You Never Regret A Swim | Mungo Swim Club 2023

Ending off the year on a high with our Swim Club finale.

This December, 655 early morning swimmers dove into the sea, across 6 clubs in Cape Town, Plettenberg Bay, and Knysna. Together, we’ve raised over R100,000. All the proceeds will be donated to the I AM WATER foundation, a registered NPO committed to using environmental education to ignite the passion for conservation in the next generation. We celebrated this accomplishment by awarding every participant with a custom woven Mungo towel.

Read more about our previous Swim Clubs, and how it all began, here.

“You never regret a swim.”
A friend once told you this. You were hiking in a forest and the trees broke open into a quiet stream.
“Wanna get in?”
“Sure.”
The water was cool and dark. Little beams of sunlight cracked their way between the leaves.

You’ve remembered this. Put it in your pocket like a personal mission statement.
Yes.
You’re the kind of girl that always says yes to a swim.
So then,
Surely,
You could never say no to the Mungo Swim Club.
But.
It’s early.
And you live in Plett and you’re used to rolling out of bed at 8am.
But.
You’re true to your word,
If anything.

So you get up early.
Resist the alarm clock at first, but then kick your legs off the bed and wipe your eyes
And when you’re up
And in the car
And on your way
You’re in it –
There’s no going back.

You get to the beach.
You’re still half asleep and the water looks pretty cold.
You dip a toe in and confirm: freezing.
But there’s a big group of people around you that are here too.
And you’re in it together.
You’ve made this commitment to yourself.
And to them, in a way.
A silent pact.

And once your head’s beneath the waves
Something happens
Especially if you linger a little
To let the water seep into your bones
And behind your toes
And wash away the mental cobwebs.
And then you get out.
And chat to the person next to you.
You find out they live just up the road
Or like the same secret coffee spot as you
Or drove here with their dog.

Maybe by the end of the five days
You’ve learnt these people’s names
Or said
“Hey, are you getting a coffee at that secret spot? Cool, I am too.”

And for the rest of the day
The smell of the sea salt lingered on your skin
Or in your hair.
You had that little shiver of cold water about you
And you carried around with you a secret smile –
That you’d seen the dawn
You’d danced beneath the sea
You’d felt a little more connected
To something,
Somehow
To the water
Or the waves
Or perhaps
Just
Yourself.

A special shout-out to our dedicated ambassadors who were there every morning to register your swims. Thank you @lilla_ae, @sunnyshelbs, @coldwatersocialclub, @chloewallacejewellery, @conoreastment, @jaybonemusic and @amy_theresa_murgatroyd. And huge appreciation to the Plett lifeguards.

Thank you to @mattie_lennon and angus_tongs_and_photo_blogging for joining us for the swims, and sharing the photos used in this blog.