Oysters & Harvesting
It doesn’t get any fresher – or more local – than this!
The warm waters of Desolation Sound are world-famous for swimming and snorkelling — and they also provide the perfect environment for the Pacific Oyster to thrive.
While oysters are farmed locally, these large, razor-sharp bivalves are also abundant on the intertidal beaches and cliffs in the area.
They’re delicious, yet for many visitors – and even some locals – uncertainty around safety, regulations, and harvesting methods can make enjoying them feel out of reach — unless you’re paying restaurant prices for oysters shipped in from afar.
To change that, Cabana Desolation Eco Resort offers a fully immersive, hands-on experience. Guests learn how to harvest safely, avoid illness and injury, collect and transport oysters from a nearby beach, and then shuck and cook them using a classic homemade recipe — all under the guidance of our knowledgeable staff!
Our guides will start by explaining the dangers of harvesting and what to look for in the ‘perfect’ oyster on the shore, before leading guests by foot to a nearby beach with an abundant oyster bed. Guests will then carefully collect their bounty, ensuring that all safety methods and legal standards are met.
After returning to the resort, guides will set up the preparation and cooking station and demonstrate how to safely shuck the oysters so that the guests can get to work. Finally, ingredients are prepared for guests to cook the oysters themselves using a favourite recipe of ours, all on a protected beach overlooking the mountains and the ocean of Desolation Sound.
Over the years, harvesting and enjoying oysters has been one of the absolute highlights for many of our guests on all of our overnight tours. By expanding on this and creating an experience that is truly immersive for all our visitors, we expect it to continue to be one of those moments on our packages that guests rave about to family and friends for years to come.
