**The swimmers complete their final leg of their around-the-lake swim. From left: Andrew Scurr, Jared Seymour, Carol Prop, and Paul Ritchie. Photo: Supplied**

A group of swimmers has completed a three-year mission to swim around the entire perimeter of Lake Taupō.

By Dan Hutchinson

The four swimmers - Andrew Scurr, Carol Prop, Paul Ritchie and Jared Seymour – have swum about 160km across 16 separate swims.

The challenge began in December 2022 when they decided to break the lake's circumference into manageable chunks of about 10km each.

Andrew says the group was inspired by local swimmer Peter Cook, who had previously completed an unsupported solo swim around the lake.

"We're not that sort of swimmer, so we just pieced it together as to what we could manage in a supported measure.

**Andrew and Carol celebrate after finishing their odyssey.**

He says a good support group of fellow Taupō Masters Swimmers members, friends, family and water taxis were key, as they needed to be picked up and dropped off at the right place each swim.

The group completed the circuit over three summers, fitting the swims around work commitments and other sporting events.

Carol was the only swimmer who completed every scheduled swim on its designated day.

The other three completed every leg of the journey but had to occasionally come back and do a leg separately from the group because of other commitments on the scheduled day.

The journey began at the Scout Den on the Taupō township lakefront, swimming around to Waitahanui, then continuing to Hatepe.

From there, they tackled sections with no road access, swimming from point to point around Mission Bay, Stump Bay, and into the Tūrangi end of the lake.

One of the most challenging swims was in mid-March on their first summer, when they attempted to swim from Tūrangi to Whareroa.

Despite good water conditions, frost on the ground and cold air temperatures created difficult conditions.

"The water temperature was fine, but the air temperature never warmed up, so we started to shiver uncontrollably. We decided we wouldn't swim the 10 or 11km to Whareroa."

The Western Bays provided some of the most memorable swimming experiences during the second summer and they used a water taxi service out of Kinloch to access the remote areas.

"You have to take a boat out there, so you've got the trip across the lake and then just the stunning nature of the Western Bays was spectacular. You've got those very high cliffs."

The Western Bays revealed hidden gems.

**Other members of Taupō Masters Swimmers join in on one of the Western Bays legs.**

"You're swimming into these surprising spots, like you hear about things like Cherry Bay, but until you actually go there, it's like, wow, this is just a really beautiful, secluded little bay that you just weren't anticipating as you swim around.”

One striking section took the swimmers from Cherry Bay to Waihaha, where there are dramatic cliff formations.

"There's a section of cliff there that's not high above the water level like Karangahape [Cliffs], but it's just sheer. You look up and it's straight up and you look down into the water and it's just straight down as far as the visibility allows."

The swimmers generally stayed within 200 metres of the shoreline, often swimming within 50 metres of the shore.

Although the lake circumference is 193km, if you were to trace exactly around the shoreline, their route totaled about 160km due to cutting across some of the smaller bays. That is about the same distance as the around the lake Cycle Challenge.

The only significant shortcut involved swimming directly from the Tongariro delta to the old Tūrangi wharf, avoiding the weedy waters near the hydro plant's tail race.

The group approached the challenge as an experience rather than a race, stopping at three or four-kilometre intervals for food breaks, and using tow floats containing snacks.

"We weren't racing on these swims. We were enjoying the swim and the scenery. You'd stop and fuel and have a chat and take photos and carry on."

The swimmers wore wetsuits and used safety equipment including the tow floats for visibility. Weather conditions played a role in scheduling, with the group choosing good days rather than attempting to meet rigid deadlines.

Scurr has been swimming in Lake Taupo for about 15 years and is part of a group that swims year-round every Sunday.

The swimmers will be back in action this weekend for the Lake Taupō Rotary Across the lake Swim.