BEHIND a sea of bushes, Rachel DeWit and her family are busy processing Mother Nature's very own sweet treat - blueberries.
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Standing over a white bench Ms DeWit grades the berries - looking for imperfections.
''We are picking out things with marks on them, oddly shape, size, stalks,'' she said.
''It is not an easy job ... you are on your feet all day.''
Ms DeWit and partner Steven Clements began their berry business - Aviemore Blueberries and Cherry Farm - when they bought their Gravelly Beach property in 1998.
Originally, they bought the farm as a place to house their horses but they soon envisaged something on a grander scale. ''We bought it for the land and we thought `oh yes, the fruit - one weekend a month, not a problem' ... then we realised very soon after that we were lucky to get one weekend off a month,'' she said.
''We were both working full-time as well. A couple of years later I suppose we realised that we couldn't work full-time and run this as well so I stopped work.
''I pretty much do the farming in the day and Steve comes home and does the farming at night. We pretty much don't stop.'' With more than 6000 blueberry bushes - varieties include the bluecrop and brigitta - Ms DeWit is in the throes of processing the fruit.
Aviemore is the statewide supplier of blueberries to Woolworths, with the fruit also supplied to greengrocers around Tasmania and exported to the mainland.
The blueberry season began in December and will go through until the middle of February.
''We are first off in the state for blueberries. Everyone comes online about four weeks after we do,'' Ms DeWit said.
''Last week everything still had little red bums on them (the blueberry bushes) ... and then we had that warm weather last week and it brought everything on at once.
''I am very lucky this year that my two little girls (Abby, 11, and Georgia, 9) are able to help out.
''They are learning a lot.''
Ms DeWit is assisted by 15 fruit pickers at the operation, all from different backgrounds.
Last week, pickers filled about 300 buckets a day, Ms DeWit said.
For more information about Aviemore Blueberries and Cherries, call 63944631.
