For oyster lovers there could be no greater indulgence than a weekend away down the NSW South Coast for the famous Narooma Oyster Festival celebrating the Rock Oyster, native to New South Wales estuaries.

The festival is held on the shores of the picturesque Wagonga Inlet in Narooma on the first weekend in May and is a feast for the senses for lovers of this complex, delicious and luxurious salt-water bivalve mollusc.

2023 did not disappoint. Oyster lovers came out in force, delighting in the bounty of freshly harvested and shucked oysters on offer, served at the height of the season and the peak of their glory.

A favourite on the New South Wales food and beverage calendar, the festival boasted a packed schedule of general admission activities as well as special ticketed experiences commencing on Friday afternoon concluding with an oyster hangover breakfast on Sunday morning.

Attendees enjoyed produce from dozens of oyster and other food and beverage vendors, live music, market stalls, oyster shucking competitions as well as light projections and spectacular fireworks on Friday night. A real treat for the kids young and old!

The delectable Rockies were served ‘au naturale’, with a myriad of dressings - traditional kilpatrick and mornay to more unusual offerings like the New Orleans“Po’ Boy”.

This was a rich concoction of cooked oysters with spices in a creamy bacon sauce, served in a hollowed out ba- guette. Sound rich? It was!

Ticketed events included a Long Table Dinner, Yuin Native Food Exploration, Ultimate Oyster Experience Masterclass, Champagne and Oysters cruise on the inlet, Saturday night salty Festa and more!

To cap off the festivities, the grand finale Sunday Hangtown Fry breakfast at Club Narooma included oyster omelettes, as well as bloody/virgin Marys, garnished

with - you guessed it - fresh oysters.

Exhausted but not defeated we made our way back home to Kiama with treasured memories of a wonderful briny weekend.

Sofia Cappodanno, Kiama

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