Lake Burley Griffin is not considered a swimming spot by many. This swimmer hopes to change that perception

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Not every resident of the bush capital would be keen to take a dip in Lake Burley Griffin. But a small and passionate community of Canberrans believe it's the best place for a swim.

Transcript

00:00Obviously, it's a bit murkier than you would find in a pool.

00:07Some days it actually can be rather clear.

00:09Well, you can see where your hand is, let's say you can see that far.

00:13In terms of passion, yes, it's really fun, particularly going out into the lake, hardly

00:18anyone there.

00:19It's just calming.

00:20It's nice.

00:21I usually wear a wetsuit, but that's more for some protection than anything else.

00:27Obviously, the first thing is getting used to not seeing as clearly.

00:32When you then have to do a 5k, you sort of have to get used to it, but yeah, it doesn't

00:37take too much practice.

00:38Well, Joe's from quite a few events, Open Water, he started quite young, I suppose.

00:44First big event was the Open Water Nationals in Perth in 2015, and he's from the Penrith

00:52Regatta quite a few times in the New South Wales Open Water and South West Metro Open

00:59Water.

01:00If you turn up and you see some algae, you sort of decide then whether it's worth going

01:05in here or whether it's worth just trying a different location.

01:09Some points can be closed off fairly frequently, but a lot of the time there are other spots

01:14that are open and it's safe, so long as you're actually hitting the signs and you're not

01:22actively trying to run into windsurfers or rowers, it's fine.

01:30They're more dangerous than anything else in the lake.

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