Arapaoa Island · Marlborough Sounds · New Zealand
Every tour walks the same farm with the same family. What changes is how long you stay, how deep you go, and how you arrive.
The introduction to pāua pearls, made for families, first-time visitors and anyone curious. Relaxed and personal, more like visiting friends than joining a tour.
An unhurried version with behind-the-scenes access. For people who would rather take their time than tick something off.
If you're cruising the Sounds in your own boat, book direct with us instead of through Beachcomber. Your group only, at a time that suits your arrival.
How booking works. Foundation and Luxury tours are booked together with your water transfer through Beachcomber Cruises, who bring you across from Picton. The Private Tour is booked here with us, because you are bringing your own boat.
Guided experiences
Thirty years of pāua farming, condensed into an afternoon on the island.
Arrive by water
Around 45 minutes across the Sounds from Picton, past the salmon and mussel farms. Or tie up at our mooring if you're on your own boat.
Walk the seawater farm
Live pāua in raceways fed by flowing ocean water, including the tipper bucket wave system.
See the pearls graded
Watch pearls assessed for lustre, orient, colour and surface, the same way every Arapawa pearl is judged before it's set.
Tea, then the collection
Antonia's home baking, cooked pāua, and time to look through the farm collection with no pressure to buy.
There are no roads here. Every arrival is by water or air, and we will help you sort it when you book.
Beachcomber Cruises, A 17-metre yacht with skipper and crew, for arriving properly.
Pāua is the New Zealand abalone, a sea snail of the Haliotis family, known for a shell that shifts through blue, green and violet. It is found nowhere else in the world, and it makes one of the rarest gems there is.
Wild stocks are carefully managed and some populations remain under pressure. Our farm is land-based, with ocean water flowing through the tanks, and it feeds a reseeding project that has been running close to twenty years.
Tours run by booking. Twelve guests at most, so the island never feels busy.
From left to right: The Mailboat, Picton Water Taxi, and the Lady Ann Luxury Yacht.
Video of a trip to our pāua pearl tour farm with the Lady Ann Yacht.
Scenic views of the Marlborough Sounds and Arapaoa Island.
Video of a trip to our Pāua Pearl Tour Farm with Helicopter Nelson
