Tropical Fruit World

Tropical Fruit World

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Posted 2022-03-24 by Roy Chambersfollow
Not far across the border from the Gold Coast in Tweed Heads, is one of those unique attractions that can be fun for people of all ages. With tropical fruit from all corners of the world, buy your favourites, taste what will be the next big thing, or experience the exotic, as well as learn about the fruit and farming techniques on the popular farm tour.



About

Starting out at Avocadoland in 1983, the giant avocado is still there, but since then the farm has transformed to be a testbed for tropical fruit from all over the world. While it is a working productive farm, it also is like the botanic gardens as they used to be, a place to experiment with different plants and crops to learn more about which varieties work best in the local environment.



Many people are surprised about how well tropical fruits do in subtropical climates around the Northern NSW and South East Queensland area. But the main enemy of tropical plants is frost, as they won't survive going below freezing. In addition, in many tropical areas, the mountainous regions, which are cooler, often grow the best fruit. So the coastal areas in Australia's subtropics actually provide great growing environments for tropical fruit.

Visiting

It is open 7 days a week, from 9am to 4pm, with the main difference being what is on offer on any particular day. Everything, including the shop, cafe and tours are open from Thursdays through to Mondays. On Tuesday and Wednesday, only the shop selling fruit, plants and products is open, and the cafe only does coffee and ice cream. But as one of the main reasons people come here is to find tropical fruits that are difficult to get anywhere else. By this, we are talking about fruits from every tropical region in the world.



Along with buying the fruits, you can also buy the plants to grow yourself. Being the experts in tropical plants, they will be able to tell you which plants will best suit your home and garden environment and give you advice about their care.



The Plantation Cafe and Shop are also worth visiting as well. The cafe has mixed reviews but definitely a good stop for ice cream. Some of the favourites from the shop include the jams, as well as dried lemon myrtle or papaya leaves. They also have a number of avocado-based skincare products.



The best thing to do though is to taste the various tropical fruits. Most of us have eaten a wide range of tropical fruits that can be found in supermarkets and farmers markets. But there are actually a lot more than those, and is where to experience them.



Tours

The tours are popular at and operate from Thursdays through to Mondays. The main tour is $30 and lasts 2 hours, which is good value for money. This is the tour to see more of the farm operations and learn about the fruit.



There is also a $20 tour which also includes more fruit tasting. What you will see is that vast selection of fruits that they have here. Being a multicultural country, many visitors are very excited to see fruits from their home country grown here.



Of course, they have Australian native bees. This will be one of the key stops on the tour where they will teach you more about them. This is good, as more and more people are keeping stingless native bees in their backyards.



The tour isn't all sitting in a trailer pulled by the tractor, and there are several places where you get out to learn more about various aspects of the farm. In particular, in the bottom section of the farm, there are several walking elements where you can learn more about some of the native plants and wildlife in the area as well.



Don't forget the locals only pricing. This is the discount tours for people in the local areas, including as far north as the Gold Coast, as far south as Ballina, and west out to Lismore. Proof of your residence is essential for this option.

Events

is also a popular destination for events. Weddings at Plantation House or in the lawns out the front are popular. Many people also choose to have kids parties here, as feeding kids fruit is healthier than lollies, even if they can get lots of ice cream too, and it can be educational.



The appeal of the location for weddings is clear, with the view from the Plantation House lawns. Apologies for the photo being taken on a cloudy day so you can't see all the mountains in the distance, but you have to admit, even so it is a nice view.



Overall

For many people, will be a great part of any day trip to the Tweed Heads Region. Whether they are just stopping in for coffee and to taste some fruit or joining a tour, it is definitely somewhere to add to your itinerary. Between tours and a meal, it can be a great way to spend up to half a day.

The author visited as a Guest of Crystalbrook and Kiff & Culture Tours .

#tours
#northern_nsw
#learn_something
#food_wine
#farms
#family
#escape_the_city
%wngoldcoast
138351 - 2023-06-13 14:35:14

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