Bargara Berries

Debbie and Michael have grown strawberries on their Meadowvale property since 2003, on land Debbie has farmed, latterly as a seedling nursery, since 1988, on the inland side of Bundaberg. Through the cooler growing months, from around May to October, they open the rows for picking and sell direct from the farm, alongside gelato made in-house from their own fruit. A second outlet in Bargara stocks the packed strawberries plus other local fruit and vegetables and a rotating list of two dozen or so handcrafted jams and sauces made from the harvest. It's a modest, hands-on operation rather than a tourist strawberry farm with extras — the drawcard is simply the fruit, picked or bought, and the gelato made from it. Worth timing a Bundaberg region visit around the strawberry season, when both the Meadowvale paddocks and the Bargara shop are running.