While most people spent the shortest day of the year searching for extra layers, about 20 swimmers at Lake Rotoiti were shedding theirs for the annual Blue Duck Midwinter Swim.
The group travelled from across the region on Sunday to take part in the nude plunge, a tradition that has been running for more than 20 years.
As midday approached, swimmers gathered at the jetty. Some arrived naked, while others held onto their clothes for as long as possible.
Then, at noon, off they came.
“Some waded in, others jumped or dived off the jetty. It got a bit noisy,” organiser Bill McEwan says.
Despite the date on the calendar suggesting otherwise, Bill says the conditions were surprisingly friendly.
“It was very calm, not particularly cold, with light rain on and off. The weather was very kind to us.”
Bill says that the event began in 2002 after a midwinter Christmas party between a handful of Department of Conservation rangers.
More than two decades later, it still attracts a core group of regulars, along with newcomers keen to see what all the fuss is about.
Describing himself as a “lifelong nude midwinter plunger”, Bill says part of the appeal is spending time with other people who are a bit “weird and wild”.
He says, for many, the attraction is not just the swim itself but the shared experience and connection of doing something “counterintuitive and unusual”.
And while jumping naked into an alpine lake might not sound like everyone's idea of a good time, Bill says the experience is far more enjoyable than you’d expect.
“It was a surprisingly pleasurable experience. There was nothing harsh about it.”
After the swim, the group gathered around a fire bowl on the lake’s edge to warm up with hot drinks and food.
