The boutique bay tour is showcasing the renowned Portarlington Mussels in an intimate setting.
Set on the Bellarine Peninsula, a delicious curated foodie experience from the team at Sea Bounty, celebrating the deliciously plump Portarlington mussel has taken the region by storm.
Portarlington Mussel Tours are boutique and intimate bay tours that depart from the Portarlington Pier and are delivered by the local and knowledgeable team, which includes fourth-generation farmer Lance Wiffen and his wife Lizzie aboard the immaculately restored 40-year-old Huon pine vessel ‘Valerie’.
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While aboard the three-hour Portarlington Mussel Tour, guests are given an exclusive front-row seat to the mussel farming process in an intimate and unique setting.
With a maximum of 12 guests, the tour starts with a glass of local Bellarine sparkling, followed by Lizzie’s live cooking demonstrations which feature two delicious mussel recipes that you can savour alongside premium local produce.
Here you will observe how mussels are cultivated, see the mussel ropes as they’re pulled from the water, pick magnificent fresh molluscs off the lines and learn about the cleaning process and various stages of mussel farming.
How involved you get is entirely up to you! With a small number of guests on the vessel, there is always a quiet spot to relax. If you’re lucky, you might even spot the local dolphins and get to try the native Angasi oysters that Lance is also currently growing.
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Sea Bounty harvests mussels from 150 ha of water spread over four Aquaculture zones in Port Phillip Bay and sell over 1000 tonnes of mussels, contributing to one million meals each year all over Australia and internationally.
Owners Lance and Lizzie love growing mussels and with the launch of the new tourism product are now able to share their passion, and incredible mussels with all.
The mussels cultivated by Lance and his Sea Bounty team have been hailed as “exquisite” by leading chefs including Attica’s, Ben Shewry and Noma’s, Rene Redzepi. He has welcomed Masterchef celebrities and Matt Moran and Rachel Koo. If you’ve ever wondered how they produce such magnificent mussels? Why not join a tour and find out for yourself?
We jumped aboard just recently and had the best afternoon indulging and immersing ourselves in everything there is to love about mussels! Check out our little snapshot of the experience below:
It’s easy to travel to Portarlington direct from Melbourne Docklands with Port Phillip Ferries which offer services 365 days a year. Alternatively, Portarlington is an easy 25-minute drive from Geelong or 20 minutes from the Queenscliff / Sorrento ferry terminal.
Bookings are now open. Head here for more info.
