Barilla Bay Oyster Farm & Puddleduck Winery

 

Our first day in Hobart took us to Barilla Bay Oyster Farm, one of Tasmania's leading suppliers of premium Pacific oysters where the Forrest family have been growing and harvesting the briny little darlings since 1980. Barilla Bay Pacific oysters start life as a little 'spat' or 'juvenile oysters'. These "babies" are first placed into a nursery using protective boxes or cages with a very fine mesh to keep them safe while allowing nutrient-rich water to filter through. As they grow, they are moved into bags with progressively larger holes to ensure they have enough space and access to the plankton and algae that they eat. As they grow, they're moved to cages with larger holes, eventually becoming market-ready oysters, a process taking 3-4 years for the prized Pacific Gold variety. 

The second stop our day's tour was Puddleduck Vineyard, which is a charming family-owned vineyard and winery nestled in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. As one of the few Australian vineyards handling every aspect of wine production onsite, from growing the fruit to crafting and selling the wines, for an unforgettable Tasmanian experience where every sip is a celebration of family, tradition, and the beauty of the Coal River Valley.

Barilla Bay Oyster Farm outside of Hobart in Tasmania

Barilla Bay Pacific oysters start life as a little spat 

Our Barilla Bay guide explained the life cycle of an oyster

Pacific Oysters are generally harvested after 2-3 years once they reach 3-inched, 

but if left alone they will keep growing larger and larger but "taste like an old boot" 

Dried Abalone is also a big business and very popular with the Chinese market

Wild Dried Tasmanian Abalone from pristine waters of barilla bay can be added to enhance 

any dishes with a burst of umami flavour

Gillespie's Ginger Beer is also made and bottled on the property

and where we were treated to a tasting - if you like the dreaded stuff

Gillespie's Ginger Beer made in Tasmania

Oyster Tasting of Barilla Bay prized Pacific variety

Path to Barilla Bay was blanketed with a carpet of crushed oyster shells

The pristine waters of Barilla Bay

Barilla Bay is minutes from Hobart Airport so they can ship their oysters easily

to local and overseas markets

Trucks drive out the oyster beds at low tide to harvest the prized Pacific Golds

Puddleduck Winery

Puddleduck Winery pond with ducks and vines

The charming and animated representative from Puddleduck gave us a curated wine tasting

of their selection of wines

The 2025 Puddleduck Tasmanian Riesling

A beautifully balanced Riesling with lime and green fruit undertones

Section of Coal River Valley Brie and Cheddar to enjoy with our wine tasting

2025 Puddleduck Tasmanian Pinot Gris

Clean, crisp and delicious with wonderful fruit definition

2024 Puddleduck Tasmanian Chardonnay

Not a fan of Chardonnay, this wine was outstanding, with flavours of summer stone fruits,

combined with citrus notes and a touch of vanilla and pear

2025 Puddleduck Tasmanian Rosé

A great fan of French Côtes de Provence Rosé, this Puddleduck Rosé with sweet strawberry and cream

characteristics was a bit too sweet for my palate

2024 Puddleduck Pinot Noir

A lush fruit driven Pinot Noir with lots of black cherry and raspberry on the nose

with hints of blackcurrant and pepper on the apart for a super rich silky tennis to finish 

The floating Puddleduck woven from twine

Viticulturist Andrew Hanigan is 5th generation of the family-owned Puddleduck business,

and the grapes he nurtures and manages are of the finest quality anywhere in Tasmania

www.puddleduck.com.au

Dunedin: The Kiwi City with a Scottish Heart

 

Located in a natural amphitheater at the head of a long fjord-like inlet, Dunedin was the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand, founded in 1848. Not long after, gold was discovered in the region, and the province quickly became the richest and most influential in the colony. While Christchurch is New Zealand's most English town, Dunedin is its most Scottish, such that the city is hailed as the "Edinburgh of New Zealand." The Dunedin Railway Station is one of New Zealand’s most iconic architectural landmarks, renowned for its Edwardian design and its symbolic role in the country’s rapid railway expansion during the late 19th century. 

The Dunedin Botanic Garden is New Zealand's first botanical garden with more than 6800 plant species set in a serene destination brimming with rare plants, wildlife, and scenic beauty. With the Leith Stream on the southern boundary and Lindsay Creek running through the middle dividing the garden in two, the gardens offer a peaceful retreat, filled with a wonderful diversity of plants, flowers, and aviary with a variety of exotic and native birds. Exploring the gardens, and spectacular Winter Garden Greenhouse, where orchids, bromeliads and many tender subtropical trees and shrubs are grown, we continued our journey on to Olveston House, one of New Zealand's most remarkable and beautiful heritage homes, built for Dunedin businessman, collector and philanthropist David Theomin, his wife Marie and children Edward and Dorothy. Designed by English architect Sir Ernest George, Olveston was built as a family home furnished with fine art, furniture and artefacts purchased from all around the world.

Intended for future generations of Theomin’s to enjoy, this was not to be the case as both the Theomin children died without heirs. Surviving the death of her father, mother and elder brother, Miss Dorothy Theomin lived at Olveston until her death in 1966, when it was discovered the house and the original contents were gifted to the City of Dunedin. Opened as an historic house museum in 1967, Olveston is a time capsule as little has changed inside the house since it was occupied as a family home between 1906 to 1966, and is an authentic and original historic home and garden depicting the life of a wealthy merchant family in the early part of the twentieth century. Fully furnished, Olveston is a time capsule as little has changed since it was the Theomin Family home.

Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo

Colourful King Parrot

Bird handler providing water and orange segments to a trio of New Zealand Kākā,

View of the Greenhouse from the hilltop of the Dunedin Botanical Gardens

A meandering rock garden with wild flowers runs along the river

Aromatic New Zealand wild thyme

Gardener toiling in the rock garden keeping the weeds at bay 

The Leith Stream and bridge with native wildflowers

One of the beautiful native flowers growing by the stream

With the Leith Stream and Lindsay Creek running through the Botanical Gardens, 

these handsome wild ducks are a common sight

The elegant Winter Garden Greenhouse conservatory was constructed in 1908

A multitude of flowering and fruiting plants, orchids, bromeliads and tender subtropical trees 

and shrubs can be seen in the Greenhouse

The White Arum Lily are known for having a very prominent, large yellow, 

finger-like structure in the centre of the bloom

The Pōhutukawa is the iconic "New Zealand red spray" blossom, often called the New Zealand Christmas tree and features vibrant crimson, firework-like clusters of stamens

Beautiful coral coloured New Zealand flower with dew drops glistening on the petals

Moist pink flower in the Greenhouse

Rather exotic flower with green berry-like interior

Flowering Origanum Rotundifolium

Agapanthus are seen everywhere around New Zealand

Koi Pond with dozens of ornamental koi swimming in the crystal clear water

Pink 'Olivia Auston Rose'

Grove of Agapanthus and Rhododendron

Sculpture of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell dedicated to 'Children Today, Tomorrow and the Future' 

and gifted to the Dunedin Botanical Garden by Harold Richmond in 1966

Wild flowering gardens

Orange New Zealand Dahlia

Sculpted Box Hedge Garden pruned into geometric shapes to create structure, 

drama, and formal elegance

Stone entry to Olveston House

Olveston House is one of New Zealand's most remarkable and beautiful heritage homes, 

built for Dunedin businessman, collector and philanthropist David Theomin and his family

The Library with all the books and furniture as it was when the family

lived in the house

Detail of the formal Dining Room with fine furniture, silver and paintings

Olvestan's sumptuous Main Dining Room

Table set for afternoon tea in the dining room, by the leaded pane windows overlooking the garden

Beautiful green full size Billiards Table with knitted pockets

The original Snooker Scoreboard and balls

Vintage Mah Jong table and tiles from China

Moroccan-themed Card Room adjacent to the Billiards Room

Butler's pass-through from where food from kitchen would be prepared then passed 

through to be placed in silverware and then served to the family

Original Edwardian Butler's Bell Panel was wired to each room

and was used to summon servants

Original phone between the kitchen and butler's pantry

Greenhouse in the garden

Entrance into the Greenhouse

Cascading pink flowers

A lovely array of plants, ferns, cacti and flowers

Lush pink flower

Crazy New Zealand plant resembling cascading peas known as String of Pearls or 'Curio Rowleyanus'

The side of Olveston House

www.olveston.co.nz