I'm hearing you. Those epic battles (running round in 9th place) seemed to have super fast riders lol in the mix. I was unfortunate having 3 or 4 GP regulars or at least British championship riders in my class almost every race. So top 10's were hard to come by. Typically 5-12th place was split by 10 seconds or so over a 30 minute moto. Then in the mid-late 2000's the racing took a turn for the worse and gates were emptying year after year. I hung my boots up in 08 with a big shoulder injury and didn't really ride much again until 2017. Now the kids are teenagers, it's brought back a lot of good memories and the desire to make more.
Lucky i get out 10-15 times a month with some local ride areas only 25 mins away. Also typically at the track 6am and done and dusted by 8am so that the day is just starting for everyone else. Doesn't interfere too much with family life like it used to in the UK.
Riding is so different in Western Australia. Soil is not so good except for 4 months a year when it has some rain, but the land availability is unreal. Could easily ride for years and not hit the same area twice. I would say the entire size of the UK at your doorstep and all perfectly legal.
So aiming for moto/enduro in the late Autumn, winter , early spring and trials throughout the year. Trials is a really small community here, but around 20 events a year plus a couple of ride parks costing under $5 Oz dollars for the day. Hoping to have a crack at a novice trial in the next 3-4 weeks once I get used to the bike and I have some of the basics covered.