a lake just south of Mandurah (3.5km moderate walk). I’d tell you exactly where but that would spoil the fun.
Each of the six giants, reaching up to 7m tall, is made from recycled and foraged wood.
Hint: if the treasure hunt is testing little tempers, the visitor centre staff will happily hand over Jyttee’s co-ordinates. Shhh.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE
Named Australia’s Top Tourism Town in 2023, Mandurah has a host of other fun family-friendly activities to enjoy. Explore the waterways by boat, me hearties, on Pirate Ship Mandurah, scale the 12m-high climbing tower at Koolaanga Waabiny Playground and tootle around town on the Tourist Fun Train.
Giants of Mandurah, Mandurah/ Mandjoogoordap, WA Bindjareb Noongar Country
A whimsical treasure hunt chasing giants from forest to foreshore.
Where: The giants trail begins in Subiaco, Perth/Boorloo, where the first giant lies. The other five giants are around Mandurah, about a 1hr drive south of the city centre.
When to go: The giants are hiding year-round and can be found in rain, hail or shine.
Who’s in: Everyone
Cost: Free
More Info: giantsofmandurah.com.au
