Last updated October 2026
Pepin Island is a privately owned tied island in Nelson City, joined to the mainland at Cable Bay by a natural boulder causeway. It sits on the north-east edge of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, with Delaware Bay to the east and Rotokura/Cable Bay at the landward end of the crossing.
The island is a working farm of rolling hills, native bush and a rocky coast, not a residential suburb with shops and streets. People who stay there drive across from Cable Bay; there is no ferry.
Because the land is private, it is not a public park and it is not a place to explore without a booking or an invitation.
Official Locality Facts
- Land area
- 5.45 km²
- Location
- 17.8 km north-east of central Nelson
- Council
- Nelson City Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Cable Bay
- Getting there
- By car via Cable Bay Road and the causeway from Cable Bay, about 20 minutes from Nelson city. Visitor address: 875 Cable Bay Road, Nelson 7071. No public ferry, and no verified bus service onto the island.
- Nearby landmarks
- Rotokura/Cable Bay, Delaware Bay, Stuart Hill, Horoirangi Marine Reserve, Cable Bay Walkway
About Pepin Island
Pepin Island is private land. It is not a council reserve, and there is no general right to walk, swim or drive around it. Visitor access is through booked stays with the operators.
The island is about 3.5 kilometres long and up to 2.1 kilometres wide. Its highest point is Stuart Hill, which rises to 401 metres. Hills drop to cliffs, a rocky shore and small beaches.
Delaware Bay lies to the east, and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere opens to the west and south. A naturally formed causeway of boulders, later shaped by the sea, ties the island to the mainland, with Cable Bay on one side and a tidal estuary on the other.
As a place to be, it is quiet hill country rather than a neighbourhood. Sheep and cattle graze the paddocks. Native plantings, bush and a farmed coast sit alongside a small accommodation business of houses and huts.
Guests can walk on the property, use private beaches and look back toward Nelson and the bay, then drive back to town the same day if they wish.
It is not somewhere to plan a move in the way you would a city suburb. There is no shopping strip, no school and no public street network on the island.
Day-to-day services are back in Nelson. The appeal, for the few people who stay or work here, is a coastal farm that is still only a short drive from the city.
History and Heritage
From the 1820s, Ngāti Tama and other iwi came south into Te Tau Ihu and took Wakapuaka in north Nelson.
Nelson iwi historian John Mitchell has said Ngāti Tama took Pepin Island, and that part of it was once the pā of the Ngāti Tama chief Te Pūoho ki te Rangi. He has also described a later link through Huria Matenga, who gained ownership by a Native Land Court decree. She and her husband Hemi later sold the island, along with other parts of Wakapuaka. Mitchell places the loss of iwi ownership in about the 1880s.
The island’s English name comes from the French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, who named it for his wife, Adèle Pépin. It was later run as a farm.
In 1996 the German businesswoman Viola von Hohenzollern bought it for $2 million. It was then overgrazed, with wild goats holding back native bush. Tree planting, fencing and pest control followed. In 2011 she and farm manager Andrew Newton received a Nelson Tasman environmental award for that work.
Von Hohenzollern died in 2012 and the island passed to her daughter, Olivia Hallman. Open days in the following years drew large crowds and raised money for the Hira Volunteer Fire Force. The island was later offered for sale. In 2021 it was sold to a New Zealand company.
The buyer’s name and the price were not made public. The selling agent said the new owner intended to keep the farm, keep visitor accommodation, maintain the access that existed then, and look at further environmental areas. Stays are still offered, and the island remains private.
Getting Around
Drive north from Nelson city to Cable Bay, then across the causeway on the island road. The operators describe the trip as about 20 minutes, and no boat is required. There is no verified public bus onto the island, so a private vehicle is the practical way in.
The crossing is a narrow natural causeway, not a wide public highway, and the roads beyond it are farm roads on private land.
Arrange a stay before you go, and do not treat the island as a scenic drive that anyone can join. Once you are booked, hosts can meet guests near the entrance if you would rather not drive the farm tracks yourself.
Getting Outdoors
On the island, people who are staying can walk the hills and coast, including toward Stuart Hill, and use private beaches. Those routes are not a public track network. Farm stock and restoring bush share the land, so follow the hosts’ directions and leave gates as you find them.
For a walk that does not need a booking, the Department of Conservation Cable Bay Walkway runs between Rotokura/Cable Bay and The Glen. It is an easy to intermediate track of about three and a half hours one way, open year round, with extra care in lambing from early August to early October. Dogs are not allowed. The track has wide views over this coast and toward the island.
Horoirangi Marine Reserve lies along the same shoreline, from near The Glen toward the southern headland of Cable Bay. You cannot walk into the reserve from Cable Bay, but kayaks and small boats can launch from Cable Bay beach toward its northern end. That water is public, and it is separate from the private island.
Near Pepin Island
Just outside Pepin Island, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
RNZ: Nelson and Pepin Island: iwi historian John Mitchell on Ngāti Tama, the pā, Huria Matenga and the causeway.
Department of Conservation: Cable Bay Walkway: times, dog rules and seasonal care for the public coastal walk at Cable Bay.
Department of Conservation: Horoirangi Marine Reserve: where the reserve sits along this coast and how to reach it by boat from Cable Bay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pepin Island part of Nelson?
Yes. It is a locality in Nelson City, north-east of the city at Cable Bay. It is a private island farm, not a built-up suburb.
Can the public visit Pepin Island?
No, not as a public park. The island is private. Stays can be booked with the operators. Do not drive on expecting open walking or beach access.
How do you get to Pepin Island?
By car along Cable Bay Road and across the causeway from Cable Bay. The trip from Nelson city is about 20 minutes. No ferry is needed, and there is no verified bus onto the island.
Who owns Pepin Island?
A New Zealand company bought it in 2021. The buyer’s name was not made public. From 1996 it was owned by Viola von Hohenzollern, then by her daughter, Olivia Hallman.
Why is it called Pepin Island?
Jules Dumont d’Urville named it after his wife, Adèle Pépin. The name is French in origin, not an English family name from the district.
What is the Māori history of the island?
From the 1820s Ngāti Tama and other iwi were in the Wakapuaka area. Part of the island was a pā of Te Pūoho ki te Rangi. Ownership later passed through Huria Matenga and her husband, and left iwi hands around the 1880s.
Are there shops or schools on Pepin Island?
No. There is no retail centre and no school on the island. Supplies, services and schooling are back in Nelson.
Can you walk up Stuart Hill?
Stuart Hill, at 401 metres, is the highest point, but the tracks are on private land and are for people staying on the island. For a public coastal walk, use the Cable Bay Walkway between Cable Bay and The Glen.
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Explore Nelson only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Pepin Island is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.