Polkadraai Strawberry Farm / Stellenbosch

From September to January, the Strawberry Picking Season is officially open and you can hand-pick your own delicious strawberries at Polkadraai Farm. The best thing is, you can make this an entire fun day for the whole family with many more activities to explore on the farm. Let’s see what they’ve got to offer!

Strawberry Picking

As a strawberry farm, the strawberry picking is obviously the highlight and probably the main purpose for a visit. Between September and January, you can visit Polkadraai any time between 09:00 and 16:00 (whether permitting as bad weather may affect the availability of strawberry picking) and go into the fields to fill your own buckets with yummy, red and sweet strawberries.

Each person going into the field will have to purchase a container which is available at the store and the staff will explain to you how to pick the strawberries and where exactly to go. Then the fun can begin and it probably takes between 20 to 30 minutes to fill your buckets. Once you are finished picking, the picking container as well as the strawberries you have picked, are yours with no further payment required.

You can either pay for the strawberry-picking only or add additional activities that are available on the farm. So they basically offer combo tickets which are slightly cheaper than buying everything individually. Check out the prices below:

	Strawberry Picking Only	Add 1 Activity	Add Unlimited Activities*
The Junior Picker	R50	R70	R150
The Harvester	R65	R85	R165
The Professional	R175	R195	R275
The Ultimate Picker	R220	R240	R320

*See a list of additional activities below

Tractor Rides

The second most popular activity on the farm is the 10 minute tractor ride referred to as the “Polkadraai Express”. The tractor takes you on a small educational tour through the strawberry fields around the farm and gives you some history and background on how strawberries are grown. The fun fact: the tour is guided and narrated by 13 year old Jenna Zetler which makes it all the more fun for the little ones to listen! (The sound comes from a speaker)

The Polkadraai Express operates on all weekends and public holidays (except Christmas Day) from 9am-4pm and daily during the school/December holiday period. A tractor ride costs R25 per person or R20 if purchased as a strawberry picking combo ticket.

Pony Rides

Your little ones love ponies? Then they will get a chance to either ride on the back of Pinkie or Ghandalf – the resident ponies at Polkadraai Farm. They take the kids on a 5 minute tour around their enclosure as long as they wear the protective headgear (provided by staff) and weigh less than 70kg.

They also “operate” on all weekends between 9am and 4pm and during the school holidays. A pony ride costs R25 per person or R20 if purchased as a strawberry picking combo ticket.

Minigolf

Are you keen for a little family competition? Then why not play a game of mini golf at the 18 hole course that was designed by PPGA Tour Professional – Brent Shapiro. It’s fun, it’s challenging and a great experience for young and old. Every person playing needs their own putter as sharing is not allowed. Depending on your skills and the number of players, a game takes approximately 45 minutes and costs R25 per person or R20 is purchased as a strawberry picking combo ticket.

The Polkadraai Country Club is open daily including all weekends and public holidays (except Christmas Day) from 9am-5pm.

Face Painting

Take home a lasting memory and get your face painted by a professional face painter! They operate all weekends and public holidays from 10am to 4pm and the kids simply love them. It makes the day even more fun when the kids run around like their favourite character! You can probably guess by now what it costs, right? R25 standard price or R20 as a combo.

Playground

Of course, a fun playground is part of this amazing venue as well and the use of it is 100% free. The little ones can play in two different sections. The smaller toddler jungle gym is most suitable for kids ages 1-5 while the bigger ones can explore the other section for children aged 5 to 12 years.

The playground and jungle gyms include slides, swings, climbing apparatus, monkey bars, balancing beams and so much more to keep your kids entertained after a day out picking in the fields. They also have a range of pre-packaged crafts available which include paint sets, sand-art cards, engraving art as well as mosaic art packs. So the children definitely won’t get bored and become creative, too! Their arts and crafts packages are available at the farm stall and cost R40 per craft.

The playground is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Pedal Carts & Inflatables

For 1 Token each, you get access to the pedal carts and the huge inflatable section with a rocket and fun obstacle course. The kids can jump around, climb up, play games and enjoy the bouncing fun. The pedal carts are most suited for older kids who are tall enough to reach the pedals.

Food Court

After a day filled with activities, you and the kids might become hungry. Then you can sit down at the food court and enjoy some light hot meals or sweet treats as well as cool drinks and coffee. And of course, they prepare waffles with fresh strawberries! Absolutely delicious and a Must-Have when you are there. You can take a sneak-peak at their menu here: MENU

The food court is open during the weekend and school holidays from 9am to 4pm (whether permitting).

Kiddies Birthday Parties

With all the activities available at this farm, it makes a pretty awesome party venue! They offer 3 party booths that are located close to the amazing playground where the kids can run off and go play whenever they want to.

Each party venue contains 3 large tables with benches which can seat approximately 24 people and there are also open areas in each party venue ideal for picnics or as a play area for toddlers and children.

The venue does not set up the tables, so you would need to bring in all your decor, plates, cutlery, the birthday cake, party packs, platters, etc. They literally only supply the venue with the tables and benches. You can order food and drinks from the Food Court though if that makes things easier.

The party booking fee is R500 and is payable on the day of the party to the cashier in the farmstall who will provide you with the key for your party booth. Available daily party time slots are 10:00 – 12:00 and 14:00 – 16:00.

Our Experience

We went there on a Saturday around 11am which was lucky because the queue at the till was still moderate. By the time we left (around 1pm) probably 100 people were waiting outside to pay for their buckets in the little shop. You can already guess that the place was quite crowded and you basically had to wait for almost all activities.

We did the tractor ride first which was a fun experience for us and the kids, but it only lasts about 10 minutes. Then the kids were playing on the jumping castles for a bit, followed by the playground. The queue for the pony rides was too long and we also didn’t go for the mini golf game as every activity costs extra and it ends up being quite an expensive day trip.

The Strawberry Picking was a lot of fun though and we really enjoyed that part of our visit. We filled two (small) buckets of strawberries and had fun looking for the “best” ones.

We didn’t eat anything there as all the seats in front of the Food Court were taken and we simply didn’t get a spot. The rest of the area is not shaded at all and it becomes hot very quickly. So without sunscreen and a hat, it’s not very enjoyable.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Checklist

Opening Times: Mon – Sun 09:00 – 16:00
Age Group: 0 – 99
Prices: Strawberry Picking from R50 – R220 per person plus optional additional activities
Baby Changing Facilities: Yes
Kids Menu: Yes
Fun Factor: 3/5
Free WIFI: No