Tash Couzner, centre, with the first group to take the cold dip. Mid Winter Solstice Swim, Lake Karapiro
Mid Winter Solstice Swim, Lake Karapiro
Thirty people braved reasonably mild conditions at Lake Karāpiro on Sunday for the fourth annual winter solstice swim.
“Once you get numb, you can’t feel it (the cold water) anymore,” said organiser Tash Couzner, an Australian who has moved to New Zealand and loves the country.
She started the event in 2019 after moving from Adelaide.
Leamington Rugby Sports Club members joined in, albeit some minutes late due to a misunderstanding around the start time.
Cambridge mother of two Kay Appleyard saw details of the swim in The News, woke up on Sunday morning and said she thought “what the hell”.
Her husband and children were there to see her take the plunge.
While the men seemed reluctant to stay long in the water, most of the women stayed in for nearly 10 minutes.
“The key is to get in and stay in,” shouted one of them.
Leamington Rugby Sports Club braved the cold. Pictured, back, from left, Aoke McKinnon, Walter Ormsby, Bart Cowan, Karl Booth, Lyle Walker, Steven Foreman, Brendan McVeigh, Monty Maxwell, Angelo Paraha, Jacob Maxwell. Front: Danny Gardner, Leiofi Lega. Mid Winter Solstice Swim, Lake Karapiro
