Five Australian seafood festivals to add to your bucketlist

And if the idea of a road trip to a picturesque fishing port to eat, drink and be merry sounds appealing, here are some of the best seafood festivals around the country.

Halfway down the Great Ocean Road is the idyllic fishing village of Apollo Bay, which every year in February showcases the bounty of Bass Strait over three seafood-filled days. Crayfish, abalone and snapper are in abundance, and this year one of the main events is also an “Off the Hook” long table seafood feast by Movida restaurant’s Frank Camorra. Around the fishing harbour there’s the champagne and oyster deck, the boats display their daily catch and there will even be a series of talks by fish and food experts. Fun, information and lots of food, what could be better?

Billed as WA’s largest community event, the Mandurah Crab Fest attracts 130,000 visitors to the seaside town an hour south of Perth every March. There’s live blue manna crab cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs, an open air art competition, non-stop entertainment on the children’s stage and the main stage, food stalls presenting crab-inspired dishes and much more. Crab Fest also incorporates the international water-ski and wakeboarding world cup competition that sees the world’s best athletes on water doing adrenalin-fuelled tricks and jumps.

The start of winter means the start of oyster season so in May, jump in the car and head to Narooma on NSW’s south coast for the annual oyster festival.  Indulge in delicious oysters from eight south coast estuaries, exceptional seafood, wine plus dairy and organic produce. There are cooking demos, live music, boutique beer and wine sampling, oyster shucking classes, a cruise to the oyster leases, free children’s fishing and kite activities, and local art. The oyster-shucking record sits at 30 in less than three minutes, so start practicing!

This day-long fish-fest is held in August and run by the very people who procure all the lovely produce from Wide Bay, so they definitely know what they’re doing. Scores of stalls in Hervey Bay’s Fishermen’s Park sell anything from whiting, spanner crab, prawns and much more, and then there are the takeaway food stalls, musical entertainment and cooking demonstrations. Oyster shooters, bug salad, scallop pizza, cuttlefish steamed buns; they’re all on the menu and mouth wateringly delicious.

You’ll have to cool it until January for this beaut little excuse to feast on the Limestone Coast’s magnificent crayfish, oysters, scallops and more, but it’s worth the wait. The combination of Kingston and Robe’s bountiful seafood stocks, plus wine from the Coonawarra and nearby regions is irresistible. The Cape Jaffa jetty, beach and seafront is the epicentre of activities (mainly eating, drinking and dancing for adults; face painting and sandcastle comps for the kids), it’s all good fun and definitely delicious.

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