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Laboratory and field experiments examining the burrowing behaviour of the estuarine infaunal bivalve Paphies australis (Bivalvia: Mesodesmatidae) were conducted in two areas of northeastern New Zealand. Field experiments examining reburial showed that when exposed on the sediment surface most P. australis were able to bury within 40 min. Slightly fewer pipi buried during high‐tide trials than during mid‐tide trials. Laboratory experiments established the ability of P. australis of various sizes to burrow up to the sediment surface after being inundated with sediment to a depth of up to 40 cm. P. australis buried under 10 cm of sediment burrowed to the surface at a slower mean rate than those buried under lesser depths of sediment, and variability in ascension rates increased with increasing burial depth. P. australis with an initial upright orientation burrowed and ascended at a greater rate than P. australis placed laterally or inverted. Though capable of ascending through as much as 50 cm of sand in lab...