Whatawhata Berry Farm — Local services in North Island

We visit the berry farm every year before the playground and shed were set up. We love the berries and service of the always smiling and happy staff.

However, we are really disappointed with our last visit on Thursday afternoon. We understand that with the recent upgrade of the playground, it is reasonable to charge us entrance fee. But there is no pyo available while they still charge entrance fee of $2 per person.

The most disappointed thing is that the staff asked for entrance fee for my 9 months old son? He is not even walking.

I paid for the pack of strawberry, ice cream and the entrance fee for 4 of us(2 adult, 2.5 years old daughter and 9 months old son) while my wife went to the car and took some stuff. (It took the staff a while for the payment as she wasn’t sure what she is doing, she didn’t even ask for ice cream favour and eventually the other side have started making the ice cream right after my payment)

My wife was surprised that a 9 months old infant was charged for an entrance fee and asked the cashier about that. She pointed us to another lady at the other side of the shop(ice cream preparation area) but my wife asked why couldn’t you ask your supervisor but requested her to ask herself while no one was waiting for payment. My wife asked was there any age range for the entrance fee ? even a 1month old baby would need to pay for the entrance fee? And she said it’s the first day of work and she knew nothing. She repeated and asked my wife to go talk the lady.

We then proceeded to the ice cream area and talked to the lady, she realised that we were charged for entrance fee for a 9 months old baby but she didn’t even think that was not quite right? No pick your own and a baby had to pay for entrance fee? Eventually she agreed to refund the $2 entrance fee.

And today(Saturday) they’re open for PYO and some friends saw a lot of rotten berries when they’re picking( though a lot of big and juicy one). What a waste?

I understand it is reasonable to keep the berries for the weekend but the entrance fee Is ridiculous for the small area especially for kids under 3? However, the closure of PYO during weekday isn’t a good choice while Ruakura berry shop open 7 days. I think that’s the reason why there are fewer people going to your farm for PYO today(Saturday). We saw at least 10 upset customer on Thursday afternoon who came for PYO but turned around.

A promoter can bring a lot of referral but it is easy to ruin the business if you make a wrong decision. Really need better training for the staff and plan ahead with the weather to maximise income while keeping customer happy.

I hope we can see something different next time we...

It really wasn’t a great experience.

First, the strawberries were very small, and most of them were already picked. The raspberries and boysenberries were extremely sour, so there wasn’t much that was enjoyable to pick. There was a boundary marked with cones, and we were told we couldn’t go beyond it to pick strawberries, even though there were clearly more strawberries on the other side. This made the experience even more frustrating, as it felt like we weren’t being given access to better options. We were told they had been sprayed earlier. The rule about having to pick a certain weight based on the number of people in our group felt really unfair, especially when there wasn’t much worth picking in the first place. When I brought this up with the lady at the reception, she told me she was just the receptionist, working on minimum wage, and couldn’t do anything about the rules. It came across as though she didn’t take the concerns seriously because of how much she’s being paid, which isn’t a great attitude when dealing with customers.

So here’s my feedback: it was a disappointing experience, and the business definitely needs...

The farm seems to be in the middle of nowhere but it was on the way back to Auckland from Waitomo. Keep an eye out for the flags by the road. They do berry picking for an entrance fee ($4 per person) and then you get changed for the berries that you picked by weight. They had the option of strawberry and raspberry as the blueberries weren't in season yet. We went with strawberry picking. There were plenty of plants available to pick and it wasn't very busy. They also sell fresh fruit ice cream at the main shop as well as pre-picked berries. Order the ice cream at the counter and pick it up outside. There was plenty of seating outside as well as a play area for kids. There were also some animals out front including chicken and donkeys. It was a relaxing way to pick some berries since it was...