A few weeks ago Little Eco asked me if oranges grew on trees or under the ground. I was a little surprised by her question because we have a couple of lime and lemon trees in our backyard. So I decided that we needed to visit an orange farm.

I’d seen Bulga Oranges at the Newcastle City Farmers Markets and had heard that you can pick your own from their farm. We headed off in search of Bulga Oranges on the weekend. There are only a few streets in Bulga so I didn’t bother finding out any more information before setting off. We started our search at Bulga’s ‘famous’ Cockfighters Tavern (does anyone know what it’s actually ‘famous’ for?). Thirty minutes and six streets later we spotted a small ‘Oranges For Sale Pick Your Own’ sign at Thompsons Road (four km south of the tavern). At the end of Thompsons road nestled in a valley amongst Yengo and Wollemi National Parks we found Hillsdale Orchard.

We were greeted by Betty who gave us a bucket to fill for only $10. Betty led us to rows and rows of navels waiting to be picked. 

Before leaving us alone to pick our own fruit, Betty told me that her favourite moment each day is eating an orange in the orchard straight from the tree. I can see why. 

Hillsdale Orange Orchard
Thompsons Rd Bulga 

Want to find a pick-your-own farm near you?  

• Pickit.com.au (Australia)
• PickYourOwn.org (Global) (head straight to the Australian page here)
• Hawkesbury Harvest (Sydney region)

Farms are only open when their fruit is in season, so phone first.

Have you visited a pick-your-own farm lately? Do you know of any other pick-your-own farm directories?