Cromwell Stone Fruit Orchards

Central Otago has the most continental climate in New Zealand - hot dry summers, hard frosts, big daily temperature swings - and that combination produces cherries good enough to be air-freighted to Asia at high prices through December and January. The orchards concentrate around Cromwell, Ripponvale and Bannockburn on the terraces above Lake Dunstan. Cherries come first, roughly mid-December to mid-January, then apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums into February, and roadside stalls run through the season selling direct from the orchard, with some offering pick-your-own. The four giant fruit at the Cromwell corner, put up in 1990, are the district's landmark and photograph. The other thing worth knowing is that old Cromwell was flooded in 1992 when the Clyde Dam filled Lake Dunstan; part of the historic precinct was relocated to the lakeshore before the water came.

What you actually see

• The cherry orchards - the terraces above Lake Dunstan, netted in season.
• The roadside stalls - fruit sold direct, with pick-your-own at some.
• The giant fruit - the 1990 sculpture at the Cromwell corner.
• The old town - the historic precinct relocated before the lake filled.

When to go

Cherries mid-December to mid-January; apricots, peaches and plums into February. Outside that the stalls close and there is no fruit. Summer heat here regularly exceeds thirty degrees.

Honest expectations

A short, strict season - arriving in autumn or winter means closed stalls and bare trees. Cherry prices are high even at the orchard gate, because the export market sets them. Pick-your-own is charged by weight.

Nearby

Bannockburn and the Central Otago vineyards are south; Gibbston Valley is west.