About us
Four substantial olive groves have combined to form a single production and marketing company, called New Zealand Olive Growers & Exporters. This allows the growers to guarantee consistency in both quality and supply. We are all dedicated growers with a great love of our land and we believe that the unique Far North coastal climate and soil types produces a truly exceptional extra virgin olive oil.
Our flagship brand is First Drop – epitomizing the finest taste of our Far North oils sold in New Zealand and around the world.
Located at the very northern tip of New Zealand, the olive groves are spread between two attractive bays: Doubtless Bay and Bay of Islands.
The growers of First Drop
The Kerikeri Olive Estate occupies a stunning location between the Waitangi Wetlands and the Kerikeri Inlet in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Prompted by a trip to Tuscany, Vivienne Mitchell and Ivan Lipanovic have realized their dream of establishing a substantial olive grove. The grove now boasts over 1,500 trees distributed between the varieties of Frantoio, Leccino, J5, Koroneiki and Chemali. Contact owners
Hihi
Olive Estate
Named after the rare native stitch bird, the Hihi, Lynette and Colin Wilson
have situated their grove a short stroll from the beautiful Mangonui Harbour
in Doubtless Bay. Their award-winning oil comes from the Koroneiki cultivar;
the remaining 1000 trees being made up of J5, Leccino, Frantoio and Ascolano.
Also available: the best Dukkah north of the Antarctic! Contact
owners
Te Reke Olives
Spread over 20 hectares and overlooking the picturesque Te Puna Inlet this
grove, with its steep inclines, often resembles that of the Mediterranean.
Owned and tended by a couple of (very!) wandering Canadians, Dick and Marilyn
Jewell, the grove has been planted out with over 2,000 trees comprising
of Koroneiki, Frantoio and J5. Contact
owners
L'Olivetto
The Little Olive Grove is the name Vaughan and Gillian Preece gave
their grove overlooking Doubtless Bay and the Oruaiti River in 2000. They
became enthused about olives when travelling in Italy and Spain and looked
forward to having their own to nurture. The grove is managed in a sustainable
way - prefering compost to acid-based fertilisers. After eight years, the
trees are in full production. Contact
owners
American and Canadian customers can view and order through First Drop International.
