It began back in 2014 when Swim Safari founder Mat Hawkes first dipped his toe into the world of Open Water Swimming.
It took him a further 4 years to organise a collection of swims worthy of putting Swim Safari’s name to, as well as achieving some personal challenges such as his first marathon open water swim in 2016 and starting up a full-time Open Water Swim Coaching & Teaching brand.
The introduction in 2014 to open water swimming was a somewhat magical moment for Mat. Like an awakening, a homecoming experience he says. The ends of a pool had been removed, the barriers taken away and replaced with a freedom, and a joy of the never ending possibilities that open water swimming held.
More than that, it felt important – adventure swimming was the start of something new and with a smile on his face couldn’t wait to share it.
Over the coming years he had been blown away by the numerous opportunities that open water swimming afforded both physically and mentally and the next step was to find the perfect venue for the launch event. He had a clear vision of what he wanted: wild swims and great trails, exciting routes and stunning landscapes.
The place he found was Two Tree Island. A genuine adventure swimming playground, as anyone who has participated there will attest!
To build the programs, he swam and walked every route in and around the Island in both directions to find the best lines. He persuaded friends to test the first routes and the 10°c water temperatures suffered around the course.
The first ever Swim Safari was a 4km route in 2018. Since then we have created over 12 routes over varying distances for all swimmers to choose from. We don’t just swim for the sake of swimming, we feel that there needs to be a reason to do it and all our locations have something special about them no matter your ability or skill level.
Our team of experienced guides, and staff are all extremely passionate about adventure swimming and making your time with us truly memorable and unique.
Thankfully there is no possibility of the world running out of great swimming locations. Indeed, Mats always discovering more.
Why don’t you join us and discover for yourself? Come on in, the water’s lovely.
Our Commitment
Swimming
We are here to offer you a unique swimming experience and an unforgettable memory. You will be swimming in some beautiful locations with a variety of swims, some of which may challenge you and others which will undoubtedly delight you.
Safety
There is simply no safer way to adventure swim. With our qualified, experienced guides and safety protocols, we will look after you every stroke of the way helping you to get the most out of your experience with us.
Satisfaction
We rely heavily on word of mouth and repeat custom for our open water adventures, consequently it is imperative that we give our guests the best experience possible. We believe that our more than 3 years since inception and the growth in our programme illustrates our success.
Feedback
At the end of each trip, we provide a questionnaire that we urge you to fill in. We rely very heavily on our feedback to maintain and improve the quality of your experience.
Accuracy
We do our utmost to make sure that the information provided on our website is accurate. However things can and do change due to circumstances beyond our control.
