Sundry Swims In The South Island

I managed to have a few more swims along the way as we looked around the South Island of New Zealand. Here are three spots I particularly enjoyed.

Lake Wakatipu

We stayed at the Lakefront Youth Hostel in Queenstown, with great views over the water to the mountains, including The Remarkables with fresh snowfalls. In the afternoons, I used to walk across to the lake shore and have a (quick) swim in the cold, clear, incredibly blue water. It was hearty stuff, and I didn't stay in too long, but I loved it all the same. I tried to discover the lake temperature online, but could only find two sites that gave me the annual temperature range. One reported it to be between 8 degrees in the winter and 11 degrees in the summer; the other site was more generous with the summer temperature, giving the range as being between 8 and 13 degrees.

Cleddau River

Even more chilly was this fast flowing river at the back of the Milford Sound Backpackers Lodge in Fiordland. I found a backwater to have a safe dip, and took the photo from there. I'm disappointed that I couldn't capture the incredible milky blue colour of the water.

Bob's Bay

The water at the Marlborough Sounds felt positively warm by comparison with other swims, though we were told it was sixteen or seventeen degrees - winter temperatures by Sydney standards. The water was gorgeous though, and I swam for as long as I possibly could. It was a great walk along a cliff path to Bob's Bay, and I was ready for a swim by the time we got there.

St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool

Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand

In contrast to some of the other wilder swimming spots in New Zealand, was this 25 metres long pool at St Clair Beach in Dunedin. It's very much like the sea baths in Sydney but the water is heated to 28 degrees C. This was particularly welcome because the air temperature was a cool 14 degrees, and the sea temperature was 13 degrees.

We swam length after length here, enjoying the hot saltwater, stopping every so often to look out over the sea wall at the surf breaking onto the beach.

Resolution Bay

Marlborough Sounds, South Island, New Zealand

Another of my favourite places to swim while in New Zealand was in Resolution Bay on Queen Charlotte Sound in the South Island. We spent a couple of days walking two sections of the Queen Charlotte Track from Ship Cove to Endeavour Inlet (a mere 15km of the whole 71km track). It's a great walk through thick coastal forest and along ridge lines with incredible views of the Sounds.

We stayed a couple of nights at Resolution Bay in a wonderful cabin. They had their own wharf from where you could jump or dive into cool, clear, blue water.

I couldn't stay out of the water and went for several swims both in the sun and, later, in the rain. The saltwater was cool (the locals reckonned 16 or 17 degrees C, which felt about right), but, it was so wonderful, I stayed in for as long as I could. The cabin had a hot shower which was really welcome after I came out shivering uncontrollably.

It was lots of fun acting like a kid and throwing myself off the wharf, but it was also great to swim out to deep water. It was so still and clear that I could see the bottom, but couldn't possibly duck dive to the bottom (I kept trying).

It was also lots of fun swimming across the bay to a couple of the pebbly beaches, sitting in the sun, then swimming back to the wharf.

We took some sea kayaks out to explore the bay and some of the coves around this part of the Sounds, and were constantly amazed at how clear and how blue the water was.

Lake Marian

Fiordland, South Island, New Zealand

Just been over in New Zealand for a couple of weeks, touring, walking and managing to have the occasional swim. One of my favourite swims was in Lake Marian. It's in a gorgeous setting in a glacially-formed, hanging valley surrounded by the Darren Mountains.

We had a three hour walk to get there and back. The track crossed the Hollyford River on a swing-bridge, followed Marian Creek past an incredible series of waterfalls, then made a steep ascent through thick silver beech rainforest until it reached the perched valley above the tree line. Lake Marian was very full from snow melt, and the track, which circuits the lake, was under water.

The water was clear and blue and very, very cold. I swam for a maximum of five minutes, including a duck dive that made my head ache.