Time Trials in Mandurah's Peel Inlet

When Ross stopped by to say hi the other day, he asked if we'd ever participated in time trials. “No, we don't race our boat”, we replied. “This isn't a race at all”, he countered quickly. “Want to join us and see?” You know us … we never say no to a new adventure. So, we joined Ross and Laura and their friends, Ron and Robin, on an overcast afternoon to participate in the time trials. We arrived just as Ron and Ross were affixing the registration numbers to the boat.

We had to research a bit to figure out exactly what a time trial was. Evidently, MOFSC coordinates time trials to provide some socializing and activities for the austral winter months. This was to be the first time trial of the winter season. Here's the description:

“All courses start at the first spit post past the old bridge and then run on the inland water of the estuary out to Science platform and return through the estuary to finish where the event started. Any craft capable of navigating under engine power at a speed between 5 and 15 knots may participate.”

Because the boat is too high to clear the low Mandurah Bridge aka Old Wood Bridge, we took a circuitous, rather scenic route through the canals to get to the start point … and then we were off.

Ross's power boat, Markel, is registered at 7-knots and based on that speed, the object of the trial is to pass specific markers at given time intervals. For each second the boat is early or late, there are penalty points. Whichever boat has less points wins. With a timer synchronized with the club's official timepiece, Laura recorded the exact time we passed each marker and then would call out to Ross how much time to get to the next marker. “One minute … 30 seconds … 15 seconds … 5 seconds.”

“We're going to be a bit late” Ross would call out or “A little early on that one” and he'd chuckle. Only two other boats were competing today and one cut inside us sharply to round the Science Platform in the Peel Inlet … obviously intent on making his time. Ross, however, doesn't take this very seriously, but rather enjoys the opportunity to take the boat out for a few hours and spend time with friends.

How did we do? No idea. They turn in their timesheet later. When we returned to Markel's berth, we tied her up, then had tea and Laura's blueberry muffins on the aft deck and chatted the afternoon away. Ross was absolutely right … this is not racing.

BBQ in Dwellingup

Once again, we've been rescued from the never-ending boat chores … this time by Rick and Theresa, members of the sailing club and new friends. They've got a wonderful cottage with an acre of land surrounded by state forest in Dwellingup which they lovingly refer to as “the Shack”. They invited us to join them for the day for a ride out to Dwellingup and a BBQ. Once again, boat chores fell by the wayside. They'll get done eventually.  

We traveled through the town of Pinjara and across the Murray River to the tiny town of Dwellingup, population ~500, in the center of the timber and fruit-growing area. The orchard industry is waning, but timbering continues and a large Alcoa plant plays a large role in employment and community. We stopped at the very interesting Dwellingup Visitor Center which doubles as a history museum. A scarp iron sculpture of a lumberman entitled “Sleeper Cutter” stood in front of the info center. A “sleeper”, for those who might not know, is a railroad tie.

In 1961, a devastating bushfire leveled the town of Dwellingup, sparing few buildings in its path (the pub survived), but amazingly, taking no lives. We watched a DVD with narratives by local folks recounting the fire's advance and their ineffective efforts to contain it. Can't imagine what they went through.

When we arrived at the cottage, Rick immediately put out some bird feed on the porch. Like us, Theresa and Rick enjoy the feathered friends. Their forested backyard and the inducement of a free lunch had the birds waiting in line for a turn to feed. We had started out the day spotting a pair of pied oystercatchers at the sailing club before we even left. Several hours at the cottage had me firmly attached to my camera so as not to miss any photo opp. On the way home, we spotted several emus in a field. We netted quite a few new species to check off in our Australia bird book and probably the best bird pix I've taken in Western Australia.

Bird collage clockwise from top left: red-eared firetail, splendid fairy wren, pied oystercatchers, twenty eight, western rosella, emus, white-breasted robin.

Lunch was steak and chicken on the barbie with salad and fresh blackberries with vanilla ice cream for dessert. No one left the table hungry.

Before heading back to Mandurah, Rick took us to an animal sanctuary where Margaret, the owner of a local B&B and the sanctuary, introduced us to her mob. What a treat to be in the midst of a mob of friendly kangaroos.

We also stopped at Baden Powell named after the founder of the Boy Scouts and part of the Lane Poole Reserve where huge rocks cause waterfalls, pools and rapids on the Murray River.

Opportunities like this are usually few and far between, but it seems here in Mandurah we've been unbelievably fortunate to meet people who are keen to show us their part of Western Australia and we, of course, are only too willing to see it all. By the way, knowing we were heading north, Rick warned us about “buffaroos”. Evidently they're akin to drop bears on Australia's east coast in that they tend to attack tourists. We think they're probably distant relatives of American jackalopes.

Uniquely Western Australia

We've been in the state of Western Australia for the last month or two and never really talked specifically about the state itself. Western Australia occupies about one-third of the Australian continent. With a land area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 mi²), it's absolutely huge, but with a population of only 2.5 million for the whole state, there's lots of empty space with the mostly densely populated area around Perth and along the coastline. Western Australia, with 12,500 km (7,500 mi) of coastline, is the largest state in the largest island in the world. With its coast situated on the Indian Ocean, the capital city of Perth is closer to Singapore and Jakarta than it is to Canberra, Australia's national capital. There's a sense of isolation here … of sometimes being forgotten because the seat of national government is so far away.

The Black Swan is the emblem of the state and has been associated with Western Australia from the earliest times. The Dutch sea captain, Vlamingh, explored the Swan River in 1697 and gave it its name due to the number of black swans he found there. For many years, the original settlement in Perth was referred to as the Swan River Colony.

The unique natural habitats of Western Australia, especially the southwest, are home to a diverse array of unusual native mammals. New animals we've been on the lookout for include kultaar, ninguai, dibbler, dunnart, quokka, chuditch, numbat, woylie, phascogale and quenda. How's that for a list of animals you've never, ever heard of unless you're an Aussie? Most are not only native, but endemic to Western Australia … that is, found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, they're mostly shy and nocturnal and don't usually live near the sea, but we keep looking for them anyway. By the way, they do have the western grey kangaroo here … an animal we HAVE heard of. We might see quokkas when we visit Rottnest Island in the near future.

Here's a few more uniquities and superlatives of Western Australia ...

• Western Australia has the largest privately owned railway in the world. Iron ore railways in the Pilbara region of northwest Western Australia are the most productive railways in the world. Today the Pilbara Rail (Hamersley Freight Line) operation consists of more than 1,300 km (808 mi) of railway, which is used to move around 110 million tons of ore every year across the stark landscape of Western Australia. Western Australia is the second-largest iron ore producer in the world.

• The longest stretch of straight railway line in the world ends / starts in Western Australia. One of the worlds classic rail journeys, the Indian Pacific,starts in Perth.

• Western Australia is therichest plot of land in the world for natural mineral wealth. The value of Western Australia's mineraland petroleum sector in 2013 reached a new record of $113.8 billion. Iron ore is the the number one commodity, followed by petroleum products (oil, gas), gold, alumina, nickel copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, diamonds … they've got it all. The 'Golden Eagle' was the largest gold nugget ever found in W.A, weighing in at 35.5kg (67 lbs) and naturally shaped like an eagle with outspread wings. It was uncovered by 16-year-old Jim Larcombe, back in January 1931.

• Western Australia's Mount Augustus is the largest rock in the world, 8 km long (4.8mi) x 3 km across (1.8mi) x 717m high (2,330').

• The worlds oldest form of living organisms, stromatolites, can be found in Western Australia (and we hope to see them in Shark Bay).

• The waters of WesternAustralia are home to the largest fish in the world … the majestic whale shark, a harmless filter feeder.

• Western Australia has more cars and road space per capita than any place on earth.

• The Argyle Diamond Mine in the far north of West Australia, is the world's largest diamond mine.

• Oh, yeah, and the nickname for natives of Western Australia? They're sandgropers!