Swimming Otago Harbour – Dunedin
Our good friend at The OSW, Francois Lambrechts, provides an insight on the burgeoning open water swim scene in Dunedin New Zealand.
My family relocated to Dunedin in January 2023, so it was important to find a swimming community before we moved. I had been swimming with the Southern Lakes Swimming Club in Queenstown since the start of my open water swimming journey in October 2019. Open water swimming has become a big part of my life and well-being. I was incredibly happy to find the Sunday Swim Squad online and joined them for my first swim in the Otago Harbour at Macandrew Bay in October 2022.
It is a beautiful drive to Macandrew Bay, a suburb of Dunedin on the Otago Peninsula. The public park's small, man-made beach and landscaped areas were completed in the late seventies. I felt anxious going for my first saltwater swim with the Sunday Swim Squad. Chris and Dean, the founding members were welcoming. Lee, my good friend from Queenstown, who at the time lived in Dunedin, also joined us. I experienced a panic attack as we headed out, feeling claustrophobic due to the lack of visibility. I stopped and wanted to turn around but saw Lee keep going. I knew I would never hear the end if I got out. I kept going and after a while started to relax and enjoy the swim.
The Sunday Swim Squad swims for six months of the year, mid-October to mid-April. Sunday mornings usually at Macandrew Bay and Wednesday afternoons at Vauxhall. The group swims to the nearest marker, with Chris or Dean setting the route. The squad goes into hibernation during the cooler months, as some believe the water becomes too cold.
Determined to swim through winter to prepare for the International Ice Swimming Association Nationals at Blue Lake in Saint Bathans in July 2023, I was very grateful to Brendan, Tane, and Susan for joining me, which naturally led to the creation of the winter division of the Sunday Swim Squad, named the Frozen SeaDogs. During winter 2023, we regularly swam in water temperatures of 8° degrees Celsius (46.4°F), occasionally dropping to 6°C (42.8°F). We used the Macandrew Bay Boating Club facilities to shower and change, rewarding ourselves with coffee at The Duck or Glenfalloch.
During summer we swim at least two kilometres per outing. Depending on the tide we either swim towards Glenfalloch (ebb or outgoing) or Company Bay (flood or incoming). Close to low tide, the current is at its strongest. We have learned to swim close to shore on the way out, into the current, making use of available eddy currents. On our way back we swim in the channel or on the sandbank. It is a lot of fun. On still days the water close to the side can be clear and I find it interesting watching the subaquatic environment. A substantial portion of the harbour is very shallow with a large sand bank in the middle of which parts are exposed at low tide. On the northwest side we have the main channel, dredged for large ships, and on the southeast the secondary channel, perfect for us to swim in.
I regularly swim over stingrays. The surprise is usually mutual, and the stingrays will take off and disappear. I am a slow swimmer. Once, I was last out of the water at a Wednesday night swim hosted by the Dunedin tri-club in Macandrew Bay. There are usually six such events a year. As I was finishing, the lifeguard paddled back with me saying something I pretended to understand, and I made my way on to the beach. Walking out of the water I realised a large sea lion had cleared the tiny beach of humans! The conversation I pretended to understand in the water then made sense. I have not come across a sea lion in the water yet. That day will come. I am planning not to freak out.
We usually swim at Macandrew Bay but we also swim at Vauxhall or Sawyers Bay on the other side of the estuary - where the water is very shallow and usually clear. Sometimes we swim around Pudding Island. Vauxhall is typically the Wednesday night Sunday Swim Squad venue. I also swim there during the month of June on weekdays preparing for the ice swimming event in July. Pudding Island is the venue for the annual swim in March to launch the Wild Dunedin Festival.
Open water winter swimming in Dunedin is growing. We have seen a five-fold increase compared to last year. I met the Harbour Honeys, (a ‘new’ female swim troupe) in the water. During the colder months Macandrew Bay is also a popular spot for followers of ‘The Hof’ – The Wim Hof Method. Many dippers frequent the cool waters. I often wonder why more people do not utilise this incredible resource. We are quick to spend money on ‘gimmicks’ promising well-being, yet we are fortunate to have this wonderful healing resource right here in Dunedin.
If you live in or travel through Dunedin, please come and join us for a swim or a dip. We would love to share this beautiful place, Dunedin, with you – ‘Castle on the Rock’.
“…the adoption of another [name], infinitely superior and yet equally allied to old Edinburgh. I mean the assumption of the name ‘Dunedin’, which is the ancient Celtic appellation of Edinburgh {Dùn Èideann}, and is now occasionally applied in poetic compositions.”
William Chambers. Oct. 30, 1843
Contact details on Facebook - for the Sunday Swim Squad and through which you can contact Francois.
 | A guest post by
|