Tasmania

Tasmania on the Half Shell

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I should start by being honest: I don’t eat shellfish (aside from scallops). In fact, I didn’t eat seafood at all until I moved to San Francisco and discovered what seafood should really taste like. I’m adventurous about a lot of things, but food apparently, is not one of them. And yet, when offered a visit to an oyster farm in Tasmania, I jumped at the chance.

freycinet, tasmania, australia, oyster farm

My friend Kirsten, on the other hand, has no aversion whatsoever to eating marine life fresh from the ocean. She consumed enough for both of us by the time we left the grounds.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Let’s be honest again: I was there for one reason. I just really wanted to wear the waders.

freycinet, tasmania, australia, oyster farm

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Great look for me, wouldn’t you agree? It was windy and a bit nippy out on the water, but surprisingly the neoprene kept me cozy and dry.

freycinet, tasmania, australia, saffire, oyster farm

Saffire, the new luxe lodge where we stayed, owns the marine park, so all guests can take a trip out there if they like. Even those not wild about oysters like myself should consider doing so for the scenery alone.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Scenery of more than one kind, I should note.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Tasmania has some of the most untainted water on the planet, thanks to its remote positioning and a dedication to the environment. So it’s no surprise really that such a locale would produce some of the world’s best oysters. And with the recent Gulf disaster, Tasmania soon is going to prove a key player in the world oyster market.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

The tourism tagline is “Pure Tasmania” for a reason. Don’t you just want to stick your face in this water and drink it all down?

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

This particular area of Tasmania, the Freycinet Peninsula, is ripe in oyster production due to its protected bay.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

I wish I could tell you more about the actual oyster cultivating process, but I was too busy taking pictures to fully listen. That tends to be my problem quite frequently.

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

Freycinet, Tasmania, saffire, Australia, travel, photography, oyster farm

I never did taste an oyster, but I didn’t miss out on the festivities at the end of the tour. I’m not that much of Debbie Downer.

freycinet, tasmania, australia, oyster farm, travel, photography, saffire

How about you: Would you have plucked an oyster out of the ocean and eaten it without thinking twice?

COMMENTS
  • September 22, 2010
    Alyce

    Absolutely I would have. Yum!

  • September 22, 2010
    Helly

    no! gross! i’d go for the bubbly, too 😉

  • September 22, 2010

    Only with Tabasco 🙂

  • September 22, 2010
    otis

    Of course. Oyster is the worlds perfect food, it even comes with its own bowl. Raw, grilled, charbroiled or fried, very little seafood is better than an oyster. Shrimp is up there, and so is triggerfish, but oyster reigns supreme.

  • September 22, 2010

    Absolutely!!! Looks so yummy even now! 🙂

  • September 22, 2010
    Carla Vowell

    Yep!!

  • September 22, 2010

    Ahhhhh I’m drooling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take me there NOW!

  • September 22, 2010

    Oysters yum!

    I was born on an island and love all food from the sea. I haven’t come across anything I don’t eat (all shellfish, all fish, clams/mussels), and even the gross-sounding ones I’d try once.

  • September 22, 2010
    k

    I really don’t like oysters, but yeah – I probably would have done it. Just to say I did.

  • September 22, 2010

    I’m with you. I definitely would have gone for the bubbly over the oyster!

  • September 22, 2010

    I don’t think I will ever try oysters because the texture just scares me away!

  • September 22, 2010

    If it has a shell on it, it has the possibility of killing me so no thank you! I am HIGHLY allergic to shellfish, and have even had a reaction because I handled a hermit crab that my niece had to show me.

    I would totally go and enjoy the experience though…with a lot of hand washing and no eating 🙂

  • September 22, 2010

    Oh yea, and probably could do it without the cocktail sauce or lemon. At least in the old days, before I developed a food intolerance. Oysters are love food. I can’t believe you were too chicken to try. BTW, outfit is real cute, especially on the dude with the hat. 😉

  • September 23, 2010

    Me, not so much as I’m allergic to shellfish too, so I’d rather avoid the 48 hours+ straight vomiting that would inevitably occur afterwards! But I would definitely have been in for the bubbly!

  • September 23, 2010

    Oh yes! I just love oysters!!!

  • September 23, 2010

    Um no. I don’t understand the point of oysters. Anyone I have ever talked to that says they “like” oysters says they put horseradish (or something like that) on it and swallow it before they can taste the oyster. My question is, why don’t you just eat some horseradish then? I just don’t understand.

  • September 23, 2010

    Those waders are pretty darn sexy 🙂 I love fish and shrimp, but can’t bring myself to eat oysters–they look so slimy!

  • September 23, 2010

    No, I’m feeling a little nauseous just thinking about that. I like fish – but, not shellfish. I blame it on my sensitive stomach. But your trip looks fun! I’ve always wanted to go to Tasmania. Mostly because it’s fun to say.

  • September 23, 2010

    Patrick had oysters for the first time when we were in Japan and he liked them. I would go for the bubbly. Man, I wish we had been able to go to Tasmania when we were in Australia. Next time I guess.

  • September 23, 2010

    Are you kidding? Oysters are delish… you’ve got to try them and what a great place for your first taste. Definitely a missed moment. Try them the next time you’ve got the opportunity to eat them fresh.

  • September 23, 2010

    DAMN STRAIGHT! Going to eat oysters tomorrow, in fact. Not from the ocean, but at least from a salty plate.

  • September 23, 2010

    heck yes! mmmmm.

    another yum thing is to eat it with a bit of lemon, a bit of tabasco and on a cracker.

  • September 23, 2010

    Years ago when I was an impressionable exchange student in France, I choked down an oyster. But I’d have to say never again.

    Like you, I’d be taking pictures of the scenery. It certainly looks like a nice excursion… and how about that champagne incentive?

  • September 25, 2010

    I love oysters. I can certainly eat them completely unadorned but they are best with a little lemon or lime and seasoning. Horseradish? I don’t think so – that would completely mask the flavour.

    The oyster farm sounds fun but Tassie waters are so clean you can just scavenge the wild ones off the rocks too, as we did… http://www.roamingtales.com/2008/11/21/photo-friday-freshly-shucked-tassie-oysters/

  • September 26, 2010

    I would go to freakin’ TOWN on those oysters! I love, love, LOVE seafood, especially fresh, and you don’t get much fresher than that without it swimming away.

  • September 30, 2010

    Those waders are hawt!

  • May 26, 2011

    Awesome pictures!

    As far as raw oysters are concerned, sure why not! You only live once.

  • June 16, 2011

    whats up with the tractor?

  • April 12, 2014

    It is interesting that you classify Tasmania as a country, shouldn’t it be a state of Australia?

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