Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HOT FUZZ: KIWIFRUIT
The humble kiwifruit earns NZ more than a billion dollars every year, and with the Bay of Plenty in the thick of
the action, it's no wonder the locals are fond of them.
The fruit's origins are in China, where it was called the monkey peach (they were considered ripe when the
monkeys munched them). As they migrated to NZ, they were renamed the Chinese gooseberry − they were a lot
smaller then, but canny Kiwis engineered them to more generous sizes and began exporting them in the 1950s.
The fruit was then sexily rebranded as the Zespri. Today the Zesprians grow two types of kiwifruit: the common
fuzzy-covered green fruit, and the gold fruit with its smooth complexion. To learn more about the kiwifruit, visit
Kiwi360 in Te Puke.
For visitors after a dollar or two, there's always kiwifruit-picking work around the area, most of it during har-
vest (May and June): don't expect to make much more than $14 an hour. Enquire at regional i-SITEs, or check
online at
www.picknz.co.nz
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Te Puke
POP 7500
Welcome to the 'Kiwifruit Capital of the World', a busy town during the picking season
when there's plenty of work around. The
Te Puke Visitor Information Centre
( 07-573 9172;
www.tepuke.co.nz
;
130 Jellicoe St; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat; )
is in the same building as the
public library (staff will confirm that 'Puke' rhymes with cookie, not fluke).
For the low-down on all things kiwifruit, swing into
Kiwi360
( 0800 549 4360, 07-573 6340;
www.kiwi360.com
; 35 Young Rd, off SH2; admission free, tour adult/child/family $20/6/46; 9am-5pm)
at the
turn-off for Maketu. Sitting among orchards of nashi pears, citrus, avocados and (you
guessed it) kiwifruit, this visitor centre peels off a range of attractions including a
35-minute 'kiwicart' orchard tour, kiwifruit viewing tower (not much of a view) and a
cafe serving kiwifruit delights.
After something sweeter? About 10km south of Te Puke in Paengaroa,
Comvita
(
0800
493 782, 07-533 1987;
www.experiencecomvita.com
;
23 Wilson Rd S, Paengaroa; admission free, guided tours adult/
child/family $22.50/11/64; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm Sat & Sun)
is home to NZ's most
famous honey- and bee-derived health-care products. A big new visitor centre was being
built when we visited: expect a cafe, shop and guided tours. Grab a pot of vitamin E
cream with bee pollen and manuka honey on your way out.
Not far from Comvita,
Kaituna Jet
(
0800 867 386;
www.jetboating.co.nz
;
316 SH33, Paengaroa; adult/
9am-4pm)
puts a few ripples on the surface of an otherwise tranquil
child/family $104/49/277;
