A visit to a blueberry farm is entertaining for the whole family, discovers Alexia Santamaria.
While our vegetable garden is helping my kids understand where veges come from, fruit is still a bit of a mystery to them. I wouldn't be surprised if they thought apples grow in bags in the supermarket and strawberries come from a berry factory. We had heard great things about Monavale Blueberries, New Zealand's largest certified organic blueberry orchard, so decided to go on an educational trip for the boys and a culinary adventure for us.
We thought blueberries would be nice as part of a picnic and had heard the children's play area in Parana Park in Hamilton had been revamped earlier this year, so the mission was on - a trip to Monavale to pick blueberries and a locally sourced Waikato riverside picnic in Hamilton afterwards.
Monavale is about two hours' drive south of Auckland, so we dropped in on Hamilton on our way there to pick up picnic supplies from the farmers' market. What a score! Killer brioche and an amazing San Francisco sourdough from local Volare Breads (and, much to our surprise, a very good gluten-free loaf from Bella Pane breads in Cambridge too); beautiful apple and feijoa juice from Roy's Home Harvest in Tamahere; a fabulous danish cream from Cloudy Mountain Cheeses in Pirongia (and the most divine blue from Pukeatua Peak goat's milk cheeses); South Island salmon smoked in Huntly; and some of the best boysenberries I've ever tasted from Bruntwood Gardens in Cambridge.
Fully stocked, we loaded the chilly bin and headed for Monavale. It was around 11am by this point and the boys were getting hungry, so on arrival we checked out the lovely cafe for some blueberry muffins and pure blueberry juice for me. Talk about an amazing antioxidant hit.
