END OF THE EARTH

Just an idea to get into the groove of where Albany Australia is.

If you have ever been down to the end of the earth where there’s no-where further to go, then you have arrived at Albany Australia.   It is the last stop to nowhere.  

But before I commit myself to the tip of our glorious planet, the decision to drop off at Margaret River vineyards  on the way, as an Oenophilia, it would have been my last wish if  I were to fall off at the end of the earth. 

Our private four-seater aircraft hummed along uneventfully until the pilot pointed out our landing strip.  Shock, horror, it was as big as a postage stamp – how on earth are we going to land this Piper Arrow was my immediate concern.  As we approached the strip, it was evident that the rudimentary runway was part of the Margaret River vineyard estate.   Contrary to all fears, the soft landing effortlessly executed by the experienced pilot, performs this maneuver at least six times daily.  

Margaret River is home to special Australian wines.  So whilst pilot checks his aircraft for our next haul, we imbibe on the region’s premium wines.   Few locations are suited to producing distinctive premium wine.  Vines planted 45 years ago, the near perfect growing conditions have enabled Margaret River to quickly become recognized as one of the worlds great fine wine regions. The region is often compared to Bordeaux (in France) due to its climate conditions.  The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet blends are prized for their dense fruit flavors multi-layered complexity and cellaring potential.   But the Shiraz had me at hello.  

With a total of 138 vineyards in Margaret River, and only 137 left to taste, my pilot has fueled, aircraft checked, and having been waiting for sometime beckoned for us to take our leave before sunset.  I wrenched myself away from the Shiraz, in a state of vino-haze, we boarded the plane for our destination, Albany.

Albany has an important,  though somewhat controversial, role in the ANZAC legend, being the last port of call for troopships departing Australia in the First World War.

  

Albany is known for many things but probably not known for its Sandalwood and Emu Oil.   Sandalwood provides perfumes with a striking wood base note.  Its Oil is used in all  major religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Japanese and Chinese religions, and even the Zoroastrians all use Sandalwood Oil for religious rites, joss sticks, oinments.     In India, it is considered an alternative medicine to bring one closer to the divine.  

 Its essential oil and paste is used for Ayurvedic purposes of treating anxiety.    Zorastrians use Sandalwood for their sacred Fire Temple, and Sandalwood joss sticks are used in Budhhist  ceremonies.    

And would you believe that Australian Aboriginals 

eat the seed  kernels, nuts and 

fruit of local sandalwoods.

When I first met Steve Birbeck, he was heavily into Emu oils, an ingenious oil from the Emu bird that the Aboriginals protected themselves from the harsh elements and acted as a conduit for medical herbs entering the skin through its small molecular structure.   He has since moved on to the more lucrative Sandalwood Oil although Emu Oil is still very much a part of Mount Romance products.  

In the Australian outback, where the red earth meets the fragrant Sandalwood tree and the purest ingredients are found, ancient use of the oil as antiseptic was taken orally, another favored treatment  was for venereal disease until the introduction of modern antibiotics.

Having arrived at the end of the earth, I found many local remedies that would take me further afield in my journey as Christopher Columbus did discover that the earth 

was round 

                   and I was not 
                                            going to fall off 
                                                                              at the 
                                                                                             edge.