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Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries

Tomatoes for sale

Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries

A favourite with locals and tourists, Port Macquarie’s Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries is a fun place to pick your own fresh produce. Located only 20 minutes from the Port Macquarie CBD on the New South Wales mid-north coast, it’s a must-see place for visitors.

A large car park caters to the many visitors. On arrival you are greeted by koala painted in strawberry leaves, flowers and fruit. These koalas are a feature around Port Macquarie, being places outside many businesses and decorated to reflect their location.

After saying hello to the koala, we went inside to get a bucket and scissors and a few instructions including which greenhouse to go to. It was then off to collect our strawberries. At the end you pay before leaving for the weight of the strawberry’s that you have picked.

Ricardoes grow their tomatoes and strawberries hydroponically in greenhouses. Only certain ones are open to the public at a time because the others are either undergoing maintenance or not ready to harvest.

We spent some time picking strawberries, making sure to pick ripe ones. Signs tell you that the best ones are at the back, because most people go to the front rows of plants first. Once our buckets were full, we returned to the entrance to pay for them.

Café and Shop

Inside the main building, a display room has other products for sale, and we bought some strawberry jam. A café also sold Devonshire tea, so we finished off the morning with coffee, and scones with jam and cream.

This was a fun morning out, with strawberries to eat on the way home.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

The Mighty Hunter Valley

Tasting Platter The Mighty Hunter Valley

The Mighty Hunter Valley

Originally a brick works that diversified into terracotta pottery for pipes and tiles, the site has undergone many changes while maintaining its heritage listing. Additions by previous owners included accommodation, a restaurant and a brewery, while maintaining a link to the past through its name – Potters Hotel Brewery Resort. The current owners Foghorn Brewery renamed it The Mighty Hunter Valley and upgraded and modernised the facilities.

Located five minutes from Cessnock or 20 minutes from Singleton in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, it is in the heart of wine country. Driving there takes you past many picturesque vineyards, most of which offer cellar door sales and tasting.

The five heritage listed brick kilns are an easy way to find the brewery as they can be seen from the road. After parking, we walked around them to take a few pictures before heading inside. Visible from the bar, the brewery has tours available, but not on the day we visited. Instead, we chose a beer tasting, buying a paddle each. You choose four beers per tasting depending on your preference.

We sat outside under a veranda to drink and relax. Deciding that we would have lunch there too, we ordered at the adjacent restaurant and had several more relaxing beers before eating.

We enjoyed going here, the beer was great and the meals delicious. The outdoor setting in the shade was relaxing and peaceful.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Small Acres Cyder

Small Acres Cyder Poster

Small Acres Cyder

One of our great finds during a recent road trip to Canberra was Small Acres Cyder at Borenore near Orange. This small, family-owned business has won a huge number of awards for their cider, something we learned while we were there.

Surrounded by their own orchards, the tasting room is in a beautiful setting. Only knowing about commercial cider, it was interesting to discover the different types and the history behind each. As well as the usual sparkling apple cider, there was still (non-bubbly) apple cider, pear, and fortified varieties. Non-alcoholic cider in apple, pear and cherry was also available to taste.

The tasting wasn’t rushed, and our host was very helpful and informative. We decided on the Poire pear cider and purchased a carton before continuing on to Orange. The owners also operate an Air-BNB, so you can spend the night surrounded by orchards.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.