Freeway Orchard: We’re not only growers

Freeway Orchard stemmed from an opportunity for Kevin Jackson and his two business partners, Alastair Stark and Jeremy Elvidge, to purchase a property right beside State Highway 8B that leads into the Cromwell township. Forty years on, the 20-acre Freeway Orchard site is the perfect place to stop on your Central Otago road trip for packed fruit, fresh fruit ice cream, smoothies and more.

Kristin Nolan is an owner/manager of Freeway Orchard which features an orchard and a large fruit and produce store. Being the daughter of Kevin, who also owns Jackson Orchards in Cromwell, Kristin has grown up surrounded by fruit trees her whole life. The two orchards complement each other by growing 100 different varieties of fruit – apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears and greengages – ensuring that if one orchard doesn’t have a variety readily available, the other orchard will provide.

“Freeway Orchard is unique for several reasons – we're right on the town boundary here, we've got a cycleway and the lake directly across the road which offers convenience for the locals to get to us. We've got a glass beehive that families enjoy coming to visit. We also have real fruit ice cream here and Cromwell’s only juice bar. So, these are quite good things we provide and it’s a convenient stop for people,” Kristin said.

“The majority of our fruit goes out in sustainable fruit crates, and how that works is there are three major companies in New Zealand which supply them and we pay a deposit when we use them. We then get a refund when our fruit is sent to the marketplace. These crates can be used several hundred times and it's taken a lot of cardboard, plastic and wooden packaging out of the marketplace which has been a great thing.”

The site features a range of different treats that you can purchase, including fresh/dried fruit, nuts, local preserves and freshly squeezed Benjer juices (bottled on site).

Freeway Orchard’s most popular item would have to be their fresh fruit ice cream, followed closely by apricots and cherries. Kristin prides herself on having an interesting and supportive work environment. With seven full-time staff, they help with a variety of different jobs from packing, making ice cream and picking up fruit and, depending on the season, they usually get around 100 to 600 visitors per day, with a good balance of regular customers and local and international tourists. They also get up to 160 casual workers during the summer months across their orchard, retail, mail-order and packhouse operations.

“I've grown up with fruit and it's just something I've always loved to do. I really enjoy my work and I'm happy to come in and get the place brimming with fresh produce and lots of colours. I just really enjoy display work and making things look good. At Freeway, we’re very flexible about time off or events that people would like to go to – we can accommodate that. It’s about being fair and respectful to one another,” Kristin said.

The Jacksons are a fifth-generation fruit-growing family originally based in Alexandra. Kevin, his wife Jane and small children Kristin and Mark, moved to Cromwell in 1969 with plans to purchase a property due to the perfect climate conditions for growing fruit, especially apricots.

The original property that Kevin purchased in the Cromwell Gorge had to be evacuated when the Clyde Dam project was getting underway. Kevin and his family then moved, and bought a 30-hectare block where Jackson Orchards still operates today. In 1983, there were plans to construct the new Cromwell and a new state highway. This is when Kevin, Alastair and Jeremy decided to build a partnership and buy land right next to the motorway.

“Having an orchard on the highway gives you the opportunity to have a roadside business which is an advantage when the fruit is grown. This is because when you're grading your fruit for marks, in some cases, you have a small percentage that is ready to eat which isn't suitable for packaging for the market. Also being close to town helps with your labour sources. It’s the satisfaction of seeing the results of your efforts. With fruit trees, you go through four cycles in a season. In autumn, when the trees are losing their leaves, you prune the trees.

When spring comes around, you are doing the maintenance ready for summer – introducing new machinery or new varieties/trial work and liaising with other fruit growers. When you start your harvest, you get to see all your results and you get a good mix of workers during harvesting,” Kevin added.

In March 2021, Mark tragically passed away of a heart attack. Like Kevin and Kristin, Mark was very committed to the family orchards and his loss continues to be very keenly felt. "Although Mark is no longer here, it is important to me that he continues to be acknowledged as part of our family, as he always will be," Kristin said.

Over the years, Freeway Orchard has kept its name and they haven’t decided to change it as it’s what they are known for. In 2010, the fruit stall changed ownership and is now solely managed by Kristin. “Being an orchard, Freeway is a seasonal business, so we have huge summers working here. We’re not so busy in the wintertime, so I tend to work long hours over the summer months, but I take quite a bit of time off over the winter. I do enjoy horse riding and travelling, among other things, like spending time with my family and friends,” she said.

Freeway Orchard is open between September and April, seven days a week. They also sell their produce online and at the Remarkables Market in Queenstown when they are operating (October to April). So, next time you’re making your way through Cromwell, stop off at Freeway Orchard for
a little pick-me-up on your journey.