Austin Winni Orchard

Austin Winni Orchard: Pick your own durian#c2676007645962963830

2010-01-20T13:53:00.001+08:00

Austin Winni Orchard: Pick your own durian#c2676007645962963830

Yes, your comments are indeed valid. Thank you very much. The new articles were done by a professional IT friend, William Ting and credit goes to him. I am suppose to update them but I am a bit slow and I am yet to be good at it. It takes so much time.

Oct 2009 Farm visitors

2009-10-23T17:20:00.005+08:00

In October, 2009, we have our special visitors...
... Janet, Beckey and Adam to our orchard. They were treated to...

... some of our very special durian.

This is our very special species from Thailand. Just see the size of it!

At the farm ...

2009-10-13T22:38:00.005+08:00

Many people find visiting the Saba Orchard interesting because many city dwellers have never saw how a pineapple plant looks like; the colourful chicken with feathers; duck actually float on water; watching fish eating their baits; the boat is not so easy to row; durian actually grows on trunk; you pick durian and not pluck them off the tree; etc ....
... so they must have watched Ben Hur movie and tried to experiment with this farm cart...
... and that durian is not bad after all! These little children simply love durian and ate so much ...
... our expat friends tried durian and many actually like durian very much.

Anyway, it is now the tail end of durian season. If you have not visited the farm to eat all you can for RM15, this weekend is perhaps the last opportunity for this season. So, please SMS Winni for the latest news.
If you don't sms Winni before hand, there may be no one to pick you up at Lambir National Park carpark at 7:30AM or 1:30PM on both Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors on 3rd Oct 2009

2009-10-06T22:38:00.008+08:00

On the 3rd Oct 2009, there were two groups of visitors to the farm. They all have a good time. It was a first for many visitors to see durian trees and life in a farm. Many of them tasted mangoesteen for the first time.
Also, the simple act of paddling a boat was a fun experience for kids. Thanks to Austin who seems to have endless energy to bring people around!

Oh, the children enjoy fishing the cat fish in the "transparent" tank where they can see the fish fallen into the trap!

Ok... enjoy the slideshow. Click here. for a larger viewer.

Text and slideshow contributed by williamting.

Visit on 26 Sept 2009

2009-10-05T23:23:00.005+08:00

On 26 Sept 2009, we have a group of visitors who came to our farm. Photos from the following slide show were contributed by the photographers of the group

Click here for a full screen slide show.
(Text and caption by William Ting)

What else you can do at the Orchard

2009-09-22T12:08:00.003+08:00

Other than feasting on durians, there are many other activities you could do:

... enjoy the view and nature ...

... perhaps recalling your childhood days under a tree ...

... or study the nature ...
... you may try your luck to fish in our ponds...

... even try to do a little boating and seeing the fish in the pond...

... or just walk around the acres of land... up and down the slope to burn the extra calories ...

... or to climb a tree!

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Perhaps you can explore the hidden treasure with your children ...

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... to discover lives growing amongst the hidden!

From 20090919

... or to try your balancing act!
Or even plant a tree in remembrance of your visit.

Our Services

2009-09-22T11:37:00.006+08:00

We realised that not everyone is adventurous and would drive to the farm in order to eat durians or our other fruits. So, we make the following options for your convenience:
You organise your own "durian party" and we deliver to your choice of venue, be it office, restaurant, your home, etc. You just name the venue, time and number of people who would like to come for the feasting!
Alternatively, you may bring your party to our residence in Miri. Of course you don't get the joy to pick the fruit from the farm! But, you will get to eat the same quality fruits from our orchard!
If you are not so much into eating durian but would still like to visit the farm in order to enjoy the environment, we still welcome you. Please let us know in advance so that we can arrange a different meal for you - Sarawak Laksa!
We look forward to see you...

Enjoy! Enjoy!

2009-09-17T23:56:00.011+08:00

I think she truly enjoys her "meal" of durian!
... oh, if you are not that much into eating durian, we also serve good home cook Sarawak Laksa. But please do let us know in advance.

Eating durian is not limited to age...

Perhaps the king of fruits is the only fruit which attracts discussion ...

... and asked for more ...

... it is not a fruit where you can easily be satisfied

... and you would always wanted to have more!

Other Activities

2009-09-17T12:31:00.005+08:00

SabaOrchard is away from the busy concrete jungle which we are so familiar with. It is surrounded by supremely serene surrounding that is definitely good for our mental health. Noises from man made source like motorcar is non-existence!

However, for the adventurous, bird watching is always a possibility. There are other smaller wild animals, eg, squirrel if you are lucky enough to spot them. For the less adventurous, there is a pond with ducks and geese...

You can always bring small modern gadget into the farm. Perhaps, you may even organise a small retreat at our farm. The farm has a reasonably comfortable house with natural air conditioning.

There is a small orchid plot for you to enjoy the beauty of God's creation...

... or to simply admire the beauty of the orchid!

Winni is passionate about orchid and she will explain to you all she knew about her orchid!

Enjoying Your harvest!

2009-09-17T12:28:00.006+08:00

After picking your own durians, there is no problem to open the spiky fruit!

Austin is an expert in opening the fruit and his hands seem to be immuned to the sharp spikes. But having said this, there is a secret in opening the fruit. Nature has made it in such a way that the hard shell of durian has weak points to allow easy opening!

The farm fresh durian is immediately noticeable from the freshness and the look of it is simply irresistible!

Who would reject such an offer of this king of fruit? It is simply delicious!

After eating the fruits, it is known to leave the lingering smell on the fingers. An effective "organic" way to rid of any smell is to wash you fingers ... well, visit us and we will show you!

Pick your own durian

2009-09-17T12:26:00.006+08:00

Perhaps the greatest enjoyment of visiting the farm is the choice of picking your own durian!

The durian trees at the farm are not that huge compared to the so called "old tree" which can easily reach a 100 feet into the sky! Therefore, the durian on the trees are clearly visible to the individual.

During the peak season, ripe durians would drop all over the the place. Picking them can be real fun and enjoyable! In fact, it can be team work!

Even our foreign friends pick the durian with great enthusiasm and the perceived pungent smell suddenly seems to be just an imagination!

So who says that our foreign friends cannot stand the smell of durian? In fact, fresh durians have a pleasantly sweet smell.

After you have your fill at the farm you can also "tar-paw" home the fruits at ex-farm price!

Arrival at SabaOrchard

2009-09-17T12:24:00.006+08:00

We welcome groups, individuals or even family arrival at our orchard. Normally, we saw group of friends arriving together...
... as this would provide mutual encouragement to each other to try out the durian. This is especially so for our foreign friends whose understanding of durian has been negative ...

... all this while. However, this negative perception would quickly dissolve when they were encouraged to try the farm fresh produce and besides, they get the fun to pick the fruit.

Indeed there is nothing to stop anyone from coming irrespective of weather condition!

On arrival, our visitors sign our guest book for remembrance!

...and of course a safety briefing! This is to let everyone knows that big spiky fruits can drop anytime from the trees and nobody would like the experience of being hit!

Introduction to SabaOrchard

2009-09-16T18:01:00.008+08:00

Lambir Green was founded by my husband, Austin and I. In 1989 whilst we were still employees of Sarawak Shell Berhad, with my brother John Peck as partner, we bought the first 20 acre of our present 40 acre land, next to the Sarawak Oil Palm plantation (SOP), 46 kilometers, along the Miri-Bintulu Road.
Work on the land started progressively in 1990. Every weekend, Austin armed with two parangs, would make trips down to Lambir to clear the thick jungle. Sometimes he would hire a few people to help in the clearing. He tilled the land and planted it with young durian trees over the years.

Planting orchids has been our long time hobby to beautify our garden . In 1996 when both of us opted for an early retirement we decided to move our orchid plants to the farm. As the durian trees grew, the orchids bloomed too. Little did we realize that our passion for orchids would turn out into a business opportunity. What started as a hobby is now a retirement occupation and pleasure!

When we first told our friends and colleagues at work of our intention to plant durians on a commercial scale, we got laughter in return. We could not blame them as we had little knowledge and zero experience in the agriculture field. We must admit that it was not easy for both of us without any hands-on knowledge and experience in farming; but sheer determination and the strong desire to fulfill our dream of owning our own farm. We have indeed learned a lot throughout these years – through books and trial and errors. It surprised, not only our friends, but ourselves that we have come this far!

Today the farm consists of 120 fruiting trees of durian, dabai, rambutan, mangosteen, chempedek, besides the short-term fruits like pineapple, banana, and maize(jagong). The 1 acre orchid plot consists of over 2 thousands orchid plants of various species. In addition we have ponds, ducks, free-range chickens, and geese. Although we have 4 full-time workers to manage the weeding, watering and application of fertilizers, we are very much hands-on.

Fruit harvest(s) have been ongoing for the last few years, but this year, from end of September right through middle of October, is going to be a bumper durian harvest. We have initiated this blog in order to keep you informed of the availability of fruits in our farm as most of the fruits are seasonal.

Running on the motto “eat all you can for a mere RM15.00” during our open-house, the farm is visited by our friends and visitors, both locals and foreigners who are interested to see local fruit trees and taste fresh ,succulent creamy durians as they fall straight from the trees. Whether you like the durian and agree that indeed it is the Malaysain’s king of fruits or dislike the pungent smell, this is the opportunity to try real fresh durians and decide for yourself! For those who find opening the durian a cumbersome task they can be made available in neatly packaged boxes/trays.

The elimination of “middlemen” has kept our price competitive and affordable. You would expect complete freshness of our products as they are just a short distance from the city.

Those of you who are interested to visit our farm for a durian feast from end of September onwards; you can contact us either through our email: sabaorchard@gmail.com or tel. Austin on 0138167539 or myself on 0138167520.

We would encourage you to come in a group, but for safety and convenience please limit it to a group of not more than 20 pax at any one time. For those who cannot make it to the farm, durians are also available at our residence in Miri.

Visits can be arranged either for weekends or weekdays. We would recommend the following schedules:

7.30 a.m - 11.30 a.m

1.30 p.m – 5.30 p.m

Note: Please put on your walking shoes, bring along a towel as you may be sweating and bring your own mineral water. Coffee and Tea will be served at the farmhouse.