Sounds Experience

The Pelorus/Te Hoiere Sounds Experience

Come join us as we explore the watery wonders of the Pelorus/Te Hoiere Sounds: a unique opportunity to discover the scenic waterways and learn about the area’s colourful history and distinctive natural features, and to see how and why people choose to live and work in the Sounds today.

Jump onboard the Pelorus Mail Boat, the community lifeline that has been running mail, people and goods out to the far flung reaches of the Sounds for over 103 years. The friendly and fun local crew will provide an entertaining and informative history of the area before and after European settlement.

Our first stop is at beautiful Jacob’s Bay, where we invite you on a scenic 45-minute walk through native bush with abundant ferns. With beautiful views of stony coves and the mountains across the water, this is a truly peaceful encounter, and not to be missed.

From here we will visit the fabulous Foote family, who have been tending Wilson Bay Farm since 1881. Visit the historic woolshed and hear about the joys and challenges of farming in such a remote location. Back on the boat you will enjoy a lovely packed lunch as we venture out through a mussel farm to see how New Zealand greenshell mussels are grown. These little gems lie inconspicuously under barrel-like floats and are harvested using a series of buoys and ropes.

The final leg sees us arriving at Hopai Farm. Extending over several hectares, this hidden jewel of a garden in the outer Sounds is nestled into the hillside, meandering around old sheep tracks, through regenerating natives and down to the sea. Treasures from the farm, forest and foreshore are scattered throughout the garden, with its roses, rhododendrons, ferns and orchids thriving in the high-rainfall, low-fertility clay soils in an almost sub-tropical climate. This is a unique and evolving Sounds garden, where the chief gardener admits that the farm always comes first, but that the garden is at its very heart.

Enjoy a glass of Rapaura Springs wines while you take in this captivating garden.

Places on this tour are strictly limited, so don’t miss the chance to see the ‘true’ Sounds, much of which has changed little over more than 150 years.