Oyster Bay Tours offers a delightful and delicious insight into oyster farming. You meet your guide at the mouth-watering Freycinet Marine Farm‘s eatery (we ordered scallops – yum!). A short bus ride later, you don a stylish pair of waders and walk out into a calm river. You are shown the oysters at various stages of growth and you learn about how they are farmed. What makes the tour really special is that you do all this while gazing across the water at the spectacular Hazards. What a view!
Love oysters? This is the tour for you! You’ll consume half a dozen oysters, complimented by a Freycinet Vineyards glass of wine, of course. More importantly, you’ll learn useful oyster-eating skills, like how to shuck an oyster without harming either yourself or the oyster. Declan, your oyster-farmer guide, is full of information (and entertainment). I didn’t realise that oysters-gone-bad can be revived by being returned to the river (although I don’t recommend trying this trick at home!).
Hate oysters? Surprisingly, this is also the tour for you! There are the lovely views to enjoy and you’ll be fascinated by the history and science of oyster farming. Your Oyster Bay Tours guide will share recent innovations in the industry, including inventions from onsite at Freycinet Marine Farms. Declan doesn’t really like oysters, strangely, so he cooks up a generous helping of mussels (my favourite!) at the end of the tour too.
Getting There
Oyster Bay Tours depart daily from Freycinet Marine Farm. From Hobart, you’ll drive for about two and a half hours. From Launceston, it’s a slightly shorter trip. Any journey to the east coast requires extra time though as you’ll want to stop to take in the view (and the food!) at various points along the way. You’ll find plenty of parking at Freycinet Marine Farms. Meet your guide at the Oyster Bay Tours sign.
What to Bring
You don’t really need to bring much. As always, dress for the weather, remembering that Tassie’s sun burns and the wind on the water is generally cold. As Freycinet Marine Farm is a working farm, you will need to wear closed in shoes for the on-land portion of the tour. Do not forget your camera! The waders have a water-proof pouch for storing your camera, phone, money and keys in if needed – you’ll leave everything else in the shed or on the bus.
Cost
It will cost you next to nothing to tour Freycinet Marine Farm with Oyster Bay Tours. Well, it will cost you $95 per person but here’s why that’s next to nothing: complimentary glass of wine, half a dozen oysters with condiments (we had a sneaky bonus oyster while out in the river!), a generous helping of freshly cooked muscles… Add up what you’d expect to pay for all of that in a restaurant and you’ll soon realise that this is a value-for-money tour. Enjoy the views, the commentary and, most of all, the seafood!
Staying in the east coast region? Read on! There’s plenty to do nearby, including kayaking in Great Oyster Bay. I particularly love and highly recommend visiting the nearby town of Bicheno (a childhood holiday destination for my family). Travelling further afield? Read about Tassie’s south, north and midlands.