Nelson Mandela Bay swimmer Kyle Main plans to do two more scenic swims along the Garden Route coastline after completing a trip down the Storms River Gorge at the weekend.
Main, 38, tackled the swim, which was about 1.8km in each direction, by starting at the beach at about 9.30am and making his way into the calmer waters of the gorge where he took in some of the beautiful surroundings before returning to the start point.
He was accompanied on his swim by support paddlers Richard von Wildemann and George Efstratiou, while Nicolas Christy was in charge of photography.
Main said all had gone according to plan on the day as the light drizzle and mist cleared before the start.
“It’s quite an interesting swim. You start on the beach, swimming along the coastline in the sea and then you go through the mouth before entering the gorge.
“So you are going from quite choppy water into really smooth, fresh water, so it was really interesting.
“Turning and coming back was pretty much the same.
“There is always water moving and in all directions, but it is only really the path you swim along the coast that is really choppy,” he said.
Main said the swim took him about 44 minutes to complete, and the pace was a lot faster than that of his longer swims.
“I was very happy with the pace I kept.
“It was obviously a lot shorter than what I am used to, so the pace was a lot faster than in my longer swims.
“We had some guys who accompanied us during the swim as well, so it was quite an adventure.
“Looking at the distance, the intention was always to finish inside an hour.
“Where I was swimming was just incredible, so I tried to take in the surroundings as well and not focus solely on the swim.
“It was an experience I will not forget,” he said.
With this first swim for the year now out of the way, Main has already chosen his next two swim destinations with the Klein Brak and then Stilbaai on the cards later in the year.
“I would probably be looking at Easter time, about April, for the Klein Brak swim, with a date for the Stilbaai swim to be made thereafter,” he said.
Main said none of the upcoming swims would exceed 10km in distance.
He also said there was the possibility of a longer swim in the Bay as well as an outing in Langebaan later this year, but that was still in the planning phase.
Despite the tough year experienced by all, he still hopes to complete a swim in Zanzibar, similar to the one he did in Mauritius in December 2019, where he covered nearly 50km from Flic Flac Beach to Bel Ombre in the south of the island.
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