Tropical fruit world is another great day trip from the Gold Coast. 540 varieties of exotic tropical fruits, make this place a haven for anyone who loves fruit. We have visited multiple times but this was the first time we completed the whole experience including the farm tour. It is a much more relaxed option than our previous day’s activity Despite being technically in Northern NSW it works on Queensland time so at the time of our visit didn’t have daylight savings.
A family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) as of January 2020 is $120. Using tourist vouchers from the Gold coast we were able to get adults at kids prices, which saved us about $8 from the family price. It is not a cheap day out but with the number of activities available it was a good value for money.
Table of Contents
Fruit tasting
Our tour started with the exotic fruit tasting. Even though this was our 4th fruit tasting there is always a new tropical fruit we haven’t tried before. They had some of our favourites including black Sapote (chocolate pudding fruit), pawpaw, mango, rockmelon and bananas ripened on the tree dripping with lemon myrtle syrup. This time they also had mulberries- new to our girls, strawberries and my new favourite Canistel ( yellow Sapote) a fruit that has a bit of a pumpkin flavour.
Something they have every time is guacamole made with one of the many varieties of Avocado they grow here. Avocado is their speciality as this farm was originally a research station 50 years ago growing exotic fruit such as the avocado and it was actually called Avocadoland when it opened in 1983.
Tractor tour
From the fruit tasting, you board the carriages of the tractor for the tour around the farm. It shows you some of the highlights of the 100 acres of farmland. We stopped halfway to try Bananas that have been ripened on the tree instead of from cold store and taste the difference. There was also a chance to crack and eat some Macadamia nuts.
You then jump back aboard past the native beehives, past the dragon fruits and onto the “island”
The Island
The tractor leaves you at the island where there are some kids play equipment including a very popular flying fox. There was also an example of Bushfoods you could read about and taste if you weren’t full from all the tropical fruit.
The Boat Ride
The Boat leaves from the Island and is chased down the river by ducks, due to all the kids on board being given Sunflower seeds to throw from the boat. It was relaxing to ride and the kids were definitely amused seeing if they could get the ducks to come right alongside before feeding them or have them rush to catch the boat.
The Fauna Village
The boat ride is just a fun way to take you to the Fauna village. For $1 you can purchase a bag of animal feed which can be used to feed any of the animals there. There is quite an eclectic collection of animals including kangaroos and emus on one side of the path, miniature donkeys by the dock and traditional farmyard animals on the other side including greedy Nigerian dwarf goats, crazy sheep, cows, chickens and ducks.
When the time is up you walk over the bridge to come back to where the tractor is waiting to take you back to the top of the hill and the café and gift shop.
Rainforest Café
We had a late lunch at the restaurant, The Rainforest Cafe. Which is available even if you don’t do any of the paying activities. Most of the food served at this restaurant has been grown on-site. It is quite a nice location with a glassed eating area surrounded by trees and vines.
We tried some of their specialities. Mr OTC enjoyed a Jackfruit and beef pie and the kids had sausage rolls with pawpaw spice seasoning. I tried my first jackfruit in the Jackfruit Nachos. I think it is a dish I would definitely eat again, especially with their delicious guacamole.
After lunch, we had homemade designer icecream. This was ice cream (vanilla or dairy-free coconut) mixed with up to 3 fruits of your choice.
Miss 6 had vanilla mixed with chocolate sapote (also known as chocolate pudding fruit). Miss 9, Vanilla with mixed berry, custard apple and mango. Mr OTC and I shared Coconut icecream with dragon fruit, canistel (my new favourite see the tasting section) and Davidson plum. Very gourmet ice cream.
Gift shop and Produce store
To finish off the day we had a look in the gift shop which is full of all sorts of wonderful skincare products including black sapote lip butter and body scrubs. These products are now available in their online shop as well.
They also have a produce shop that is available without having to pay the entrance fee. This has all sorts of exotic fruits ( whatever is in season) including may varieties of avocado, the back and yellow sapote, many varied bananas and lots of other options. On previous visits, we were even able to get choc dipped bananas. ( we didn’t see them this time luckily). There is also a nursery with lots of different fruit plants and seeds available for purchase.,
We headed home when we could get the kids away from the play equipment and me away from the produce store.
We had a great day at Tropical Fruit World and were surprised that it was so big until we had completed the tour. I am sure we will be back again on our next Gold Coast trip to try more tropical fruit.
How to Get There
If you are travelling from Brisbane or the Gold Coast, take the Pacific Highway South. Once over the border into NSW, keep an eye out for the giant avocado sign on the left-hand side of the highway. Take the next exit, which is signed as Murwillumbah Exit Route 40. Then follow the signs to Tropical Fruit World. If you’re travelling north from Byron Bay or Ballina, use the Pacific Highway and take the first exit on the left after passing through the road tunnel. Then follow the signs for Tropical Fruit World.
