They were among the 29 swimmers who took part in an open water swimming event as part of the New Zealand Festival of Nature, Wild Dunedin.
Sarah Watts said the family had taken part because they all did open water swimming anyway and thought the event, hosted by the Sunday Swim Squad, sounded like fun.
They had never before been swimming so late in the season.
Temperatures were much lower than they were even just a few weeks ago, and conditions were choppy, which provided a challenge, she said.
She was proud of her children for taking part, and was keen for a repeat of the event in future.
"It was really cold — it was beautiful though."
"It was just a cool start to the day."
Swim organiser Jo Woolley said it was first time the event had been held as part of Wild Dunedin, but likely not the last.
The turnout had been good and the weather was sunny.
"It went really well, I’m really pleased.
"We’re looking forward to another wild swim next year."
Beginning at Portobello, the route led out around Pudding Island nature reserve and back.
Feedback from the swimmers was that they enjoyed the community feel of being able to swim together around the island, she said.
The route was 1.5km long, although a few swimmers chose to only swim part of the way.
Safety kayakers and paddleboarders had done a great job looking after participants, she said.
The water was 13.6degC, towards the lower end of April’s expected harbour temperature range of between 13degC and 17degC.
Wild Dunedin has expanded from a week-long festival, now in its eighth year, to 10 days to take in two weekends and cover most of the school holidays.
There are about 100 events in the programme, which began on Friday and finishes next Sunday, with many family-focused.
