Roman Travers hosts a bespoke group tour at the Bluff Oyster Festival.
Newstalk ZB host Roman Travers plays tour guide for a bespoke journey to The Bluff Oyster Festival
I was 21 when I was last on any form of a guided tour.
I spent four months on an overland truck on the continent of Africa. I’m now 57 and not only am I on my second ever group tour – I’m also hosting it.
The Bluff Oyster Festival has been bobbing about in the back of my mind’s to-do list for years.
And then Leisure Time Travel gave me the chance to host a bespoke journey to Bluff for The Bluff Oyster Festival and take in the many fantastic highlights of Invercargill.
As with any group situation, once there’s a designated dictator calling the shots, you tend to turn your brain off and switch to sheep mode, so I had to ensure that I was shepherding from the outset.
The group of keen kai moana lovers gathered at Auckland Airport check-in where introductions were made. It wasn’t until evening, as we gathered at The Ascot Hotel in Invercargill, that we really got the opportunity to get to know each other.
Like any experienced tour driver, Dave Thompson from Leisure Time Travel orchestrated this with warmth and an out clause for those not so keen on the fun questions put to the group.
First up was me. I banged out the answers before Dave fired them around the group, and the short answers soon became short stories.
Next up was Roger, who’d lived on Norfolk Island for 25 years.
Then, the couple who had a child with disabilities that required their fulltime care, preventing them travelling until recently.
Murray has the group record for group travel. He’s ex-New Zealand Forest Service, with huge amounts of medical history and battles with cancer that he’s fought and won, wanting to live life and see everything.
Ross is from Kawhia, and trained as a diesel mechanic with the Forest Service and now grows mussel spat to on-sell to mussel farms.
As we flew south from Auckland, he was able to see his boat on Kawhia Harbour and knew it was his daughter skippering.
I also loved Vanessa and John’s story. They met at school in Gisborne and have been married for 60 years.
Many Invercargill and Bluff highlights were incorporated into the four-day itinerary, including Bill Richardson’s Transport World and Motorcycle Mecca.
These are the biggest collections of transport I’ve ever seen. They really are a must-do when you head to Southland. Even if you’re not a vehicle fanatic, you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the vehicles you recall growing up with.
It’s Saturday morning and excitement fills the bus as we cruise into Bluff township to be directed to parking, right next to the entrance to the purpose-built festival venue.
The Bluff buzz builds as we walk through the gates, to be greeted by an amazing Polynesian drum ensemble, a fantastic reminder of the rich diversity in cultures at the bottom of the South Island.
The Bluff Oyster Festival has been an iconic event since 1997, but there are real concerns about its longevity.
How to ensure its viability is in the hands of those who determine when and when not to fulfil their oyster quota. Each wee delicacy takes about a year to get to the size we’re eating.
One of the festival’s icons is John Edmisten, and he tells me that in the past, up to 30 boats made the season. This year, only eight headed to the oyster beds.
There was a lot of discussion about such a low quota, with a number of factors disrupting the catch rate, including increased fuel prices and poor weather preventing the oysters from feeding.
John also says that it’s been the worst catch rate ever – but the quality of the oysters is “good”.
As the day progresses, the music varies from classic rock, through to Māori kapa haka, a fabulous bagpipe troop, and the headline act, Helen Henderson, a local singer who’s lived and performed in Los Angeles.
I get talking to her niece in the ‘mosh pit’ who told me that Helen is 73, which blew my merino socks off.
Helen Henderson performs with the enthusiasm of someone decades younger. Perhaps it’s the oysters?
The absolute juxtaposition of musical brilliance was a real showcase of the talents of Bluff and the various cultures that make up this colourful community.
I introduce myself to Tere Ngu, the MC for the entire day.
He’s also running on oyster enthusiasm. Tere’s skills at keeping everyone entertained with competitions involving volunteers from the crowd between musical acts, are as fabulous as anyone I’ve seen at bigger international festivals.
There are conversations about the price of the rich abundance on offer, including the oysters, kina, pāua in several forms, whitebait fritters and a rich array of local brews to wash it all down.
None of the prices imply you’re getting a Bluff bargain, but what you’re getting is incredibly fresh and beautifully prepared.
The queues are long for the more popular offerings such as the white bait fritters, pāua fritters and pāua burgers, but once you’re in a queue, people are in good spirits and everyone’s comparing notes and talking about what they’ve loved.
Because many people heard about the prospect of a poor season, there are only about half the numbers of previous year’s oyster festival goers, but having about 2000 people on a beautiful Bluff day just made it easier to get what you wanted.
To ensure the viability of an annual kai moana festival, perhaps The Bluff Oyster Festival needs to become The Bluff Seafood Festival.
If there aren’t oysters, then at least all other kai moana can be celebrated.
If this Southland extravaganza has been on your bucket list for years, make sure you tick it off in 2027. It really is a fantastic experience.
The writer travelled courtesy of Leisure Time Travel.