We have often passed by seeing the highway signs and this time we detoured to check out Strawberry Fields. What a visual delight to find neat and tidy fields, spring flowers, mown lawns and a view down the slope to more manicured fields of Strawberries and an adjoining paddock with horses. We went on a warm, sunny, perfect pseudo Spring day in August. The cafe had a good size crowd enjoying the strawberry themed offerings - we chose cheesecake which was delicious - there were a couple groups of extended families having fun in the afternoon sun kicking balls, children climbing a well worn stack of hay bales and surprisingly rolling quite heavy truck tyres down the hay stack with little control of the velocity of the tyre or its direction with young children at the bottom of its random path. There was an adult present though so we assume they were supervised. The playground was small but in good condition and popular with the children. Several tables had families feasting on their freshly picked strawberries with smiles all 'round. Price wise we felt it compared with most attractions these days, however you were really providing your own "fun". The "don't eat whilst picking" sign is a bit negative for the children and we would prefer something that suggested it would be more hygienic or healthy to wash strawberries before eating which would convey the same restriction in a nicer way. Or perhaps a prepaid dish size for under 10's allowing them to eat as they picked and no need to weigh afterwards. Surely the biggest attraction to the littlies is to eat from the patch. We enjoyed being able to view the packing shed - and we're very surprised to find no workers wearing gloves as they handled fruit usually eaten straight from the punnets by buyers. We made a note to always wash our strawberries thoroughly from now on. We were making plans to return with other family and friends in the near future after our reconnoiter visit.
We had fun but we have been strawberry picking at three other farms in SE QLD and these strabs were not as nice as the other places we have been. The patch we picked was right by the car park so not far to walk for little ones.The playground was pretty good and the kids had a ball rolling the tyres down the hill and climbing the hay bails.The cafe serves nice looking food but it is a little expensive eg a cupcake was $5. The berries were PYO $12 a kg the day we were there.
As a former greengrocer, Strawberry Fields usually produce above average quality berries so when our group passed we stopped in to pick. Two plots were open that were very busy with other patrons so the amount of berries on offer was limited. Quality on the ripe ones were generally good however. Sadly, during a warm Winter spell there's normally a glut of strawberries yet this place has the audacity to charge $15 per kilo when the stall down the road sells equivalent berries for $5 per kilo with the added overheads of pickers and processing. It's an experience if you have kids or have never done this before, but be prepared to pay.Note to others, do NOT use the washing stations unless you're about to eat the berries immediately - they rot very quickly after being washed.
Fantastic place to pick strawberries, was busy when we went but still plenty of yum fresh strawberries. There is no entry fee but you pay for what you pick. Ended up with the kids picking $26 worth of strawberries. After we had finished picking (took 10 minutes) we went to the cafe for lunch, there's a great selection of pies and sausage rolls. Great coffee and fresh smoothies. Also the pancakes and ice cream were a hit at a reasonable price. Overall a great little outing with family would defiantly reccomend it to people wanting to excite their taste buds
Very happy with the coffee and beautiful warm atmosphere of strawberry fields. Yummy selection of sweet treats, best gluten free range I've ever seen including specialty items made exclusively for strawberry fields.
Great place to enjoy picking strawberries and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. The hay bales are great for the kids to play on as well as the swings.
We were there 5 years ago travelling and 5 years later my father in law still remember the taste of the strawberry ice cream which he so much loved! Back at home he doesn't even touch ice cream and that's the only ice cream he will eat. Goes to show how much he enjoyed it. The rest of us didn't had a chance to taste it since he bought it without us knowing.So we brought him back again in July this year, and all of us finally had a chance to taste. You won't believe we ate more than 16 cones of the adult sized one at AUD4.50 per cone, and we even bought a pack of the 2L ice cream back to our apartment to enjoy and we finished it within 2 nights.It's so insane! It's so rich in flavor, super thick and creamy, sweet yet sour at the same time and the serving portion was so generous! Even as I'm typing this it makes me want to go back again.This time round we didn't opt for the strawberry picking as we tried another strawberry farm which was much out of the way, less heard of, but was slightly more affordable. Strawberry Fields have changed so much within the 5 years, and it's definitely for the better. It's a great place for families and friends to hang out with the café and seating area. There's even a play area with swings and slides for kids.Looking forward to our next visit!
Really nice place to go. Having a kids party there i would defo recommend. The kids get plenty of food, they play games and go strawberry picking, they have such a good time! The price is very reasonable!
Just spent a couple of hours here. Drove up from brisbane. Relaxed ans laid back. No cost except for cost of strawberries. Perfect ekka day morning for us. Sun shining and loved the open space. Picking the strawberries is a quick job. There were plenty of good berries on our day. Coffee shop was great. Found service before lunch time rush extremely quick. And acceptable in lunch time rush. Having play equipment for kids always makes waiting easy. Nice clean toilets. Didn't mind paying little extra than may have paid in shops for strawberries. They tasted great fresh picked. And it's all about yhe experience. My 2 year old asked to go back today. :-)
I'm a regular visitor of the Strawberry Fields as I do enjoy visiting but some visits are really great while others can be really dismal, which is why your visit could either be a real hit or miss. It's located just across the highway from the Ettamogah Pub off the Bruce Highway and relatively easy to find - there are signs most of the way. PYO strawberries is a great aspect of visiting the strawberry fields and by far a huge visitor and family favourite. Currently strawberries are $12 a kilo to PYO or $6-$8 for 'factory' seconds. Picking your own is great fun and there is a real thrill about picking your own strawberries but again some days there have been a huge variety of fresh and juicy red strawberries to pick and on others I have come to nothing but a completely picked out patch with nothing left to pick or what is remaining are inedible. Management only open one patch a day to pick from and they won't open another patch until the other is pretty much 'picked all out' so there is a risk you can arrive and there is literally nothing to pick if you are wanting to PYO. My last visit I didn't get to pick one single strawberry as I entered an empty field and just went and brought a box of seconds from the counter. It is best NOT to visit after it has rained or while raining as the fields turn into huge muddy mush fields and unless you have gumboots you can't walk through the strawberry fields without being totally swallowed by mud (you can't help the rain but just a warning). Within the past year they have recently opened a restaurant and installed a children's playground. This is great as you can sit down and enjoy some nice tea/coffee with cake and treats while the kids play - but be warned, the food and drinks are not cheap here. generally I would recommend visiting because like I said I do visit regularly because it is enjoyable but I do also have the luxury of living nearby so on a miss day I can always come back and enjoy a hit day.