New Zealand's varied climate means there's fresh, in-season fruit to enjoy all year round. Even better, NZ grows fruits you'll rarely find elsewhere — like feijoas and tamarillos. Picking up seasonal fruit at the supermarket or a roadside stall is one of the simple pleasures of travelling or living in New Zealand.
Fruits Unique to New Zealand
Feijoa
A distinctive fruit widely cultivated almost exclusively in New Zealand (and a few neighbouring regions). The season runs from March to June (autumn to winter). It's a green, oval fruit with creamy white flesh inside.
The flavour is somewhere between guava and pineapple — sweet, with a complex aroma. Locals often say it's a taste you simply can't explain until you've tried it.
How to eat it: cut it in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. You'll also find feijoa juice, feijoa jam, and feijoa crumble in shops and cafes.
During feijoa season, you'll often see households putting boxes of surplus fruit out on the roadside labelled "Free - help yourself." It's a classic example of New Zealand's sharing culture.
Tamarillo
A member of the nightshade family, sometimes known as the "tree tomato." The season is May to October (autumn to winter). These red or orange egg-shaped fruits have a distinctive tangy-sweet flavour.
How to eat it: the skin is bitter, so don't eat it. Cut the fruit in half, sprinkle with sugar, and eat it with a spoon — or cook it into jam or chutney. It's also delicious with yoghurt or ice cream.
Passionfruit
A tropical fruit widely grown in New Zealand. Cut the round purple fruit in half and you'll find jelly-like pulp packed around the seeds. Its refreshing sweet-tart flavour works eaten straight from the shell, or as a topping for yoghurt, smoothies, and cakes. The season is roughly March to May.
Classic Fruits and Their Seasons
Kiwifruit
New Zealand's most famous fruit, of course. There's the green kiwifruit and the sweeter gold variety (Zespri SunGold). The season runs from May to November. Gold kiwifruit is popular around the world, but eating it fresh in its home country is something else entirely. Supermarkets sell them in bags of 6–8 for NZ$3–5.
Apples and Pears
Grown mainly in Central Otago and Hawke's Bay, with a season from February to June (summer to autumn). You'll find a huge range of varieties, from Royal Gala and Pink Lady to NZ-bred varieties like Envy and Jazzy. Apples fresh from the orchard are juicy and sweet, with a character all their own.
Peaches, Plums and Nectarines
In season from December to March (summer). These are the stars of the New Zealand summer, piled high and cheap in supermarkets and markets at their peak. South Island peaches in particular are wonderfully sweet and juicy — a must-try if you visit NZ in summer.
Blueberries
In season from December to March (summer). New Zealand produces excellent blueberries, and punnets are plentiful and affordable throughout the summer months.
Where to Buy Fruit
The best ways to get your hands on seasonal fruit in New Zealand:
- Supermarkets: the produce sections at Woolworths and New World. Fruit in season is relatively cheap
- Farmers' markets: Wellington's Harbourside Market (Sunday mornings) has a great range of locally grown fruit and vegetables
- Roadside stalls: when driving through rural areas, you'll often find farmers selling direct at the roadside — fresh and cheap
- PYO (Pick Your Own) orchards: farms where you can pick your own fruit. Strawberries and blueberries are especially popular
Seasonal Calendar
| Season | Months | Fruits in Season |
|---|---|---|
| Summer | Dec–Feb | Peaches, plums, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries |
| Autumn | Mar–May | Apples, pears, feijoas, passionfruit, kiwifruit |
| Winter | Jun–Aug | Tamarillos, citrus, kiwifruit |
| Spring | Sep–Nov | Citrus (oranges, lemons), avocados |
Taking Fruit Home as a Souvenir
Planning to bring NZ fruit home? Be aware that fresh fruit will be confiscated at plant quarantine in many countries, including Japan. Processed products — jam, dried fruit, juice — are fine. Dried kiwifruit and feijoa jam make wonderfully New Zealand souvenirs.
There's nothing quite like eating fruit at its seasonal peak while you travel. When you're in New Zealand, take a look around the supermarkets and markets and see what's in season.