Pick your own in the South Island

There are fewer self-pick farms in the South Island than the North, but two of them are among the most worthwhile in the country, and the season runs later everywhere down here.

Central Otago: the cherries

Central Otago is the cherry country, around Cromwell, Roxburgh, Clyde and Alexandra. Hot dry summers, cold winters and a late ripening make it the best cherry district in New Zealand, and Christmas cherries from Central Otago are close to a national institution.

The season is short: December and January, peaking either side of Christmas. Most Central Otago growers are export packhouses that do not open their rows, so genuine self-pick orchards are fewer than the size of the industry suggests. That makes checking ahead essential rather than optional.

Canterbury: berries, and the earliest fruit of the year

Canterbury carries raspberries, blueberries and one of the country’s few haskap growers. Haskaps are the interesting one: they ripen from late spring, earlier than anything else, which makes Canterbury the first place in the country you can pick anything at all.

Raspberries here run through summer with an autumn tail, and the cool nights suit them better than anywhere in the north.

The top of the south

Nelson-Tasman and Marlborough are the sunniest districts in New Zealand and carry a scattering of berry growers. Volumes are small but the fruit is good, and both are easy to combine with other reasons to be there.

The advantage of going south

Everything runs later. A raspberry season finished in Auckland in February can still be going in Canterbury in March. If you have missed a crop up north, the South Island is the second chance.

Practical notes

Rain and cherries. A ripe cherry splits when it takes on water, and a wet spell can close a Central Otago block for the rest of its season with no notice. Never drive the gorge without checking that morning.

Distances are real. Central Otago is a long way from anywhere, and farms that look close on a map are separated by hill roads. Plan one orchard, not three.

Cold mornings, fierce sun. Central Otago has the largest daily temperature range in the country. A jacket at opening and a hat by ten.

Updated 10 September 2026