Penray Gardens

Penray Gardens is a pick-your-own paradise located in Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast. Established in the 1960s as a humble table and umbrella stall, this spot has been run by just one family and has grown extensively over the years.

A destination for the capital area dwellers, Penray Gardens offers different produce according to the season. Expect to pick everything from strawberries, plums, apples, pears, courgettes, red onion, tomatoes and a range of chillies and sweet peppers, all of which ripen at various times throughout the summer and autumn months.

A small team cares for the thirty acres of productive land at Penray Gardens. It's the good old-day style of food production that is becoming less and less common around New Zealand Aotearoa. The area's microclimate enables Penray to produce food in this way, and it's a true passion project to keep it open for the public.

A great day trip destination or a must-drop-in when passing by, this is where the kids can see first-hand how fruit and vegetables grow, how to pick what's ripe and enjoy a day out on the farm. Top your day of picking with real fruit ice cream, and everyone will surely be happy as Larry.

If time is not on your side, you'll be glad that the shop out front sells a vast array of vegetables grown here and brought in from where they grow best. Needless to say, the PYO side of things is closed over winter.