News Berry Good Times at the Berry Dairy

Dust off your sunhat and round up the crew - The Berry Dairy is one sweet little patch of Gippsland worth adding to your warm-weather hit list.

Set on a working dairy farm near Maffra, The Berry Dairy has transformed a once-empty paddock into a family-friendly farm experience filled with strawberries, animals, good food and plenty of room for little legs to run wild - while the grown-ups settle in with a coffee, lunch or a local tipple.

The farm opens each year from October to May, with berry picking generally available from November to April, depending on Mother Nature and fruit availability. When the berries are ripe, grab a punnet and head into the patch to hunt down the juiciest strawberries you can find. Thousands of strawberry plants grow here in raised beds, with the spray-free crop cared for using beneficial insects and good old-fashioned hand weeding.

Beyond the berry patch, there’s plenty to keep the whole crew entertained, with playground equipment, a petting zoo and dog park making it easy to settle in for a few hours.

For a glimpse behind the scenes, jump aboard the Dairy Farm Tractor Tour, which trundles beyond the visitor area and into the working dairy farm, home to around 550 Friesian and Kiwi-cross cows. Roll through paddocks, learn about farming and irrigation, meet the herd and visit the dairy during milking. Gumboots optional; farm curiosity essential.

Then there’s the important business of refuelling. The farm café serves up plenty of reasons to linger, with coffee, meals and sweet treats on offer. Of course, there’s really only one way to finish - a real fruit ice cream made with strawberries grown right there on the farm.

Pick, play, pat a few animals, meet the cows and tuck into something delicious - The Berry Dairy serves up a wonderfully hands-on taste of Gippsland farm life.

Because picking strawberries is strenuous business, obviously.