Local Raw Honey

Orara Valley Honey was founded in 2008 when the owner Glenn Locke, rekindled a childhood interest in beekeeping by setting up a few beehives at Karangi, just west of Coffs Harbour.

The business has gradually grown to approximately 100 production hives and is still located in the Orara Valley at Nana Glen.

Orara Valley Honey is local, raw & real.

Our natural, local raw honey is 100% Australian.

Orara Valley Honey is unique.  The flavours and colour differ from site to site according to the season and the flowering plants.

The honey flora in the valley varies across a wide variety of plants including;

Eucalypts and forest trees.

• Angophora floribunda (Rough-barked Apple)
• Angophora costata  (Smooth-barked Apple)
• Corymbia intermedia (Pink Bloodwood)
• Corymbia gummifera (Red Bloodwood)
• Melaleuca salicina (Willow Bottlebrush)
• Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum)
• Eucalyptus paniculata (Grey Ironbark)
• Tristaniopsis laurina (Water Gum)

Groundcovers

• Hypochoeris radicata (Flatweed)
• Trifolium repens (White Clover)

Our apiary sites are spread throughout the Orara Valley at:

• Korora
• Nana Glen
• Coramba
• Lowanna
• Brooklana
• Central Bucca

Our honey is raw & 100% Australian

The Orara Valley honey extraction process is simple:

• Natural, raw honeycomb is removed from the hives.
• The wax cappings are removed from the honeycomb with a warm, sharp, serrated knife.
• A honey extractor is used to spin the honey out of the combs by centrifugal force.
• We then allow the honey to settle for 24 hours in bulk drums, which allows large particles of wax and other impurities to rise to the top.
• The raw, unfiltered honey is drained from the bottom into smaller 10-litre food-grade tubs.
• The honey receives one final coarse strain before bottling it in our retail jars.
• Raw honey retains all of its naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
• Minimal processing also means that our raw honey contains antioxidants such as polyphenols, enzymes, and amino acids.

Our hive pest management is the industry’s best practice.

We don’t use chemicals to control small hive beetles.

• The arrival of small hive beetle into Australia almost 20 years ago has made managing bees difficult.
• There are many ways to minimise the impact of beetles on hives, including chemical methods such as using insecticides such as Fiprinol.
• We have found that where hives are strong and queenright (they have a robust, healthy queen), they can overcome most challenges from small hive beetles.
• Our hive losses due to beetles over the last few years have been minimal, and we will continue to operate chemical-free.
• We don’t produce organic honey. Organic standards are stringent and complex to achieve.
• We respect those beekeepers who meet the organic standard by not making organic claims about our honey when it is not.

We strive to minimise the use of chemicals to manage Varroa destructor mites.

• Where possible, we use cultural, mechanical & biological control methods to manage the impact of Varroa destructor.
• We prioritize the welfare of our bees, and from time to time, we will have to resort to synthetic chemicals to keep them healthy.
• Our long term aim is to use mainly organic methods of Varroa control.

We use ethical, industry best practices.

• Orara Valley Honey follows the Australian Honeybee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice.
• We always ensure that our bees have enough honey to sustain them, which minimises the need for supplementary feeding.
• We treat our bees respectfully and put their health & well-being first when implementing management practices.

Our raw honey is well-priced.

March 1 2021

Orara Valley raw, unfiltered honey is competitively priced and is often cheaper than similar products in the supermarket.

Add free home delivery in the Coffs Harbour area, and you will have a real bargain.

Woolworths

• Capilano Honey Pail $1.50 per 100g
• Capilano Dark and Bold Honey $1.54 per 100g
• Beechworth Pure Honey $2.05 per 100g
• Beechworth Bee Cause Mountain Honey $2.13 per 100g

Coles

• Capilano Honey Pail $1.50 per 100g
• Capilano Dark and Bold Honey $2.03 per 100g
• Beechworth Pure Australian Honey $2.05 per 100g
• Beechworth Bee Cause Coastal Honey $2.13 per 100g

IGA

• Capilano Natural Australian Honey $1.91 per 100g

Orara Valley Honey

• Local Raw & Real $1.40 per 100g

How to buy Orara Valley Honey.

We currently have the following product range;

• 1-kilo glass jar (online and in retail stores Coffs Harbour area only)
• 500g glass jar (online and in retail stores Coffs Harbour area only)
• Bulk honey in 10-litre food-grade plastic buckets. (Coffs Harbour area only)
• 1-kilo plastic jar (Australia wide) *
• 500g plastic jar (Australia wide) *
• Natural honeycomb 200g (Australia wide) *
• Natural honeycomb 400g (Australia wide) *

*Note: Due to interstate quarantine restrictions we cannot ship to Western Australia or Kangaroo Island. 

We deliver free in the following areas; Corindi Beach, Arrawarra Headland, Safety Beach, Woolgoolga, Sandy Beach, Emerald Beach, Moonee Beach, Sapphire Beach, Korora, Coffs Harbour, Karangi, Fernmount, Coramba, Nana Glen, Glenreagh, Toormina, Sawtell, Boambee, Bonville, Repton, Mylestom, Urunga, Raleigh, Bellingen.

If you live in or are passing through the Coffs Harbour area you can purchase our products from our fantastic retailers to see your nearest stockist please click here.

 

Retailers – our honey is ready to go straight on your shelf.

Interested in becoming a stockist of our honey? Learn more here

Want to know more? 

Contact us anytime.

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