Whether it's fruit picking or farm gate finds, the lush green country roads around Jilliby and Dooralong are filled with opportunities to experience farm life, taste award-winning produce, and visit the growers who feed the Central Coast.

1. Pick your own Oranges

Dooralong has carved a niche for pick-your-own experiences on the coast. One of the most popular is Pick your own Oranges Dooralong. The 15-acre orchard was established over 110 years ago, but today it has found favour with the community as a pick-your-own experience on weekends and has become so popular that they no longer have any fruit left for a roadside stall. Although timing is weather dependent, navel orange season kicks off in July, while Valencia oranges are available in November and December- and the big news is they also have a juicing machine on-site so you can get your oranges juiced.

2. Experience Life on the Farm

Family-run favourite, The Giving Farm, offer pick-your-own flowers on selected weekends, as well as hosting regular animal pat and feed sessions on their farm.

In Jilliby, you’ll also find Iris Lodge Alpacas, an ECO-certified farm experience. Home to many alpacas, llamas, and sheep, guests can have morning or afternoon tea with the llamas and participate in life on the farm. Here, owners have planted over 9000 trees, improved their water catchments, and used solar power to improve their farm’s footprint.

3. Pick your own Flowers

Horseshoe Valley Farm and Apiary also offer pick-your-own flowers when they’re in bloom: just bring your own scissors, walk through the fields and fill a cup of flowers- and you can pick up honey fresh from their hives.

4. Stock up at the farm gate

One of the coast’s most loved and well known roadside stalls, Gloria’s Stall on Jilliby Road, has been around for over 30 years, selling freshly grown seasonal produce, sugar-free kombucha in twelve flavours and if she’s not sold out, her award-winning Sweet Chili Sauce. Other favourite providers include small scale regenerative farm  Dooralong Farm, who offer tours by appointment and sell backyard chooks, fresh produce and meat.

5. Stay on the Farm

If you want to watch the stars at night and wake up to the sound of currawongs and magpies in the morning, there are a number of homestead-style farms stay accommodations throughout Jilliby and Dooralong. On Karinya Famstay, guests staying in the main house can meet their guests down at the stables to help with the evening feeding of sheep, horses, cows, ducks, and hens. On Mollie’s Farm, a 12-acre property, guests can watch the cattle graze, help collect eggs and feed the animals. They also offer farm tours and activities on the farm.

Keep exploring the Hinterland’s best heritage homes, wedding venues and seasonal farms in nearby Yarramalong, Kulnura, Bucketty and Wyong Creek.

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This article was originally authored by Shaney Hudson, as part of a Love Central Coast grant project brought to you by Destination Central Coast, jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments under the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund. To maintain accuracy, some editorial changes may have been made since publication.

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