Go inland to find freshwater swims to beat the heat
This summer, go inland for a change. Explore Tasmania’s most refreshing freshwater swims, from secluded waterholes to alpine lakes framed by wilderness.
When summer hits in Tasmania, thoughts inevitably turn to the briny pleasures of surf, sand and ocean swims. We scamper to the edges of the state – be it the beach-lined East Coast, Bridport, Boat Harbour Beach or any other strand of personal choice – and yet some of Tasmania’s most refreshing swims are found inland.
This is a state sprinkled with thousands of lakes and veined with mighty rivers and plunging waterfalls, where summer swims can come without the salty crust and the feeling of being crumbed, schnitzel-like, in sand.
This summer, think fresh. Find a waterhole, a lake or a stretch of river and dive into a cool new world of water.
Credit: Sarajayne Lada
Apsley Gorge and Waterhole
The East Coast might naturally generate images of sandy beaches, but one of its best swimming spots is tucked immediately behind the more famous and popular beaches of Bicheno.
The centrepiece of Douglas-Apsley National Park, Apsley Gorge offers multiple swimming options. At its mouth, an easy stroll from the car park, Apsley Waterhole might easily tempt you to venture no further, so inviting are its clear waters.
But cross the stream as it flows out of the waterhole and set out on the Apsley Gorge trail – one of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks – and you’ll cross a ridge and descend into the boulder-choked gorge far upstream from the waterhole.
The gorge is peppered with swimholes, including one at the base of a small waterfall just a few metres downstream from where you arrive into the gorge. The walk back through the gorge is as fun as the swims – a dexterous rock hop through the sort of gorge beauty that once had my daughter, young and blind to the concept of national parks, convinced she’d found the place she wanted to live, primarily for the swims.
By the time you exit the gorge beside Apsley Waterhole once more, you’ll have walked around 7km. Time for another swim, right?
Credit: Pete Harmsen
North West Bay River
Propose a splash at a Longley waterhole and most people are going to think you mean a session at the pub, but just 400m from the Longley International Hotel there’s a waterhole of a very different flavour.
From the waterhole’s signposted car park beside Longley Recreation Reserve, it’s a walk of just a few metres to the small but cool pool where North West Bay River briefly deepens and widens. The bed in the gin-clear pool is a mosaic of river stones, and it’s usually shallow enough to stand in, so while you won’t be swimming laps, it’ll well and truly take the sting out of a summer day.
As the river flows on, more pools await downstream. From Sandfly Oval, just a five-minute drive away, the Sandfly Reserve Nature Trail descends through native bush to a cliff-lined bend in the river. The pools beneath the cliffs are deeper and more numerous than at Longley, but also demand a little more effort, being a 1km walk from the oval.
Pick a pool and brace yourself – they’re as cold as an ice-cream headache, but they’re like a tiny piece of wilderness barely beyond the city.
Credit: Stu Gibson
Cataract Gorge
In Launceston, it takes even less distance to find a freshwater swim in nature. For most of the year, the First Basin Pool lies in quiet, empty wait, but come summer it forms a striking blue scene amid the green lawns of First Basin, with the world’s longest single-span chairlift – the Gorge Chairlift – whirring slowly past overhead. It’s an especially good swim stop for families, with lifeguards on duty daily during the summer school holidays and on weekends through the rest of the pool's summer season.
You can earn your swim by walking to the pool from the city, passing beneath Kings Bridge and along your choice of two trails inside the gorge. Cataract Walk, along the gorge’s north bank, is the easier, flatter approach, while the tougher Zig Zag Track atop the cliffs on the south bank is going to generate more urgent thoughts of that swim ahead.
If you prefer a natural freshener, brace yourself for the chilly waters of the South Esk River as it barges through the gorge a few steps below the pool.
Before you dive in
Freshwater swims can be chilly and unpredictable. Keep it safe and simple with a little prep:
Check the depth before you jump in and avoid fast-moving water.
Wear sturdy shoes for rocky riverbeds or uneven entries.
Pack insect repellent and sunscreen; shade can be patchy.
Bring a warm layer for after your swim.
Leave no trace; take your rubbish and memories only.
Lake Pedder
Lake Pedder’s glory days as a rare mountain beach destination might have ended when its famously pink sands were submerged when the lake was dammed in 1972, but on a warm summer day, its waters still tempt.
The best place to access the lake as a swimmer is Teds Beach, 3km before Strathgordon on the Gordon River Road. Home to a campground and boat ramp, it’s a small beach with easy access into the lake, its water cooled by the dark tannins that prevent the sun penetrating far below its surface. The lake is lined with small quartzite beaches, whether sandy or stony, and one of the best collections of freshwater swims I ever had in Tasmania was while kayaking on the lake during a short summer heatwave, pulling ashore at tiny beaches for gloriously remote dips.
Credit: Blake Lisk
Lake Windermere
There’s no swim quite like a well-earned swim, and they come little more deserved than along the Overland Track. The week-long hike might be primarily about mountains, but by day’s end in a hot summer spell, it’s the rivers and lakes that offer most appeal.
Prime among them, typically at the end of the second hiking day, is Lake Windermere, with the track skirting its western shore as it straggles into Windermere Hut. With two days of sweat up, hikers habitually take to its waters, so much so that there’s a tale of a logbook existing on the lake’s island – we’ll leave you to find out if it’s true.
Windermere isn’t the last dip you might be tempted into along Tassie’s top mountain trail. For instance, a day’s walk on, behind Old Pelion Hut, there’s a deep pool in Douglas Creek at the foot of an old mine, while a celebratory dunk is often in order at Lake St Clair at the walk’s finish by Narcissus Hut.