March 19 – 23, 2016
There are several sounds that make up the Marlborough Sounds, and branching off these channels of water are numerous “arms,” much like branches along a tree trunk. These arms are much smaller than the “trunk,” and their more narrow scale can make them particularly beautiful.
After a stay in Picton, we went to explore the Grove Arm of Queen Charlotte Sound. While I can’t say it was more beautiful than what we’d already seen (some of those places in the Tory Channel were pretty hard to top), we did find a couple of special places. The first was Mistletoe Bay, with access to the Queen Charlotte Track (post coming). After spending a couple of days there, we ended up in a little bay called Flipper that was enchanting.
After Flipper Bay, we spent some time motoring around other areas of Grove Arm, but after trying and failing to anchor in a place called Waterfall Bay (lots of moorings, a cable to avoid, and a strangely hard bottom), we ended up back in Mistletoe Bay.
We had weather coming and planned to head back to Picton the following afternoon, but we enjoyed the beautiful Peninsula Walk between Mistletoe and Waterfall Bays and were glad we’d returned to see a little more.
Below is a gallery of pictures from Mistletoe Bay, Flipper Bay, and miscellaneous motoring around in the Grove Arm of Queen Charlotte Sound. Click to enlarge and scroll. –Cyndi
