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Join Wild Harvest Seafood Festival at Mallacoota on 26 to 28 April 2024

A homage to the rich diversity and plentiful bounty of seafood found in East Gippsland, paying tribute to the Indigenous guardians who have nurtured this land for millennia.

By news@gippsland - 9th March 2024 - Back to News

The Wild Harvest Seafood Festival offers succulent seafood and sunset cruises, a lively seafood market, bush food walks, fishing workshops, rockpool rambles, exhibitions and kids' entertainment. This reel of nautically-themed events culminate in a celebration of the usual suspects (think prawns, abalone and oysters) as well as lesser-known delicacies like whelks, periwinkles, sea urchins and samphire.

Wild Harvest Seafood Festival 2024 is a weekend of maritime-themed festivities, honouring the deep bond between this serene coastal village and the vast ocean that embraces it

Seafood festival fun

This is your excuse to escape to the easternmost pocket of Victoria to the much-loved village of Mallacoota. Nestled on rocky shores and surrounded by a bountiful ocean, seafood is life here and has been for thousands of years.

The weekend kicks off with a Twilight Walk and Talk, from Casuarina Walk to Betka, complete with refreshments and wildlife spotting. The Seafood and Sunset Lake Cruise is not to be missed. Hop on board for a relaxing boat ride around the lake, sipping on bubbles, local beer and sampling fresh seafood.

Saturday's Seafood Market is a hub of activity, with a collection of vendors offering up the freshest seafood, as well as live music and kids' activities. Throughout the festival there will be fishing workshops, bush food walks, rockpool rambles and a massive festival vibe coming from this small town with a big spirit.

Mallacoota boasts tranquil inlets ideal for swimming, canoeing, and boating. Numerous rental services provide equipment for water activities. Abalone and prized flathead abundant; black bream plentiful in Top Lakes

Program highlights

Seafood and Sunset Lake Cruise

• Sat 27 Apr 4pm - 6pm
• Enjoy a 2 hour cruise with a glass of bubbles, local beer and seafood as the sun sets on the sparkling waters of Mallacoota

Wild Harvest Seafood Market

• Sat 27 Apr 8:30am - 2:30pm
• Food vans, craft stalls, live music, information about Mallacoota and its ocean environment, kids activities, and of course, all the freshest seafood on offer

Bush Foods Walk with Noel Butler

• Sat 27 Apr 3:30pm - 5pm
• Join Noel Butler, Budawang Elder from the Yuin Nation, for a gentle walk around Mallacoota and learn more about the vastness and depth of Indigenous culture

Fishing Workshops with FishCare

• Sat 27 - Sun 28 Apr, various times
• Never tried fishing before or have a kiddo who would like to have a go? Come along and join the team from FishCare and learn the 'tricks of the trade'

Kids' programs

• Sat 27 - Sun 28 Apr, various times
• There is plenty of fun for the kids to enjoy, from tea towel dyeing to a lantern parade and beach fossicking

Mallacoota's coastal charms

The commercial fishing village of Mallacoota has plenty more to offer beyond the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival. Start your day right at Origami Coffee, a popular coffee shack with loads of seating in the garden, serving up coffee with a side of happiness from skilled baristas. Next door, you'll find Alf's Pizza slinging laidback morning coffee and breakfast focaccias, followed up with delicious wood fired Neapolitan pizzas for dinner.

Overlooking the lake, s.u.n.dayss offers up a healthy range of juices, smoothie bowls and Wild Rye ciabatta toasties. Pop into the Lakeside Studio Gallery for paintings, sculptures, printmaking, and photography or the Mallacoota Arts Space which displays the work of local artists.

The coast of Mallacoota is lined with unique rock formations, and sparkles with turquoise water. Pick a sunny day to go beach hopping, and you're likely to have a patch of sand all to yourself:

• Quarry Beach, parading its stunning ribbons of colour along the rocks formed by sandstone sediment, making for excellent photo opportunities
• Betka Beach boasts surf to play in, rock formations to climb, fishing spots and river access, at the mouth of the Betka River
• Don't miss the hidden sea cave at Secret Beach

Gabo Island is perfect for day trips or longer stays, accessible via water taxi or charter boat for a remote adventure

Explore Gabo Island

Just off Mallacoota's east coast is the pink granite outcrop of Gabo Island which is a great spot for a day trip or picnic. Featuring clear waters, a sandy beach and rock pools along the shoreline, the island is simply beautiful.

Meanwhile, the Genoa Peak Walk is not for the faint hearted and well worth it, with breathtaking scenery and great bird life. Reaching the summit lifts you from the shaded track into the open, giving you space to absorb the jaw-dropping panoramic views.

A visit to nearby Croajingolong National Park is quite unlike any other experience and definitely worth the drive. It is one of the country's most beautiful and ecologically significant places, and the stuff of dreams for keen hikers. The park is listed by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve and it lays claim to over 70 native wildflower, 52 mammal and 250 bird species.

Pictures from Visit Gippsland website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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