Lake Taupo swims

Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. The long axis of the lake (NE / SW) was first swum by Margaret Sweeney in 1955. A slightly longer route, 40.2 km between Taupo and Little Waihi, was subsequently established as the canonical lengthwise route. Philip Rush and Sandra Blewett are the only swimmers to complete two-way lengthwise crossings (80.4 km).

An unofficial list of Lake Taupo swims is maintained by Anna Marshall - see FortyPointTwo. Lake Taupo is one leg of the New Zealand Triple Crown.

Lake Taupo route
Route Swims First Fastest
Little Waihi to Taupo 50 Philip Rush - 1985 Philip Rush - 10:14:58 (1985)
Taupo to Little Waihi 4 Jason Papps - 2008 Eliza Cummings - 11:49:49 (2019)
Taupo-Waihi-Taupo 4 Philip Rush - 1985 Philip Rush - 23:05:00 (1985)

Length

Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
1955 NA NA Margaret Sweeney Female Stump Bay to Taupo 35 13:29:00
1977 Jan NA Patrick Cox Male Lake Taupo: S-N 12:54:00
1977 NA NA Bill Rout Male Lake Taupo: S-N 11:31:00
1978 Feb 25 Chris Hurdley Male 29-30 Stump Bay to Taupo 35 10:47:00
1978 Feb 25 John Coutts Male 21-22 Stump Bay to Taupo 35 10:47:00
1978 Feb 25 Pat Benson Male 21-22 Stump Bay to Taupo 35 10:47:00
1978 Feb 25 Sandra Blewett Female 27-28 Stump Bay to Taupo 35 10:47:00
1980 Feb 16 Mohamed El Messery Male 20-21 Lake Taupo: S-N 12:43:00
1980 Feb 16 Philip Rush Male 16 Lake Taupo: S-N 12:52:00
1980 Feb 16 John Coutts Male 22-23 Lake Taupo: S-N 12:55:00
1980 Feb 16 Carolyn Wordsworth Female 16-17 Lake Taupo: S-N 14:08:00
1980 Feb 16 Rhonda Smidt Female 16-17 Lake Taupo: S-N 15:18:00
1980 Mar NA Belinda Shields Female Lake Taupo: S-N 15:58:00
1981 NA NA John Coutts Male Lake Taupo: N-S 11:39:00
1983 Feb 12 Sheryl McLay Female 22 Lake Taupo: S-N 11:58:00
1984 Feb NA Michael Quinlivan Male Lake Taupo: S-N NA:NA:00
1984 NA NA Karen Bisley Female Stump Bay to Taupo 35 10:40:00
1985 Jan 14 Philip Rush Male 21 Taupo-Waihi-Taupo 80.4 23:05:00
1985 Mar 10 Philip Rush Male 21 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 10:14:58
1986 Feb 27 Sandra Blewett Female 35-36 Taupo-Waihi-Taupo 80.4 33:21:00
1987 Jan 14 Ingrid Greenslade Female 14-15 Lake Taupo: S-N 11:52:00
1988 Mar 20 Stephen Rainbow Male Lake Taupo: S-N 11:42:00
1990 Mar 15 Kaine Thompson Male Lake Taupo: S-N 11:13:58
2002 Feb 8 Trish Coley Female Lake Taupo: S-N 18:39:51
2002 Feb 9 Corry Decker Female Lake Taupo: S-N 13:19:25
2007 Jan NA Blain Cox Male Stump Bay to Taupo 35 16:01:00
2008 Feb 24 Jason Papps Male 28 Taupo to Little Waihi 40.2 12:38:10
2008 Mar 11 Anna Marshall Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 11:26:58
2009 Mar NA Ben Campbell-MacDonald Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 11:45:00
2010 Apr 2 Stephanie Bennington Female 16 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 11:54:00
2011 Mar 2 Pam Dickson Female 56 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:54:00
2013 Feb 25 Casey Glover Male 26 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 10:52:48
2014 Feb 16 Katrina Price Female 40 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:45:46
2015 Feb 22 Simon Olliver Male 50 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:50:00
2015 Mar 21 Heather Osborne Female 51-52 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:37:45
2016 Feb 8 Holly Cassin Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:51:15
2016 Feb 22 Mike Cochrane Male 34 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:29:53
2017 Feb 15 Kim Sherwen Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 12:31:00
2017 Feb 26 Samuel Muir-James Male 31 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:58:03
2017 Dec 22 Chloe Harris Female 24-25 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:49:00
2018 Jan 20 Hannah Drury Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:19:00
2018 Jan 30 Gabrielle Gunn Female 61 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 16:31:00
2018 Feb 4 Alice Sagar Female 37-38 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 12:35:00
2018 Feb 15 Hayley Underwood Female 43-44 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:13:00
2018 Feb 18 Angela Moir Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:38:08
2018 Mar 6 Vicky Tate Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:04:00
2019 Feb 4 Helen Conway Female 42-43 Taupo to Little Waihi 40.2 14:43:00
2019 Feb 9 Steve McKain Male 49 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:00:53
2019 Feb 14 Caitlin O'Reilly Female 14 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:27:00
2019 Feb 19 Andrew Powell Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 16:30:00
2019 Feb 27 Bronwyn Copeland Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 11:59:05
2019 Mar 6 Jacquelyn Schirmer Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:18:00
2019 Mar 12 David Edgar Male 46-47 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:59:00
2019 Mar 19 Eliza Cummings Female 23-24 Taupo to Little Waihi 40.2 11:49:49
2020 Jan 17 Royce Evans Male 33-34 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:10:55
2020 Jan 27 Breanna Ward Female 22 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:09:03
2020 Jan 27 Rebecca Hollingsworth Female 31 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:09:03
2020 Feb 11 Tom Cunningham Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:12:48
2020 Feb 29 Jonathan Ridler Male 30 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 12:22:22
2020 Mar 3 Peter Cosseboom Male 54 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:08:53
2020 Mar 8 Susan Sherwen Female 58-59 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:40:00
2021 Jan 27 Quinn Boyle Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:46:11
2021 Feb 1 Jeremy White Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:31:16
2021 Feb 13 Neven Fisher Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:05:32
2021 Feb 27 Paul Feltoe Male 46-47 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 12:45:00
2021 Mar 14 John Hancock Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:05:05
2021 Apr 1 Grainne Moss Gunn Female 51 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:49:19
2021 Apr 23 Liana Smith Female 23-24 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 12:29:11
2022 Jan 22 Victoria Pinarello Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 18:23:18
2022 Jan 29 Brian Gray Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:51:16
2022 Feb 15 Dean Thomson Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 16:01:15
2022 Feb 20 Joe Zemaitis Male 41 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:45:10
2022 Feb 20 John Zemaitis Male 38 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:45:10
2022 Mar 1 Claire Hobson Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:22:54
2022 Mar 6 Caitlin O'Reilly Female 17 Taupo-Waihi-Taupo 80.4 28:02:04
2022 Apr 1 Rebecca Hollingsworth Female 33 Taupo-Waihi-Taupo 80.4 27:48:46
2023 Feb 4 Mark Sheridan Male 48-49 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 14:46:59
2023 Feb 19 Andrey Bozhko Male 36 Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 13:19:55
2023 Mar 3 Mike Howard Male Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 16:29:59
2023 Mar 4 Adriana Milne Female Little Waihi to Taupo 40.2 15:45:27
2023 Mar 6 Jan Harm Steenkamp Male Taupo to Little Waihi 40.2 14:02:03

Other Routes

Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
2019 Jan 27 Mike Cochrane Male 37 Te Papa Bay to Waitahanui 30.1 10:48:00
2019 Jan 27 Alice Sagar Female 38-39 Te Papa Bay to Waitahanui 30.1 10:48:00
2022 Apr 1 Tate Pichon Male Te Papa Bay to Waitahanui 30.1 10:32:00
2022 Apr 1 Josh Vegar Male Te Papa Bay to Waitahanui 30.1 10:49:44

Reviews

Reviewer: Caitlin O'Reilly (March 2024)
Swam in 2021 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Phillip Rush
Fees: NA
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️

Association: NZ Marathon Swimming Federation
Fees: NA
Communication ★️★️★️★️✩️
Advice & Support: ★️★️★️★️✩️
Value: ★️★️★️★️✩️

Reviewer: Gráinne Moss (August 2023)
Swam in 2021 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Philip Rush
Fees: NA
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Expert, can read a swimmer so well. Boat well set up for swimmers- designed for them. Lots of back up supplies for on boat."

Association: NZ Marathon Swimming Federation
Fees: NA
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Advice & Support: ★️★️★️★️★️
Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Nicely updated website."

General Comments: "It’s a wonderful swim! Amazing lake - scenery - very special - part of NZ Triple Crown"

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