The Ruby - Lake Wanaka Swim Event

The Ruby - Lake Wanaka Swim Event The Ruby is a swim event in Lake Wanaka New Zealand. Out to and around Ruby Island. It's ace! Plus a 200m event for those simply wanting to be a part of the day.

The Ruby series of open water swims incorporate distances from 10km down to 200m. We have two marathon length swims at 10k & 5km; an iron distance at 3.8km; our centerpiece event around the island itself at 2.5km and then 1.2kms to the island and back and 600m to the island and a lift back in a boat. We also support The M!nt Trust with an event for those with special needs. Each event is more than

just a race. It's about taking in and enjoying everything the water and surroundings, above and below the line, has to offer. Water temperature in January will be approx 16/17° degrees but it could be on the low side at 15° or on the plus side up to 19° degrees. Its variable as nature dictates. All the swims start and finish at Waterfall Creek either side of the rocky outcrop which forms the perfect natural Start / Finish beach area. We support the following direct action lake initiative:

http://www.touchstone.org.nz/

Because it’s that time of year, May the 4th be with you.The Return of The Jetty 2027 will be a hard fought battle no dou...
03/05/2026

Because it’s that time of year, May the 4th be with you.
The Return of The Jetty 2027 will be a hard fought battle no doubt.
Enjoy it!!

Here's the lucky winner of the Lake Swim Series 2026 - Chester Osbourne. He swam in the Wanaka, Twizel and Queenstown la...
23/03/2026

Here's the lucky winner of the Lake Swim Series 2026 - Chester Osbourne. He swam in the Wanaka, Twizel and Queenstown lake swims.

In further and exciting news – for the 2026/2027 season The Clyde Dam Swim taking place on 31st December will be part of the Lake Swim Series. People can swim in any 3 of the the 4 events and be in the draw to win $1000 !! And you don't need to be a hot-dog swimmer, you just need to enter any distance at each event and you are in the draw.

Congratultions to Chester Osbourne for paicipating in The Ruby - Lake Wanaka Swim Event, Meridian Swim Ruataniwha and The Whakatipu Legend. For completing 3 events Chester went into the Southern Lakes Swim series prize pool and walked away with $750 cash. 💙

01/02/2026
The drone went up for some oversight. Perspective and context is everything. More to come...
31/01/2026

The drone went up for some oversight. Perspective and context is everything.
More to come...

A first selection of the photograpers best photos, picked by his fine self. To see more of Ross's work go see his instag...
31/01/2026

A first selection of the photograpers best photos, picked by his fine self. To see more of Ross's work go see his instagram . More images to come.

Few action shots courtesy of .gehrke capturing all the colour and energy of Saturdays swim
29/01/2026

Few action shots courtesy of .gehrke capturing all the colour and energy of Saturdays swim

The duck sees it all … Photography by
27/01/2026

The duck sees it all …

Photography by

Fantastic Ruby Swim 2026. Ok, the weather gods were a little sub-optimal but with the wind direction being a southerly, ...
27/01/2026

Fantastic Ruby Swim 2026.

Ok, the weather gods were a little sub-optimal but with the wind direction being a southerly, it meant we were blessed with a flat lake and that’s the most important factor.

Thank you to everyone involved in making the event happen. Our on-water safety crew with Layton, our on-land rego and finish line crew without whom we’d be in chaos, to Celine, Anna Kate, Liv and Rosie for core anchor duties, to Lee for merch and uplifting support. To Hannah on timing for what is a hectic job. Lots of moving parts to create a seamless whole. Thank you.

Our sponsors who provide both product and monetary support without whom the event literally could not happen. Thank you.

We raised close to $1200 via the raffle for the Wanaka Swim Club plus a $200 donation to the MAC students off to Spain providing the BBQ.

Lake awareness provided by Wai Wanaka and the Otago Regional Council was well received from listening in and feedback. Excellent. If that Gold Clam takes hold we are done for so vigilance is paramount.

And thank you to you, to the competitors, for ultimately making it all happen.

Thank you to for these incredible photos. The full 2026 photo gallery will live soon via Facebook and email.

Next year is January 23rd 2027. Lock it in.

Eddie Spearing, Jamie Norman.

at Kai presenting our Raffle 2026 wetsuit winner! Congratulations 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼And a huge thank you to one of our sponsors ...
24/01/2026

at Kai presenting our Raffle 2026 wetsuit winner! Congratulations 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

And a huge thank you to one of our sponsors for being here since day dot.

All proceeds will be going towards the to support the next generation of swimmers.

And if you didn’t win a wetsuit this year, head to the Ruby Fresh Open Water website. We can ship you a demo to try ;)

Full schedule for The Ruby Swim 2026 for competitors, friends, family and spectators … Location: Waterfall Creek Wanaka ...
23/01/2026

Full schedule for The Ruby Swim 2026 for competitors, friends, family and spectators …

Location: Waterfall Creek Wanaka

6:00am: Ruby Island Road Parking Opens; follow signs and directions of marshals.

Please consider carpooling or biking or walking from town (easy ride or walk along the Millennium Track). Free parking at the Wanaka Showgrounds.

6:30am: Cap/Timer Pickup Opens for those who missed pre-registration

6:50am: Safety Briefing - 10km only

7:00am: Open Architecture 10k Start. Pink caps

8:30am: Safety Briefing - 5k only

8:40am: Central Vision Optometry 5k Start. White Caps

8:30am: Cap/Timer Pickup Closes

8:45am: Safety Briefing, all other events

9am: BN3TH Iron Ruby 3.8k start. Yellow Caps

9:15am: Wanacare Pharmacy The Ruby 2.5k start. Red Caps

9:40am: Dryrobe The Jetty 1.2k. Green Caps

9:45am: The Island 600m Start. Purple Caps

10.30am: Little Gems start. Red Caps.

10.40am: The M!nt Ruby start - Our special-needs swimmers tackle the Little Gems course. Gold Caps

11/11.15am’ish: Course cut-off, but not too strict.

11.30am - 12noon: Prize Giving / Wrap up

12pm: wetsuit raffle winner will be drawn and contacted

4:00pm: We will be decompressing at Kai Whaka Pai. Pop down.

Address

Waterfall Creek
Wanaka
9305

Telephone

+64274729908

Website

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