Elaine Bay is a small, pretty bay accessed from the road to French Pass, 42 km and a 1-hour drive from State Highway 6. It is at the north end of Tennyson Inlet, which connects to Tahiti Reach and then Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere in the Marlborough Sounds.
A pretty beach and DOC campsite are on the water's edge. The beach in Elaine Bay is mostly stony but is still popular for swimming and kayaking, with access to the water from wharves and a swimming platform. The local aquaculture business, Elaine Bay Aquaculture (greenlipped mussels), provides these. The bay is particularly rich in wild fish, which adds to its popularity with boaters.
There are also two walking tracks. The easy 45-minute Piwakawaka Track goes north to the next bay with a golden sand beach with no apparent formal name. The Archer Track starts at the bay's east end and follows Tennyson Inlet's coastline for 2 hours to Penzance Bay. The first section of the track goes through an exotic pine forest around Red Point, which changes to a native forest for most of the walk. Penzance Bay is also accessible from State Highway 6 via Opouri Road.
