Trip to Al Bohayra Mazraa, aka the Blue Lake Farm


Over the weekend, a group of us girls, ahem ladies, visited the Al Bohayra Mazraa, or better known as the Blue Lake Farm in Abdaly (location on googlemaps).  Warning, this is a very photo heavy post.  It was a 130km drive up to the farm but we didn't notice the distance as we spent most of the time giggling and behaving like excited little school girls. 

The drive up to the Al Bohayra Mazraa, aka the Blue Lake Farm

The drive up to the Al Bohayra Mazraa, aka the Blue Lake Farm

The main attraction is getting to pick your own strawberries and apparently now (February) is the best time to make the trip up to the farm, especially with the weather being so beautiful!  Strawberry picking is only on Fridays and starts from 12:30pm onwards, but they only opened the doors to the greenhouse closer to 1pm.  Make sure you're part of the first group of visitors so that you get first pick.

The strawberry glasshouse

Above is the strawberry greenhouse.  Now, I've been strawberry picking years ago as a kid, but nothing prepared me for the rows and rows of juicy red strawberries.

Juicy yummy strawberries

Juicy yummy strawberries

I spent the first few minutes taking the beauty in and snapping photos.  It was a bit like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, everything looked so good that we were basically running around like headless chickens from strawberry to strawberry!  

 Juicy yummy strawberries

Juicy yummy strawberries

We were each given a pair of scissors and plastic punnets to fill to our desire.  Apparently the best strawberries are the smaller red ones.  The punnets were then weighed and money collected accordingly.  I paid 2.5 KD for my mini harvest.

Punnet of strawberries from the Blue Lake Farm

There's a small orange orchard and a few other greenhouses containing vege plants, flowers and herbs which we wandered around in afterwards, however some of the greenhouses are closed to the public and we just had a quick nosy.  There was even a greenhouse containing plants that we could purchase.  I'm an expert in killing off my houseplants, so I didn't risk buying anything that could easily die and decided on a small tree instead.





There is quite a large greenhouse opposite where the strawberries are where you can buy fresh produce, a variety of homemade pickles, organic eggs, fresh milk (or was it cream?) and cheese.  There was even a freezer stocked with minced meat and kebabs which I'm assuming is also from the farm.






There was also a big pot of corn on the cob bubbling away and I just had to get one.  The corn was so fresh and the corn kernels were bursting with juice with each bite.  Lightly salted, it was a delight to eat and I think I can officially label it the best corn ever.



A section of the greenhouse was also selling various flavours of herbal tea that is made right on the farm.  I just couldn't leave before trying a cup.  These cups have an inbuilt teabag inside which on pouring hot water, you instantly get tea.  Isn't that neat?


There's an open area with a small man made lake, well more like a pond actually, and a few tents which can be rented out.  I saw two families BBQing, but I'm not sure if you need prior permission to do so.  There's also a small playground to keep kids entertained.  We had bought lunch with us and had it in one of the tents and then enjoyed the outdoors.  The sky was a clear blue and the weather was perfect which added to the whole farm experience.  An absolutely gorgeous day to be outside.





Overall, it was an awesome outing.  Having been used to seeing a lot of brown, brown and more brown, it was so refreshing to see all the fresh fruit, veges, flowers, etc.  Going strawberry picking was definitely the highlight of the day and if you're planning on going, make sure you go during the strawberry season.  You can also check out the farm's instagram and twitter here.  

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful description of the entire trip! Glad that I was also a part of this trip! !

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    1. Yup, a beautiful experience, definitely one for the memory books!

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  2. Beautiful description of the entire trip! Glad that I was also a part of this trip! !

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  3. Yup after 50shades of brown , this is a welcome change!!!!! Love it! Thanks for the detailed review .

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    1. Haha, yup, beautiful right? It was awesome. A small farm, but I went back home with such a happy feeling inside. Definitely make a trip out to go strawberry picking. You'll love it!

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  4. Hi; is the strawberry season still on? Is it open for anyone or by invitation? What else can you recommend about this farm?

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    1. Hey! A friend of mine had gone in March and the season was still going on. I would give them a call though just to make sure. This is the number on their instagram page 55058663. You don't need an invite or appointment. Its free entry and you can just show up. However, if you need to book a tent and have a BBQ, you might need to book it in advance. Not sure how that works. Make sure you arrive at 12:30 so that you're the first batch in the strawberry glasshouse.

      As for other recommendations, do check out the animals and take along a picnic and make a day out of it. Have fun!

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