Looking for a fun activity you can do with your kids this Winter? One that won’t break the bank? Get them orange picking at Cedar Farm in Dooralong!
During this fabulous outdoor farm experience, younger children will absolutely love picking big juicy oranges from the lower branches while older kids (and adults!) embrace the challenge of reaching high up into the trees with a picking stick and seeing what they can get their hands on!
And while you’re there, be sure to keep an eye out for the resident rescue hens and farm animals in the surrounding properties. You’ll even be able to buy local honey from the farm this year too. So stick on your gumboots and get set for a memorable day of orange-picking fun! Read on for all the juicy details.
Tucked away in the foothills of Wyong State Forest, Cedar Farm is a friendly, down-to-earth place with over 15 acres of orchards to explore. Run by Kay and Jack Schlachter who have owned the property for 11 years, this will be the fifth year that families have been invited to take part in one of their superb Pick Your Own Oranges events!
Kids big and small will relish the satisfaction of finding their own fruit – lots of the trees have oranges that small hands will be able to reach, and there are picking sticks to use for fruit higher up.
There are some good challenges for the kids too – they can hunt for the biggest, ripest oranges, see how many they can carry, and predict how much their bags will weigh. Plus, they’ll get a valuable first-hand experience of where our food really comes from.
How does it work?
When you arrive, sign in at the trestle tables behind the car park. Then, grab your bags, collect a picking stick and head out into the orchard. When your bags are full, head back to the tables to weigh your haul. Oranges are currently $1.75 a kilo (cash and EFTPOS accepted).
In previous years they’ve often had fresh produce from local farms for sale – we were lucky enough to pick up some duck eggs from Grace Springs Farm when we visited a couple of years ago. PLUS, this year, they’ll have local honey for sale too!
A day spent orange picking at Cedar Farm is a back-to-basics and inexpensive way to spend quality time outdoors with your family. And afterward, you can head home to fill the fruit bowl and make some delicious farm-fresh orange juice with the kids. Perfect!
Cedar Farm, Dooralong
What to Take: You need to take your own bags for the oranges, so make sure you pack a few. You can take your own mug for a free cup of tea, and you are welcome to picnic in the orchards too. Dogs on leashes are welcome to come along.
Accessibility: Children aged two and up will manage walking around the orchard with ease. The ground around the trees is a little bumpy and soft, but still manageable for strollers as well as toddlers on foot. Closed-in footwear is recommended.
Facilities: There’ll be a portable toilet at the farm. The Community Hall at the start of Ditton Road also has bathroom facilities, electric BBQs, and a small playground available.
Hours: Oranges are available for picking between July and September. The farm will be open daily between 10am and 4pm throughout the winter school holidays (up to Monday 18 July 2022). It will then be open every weekend (Thurs-Sun) from 10am – 4pm until mid-September 2022. Check the Cedar Farm Facebook page for updates before you head out, as the operating hours can change.
Location: Cedar Farm is at 48 Dittons Road, Dooralong. (Turn off Dooralong Road into Dittons Road at the Dooralong Community Hall and Oval. Follow the dirt road to the carpark at the end).
