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Story: Open water swimming

Marathon swim courses

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Marathon swim courses

This map shows the probable route of the first-known Cook Strait swim, which was made from Kāpiti Island to D’Urville Island in the mid-18th century by Hinepoupou. The much shorter route taken by Barrie Devenport in 1962 is also shown. New Zealand’s other major marathon courses, Foveaux Strait and Lake Taupō, can be seen on the background map.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Open water swimming – Early New Zealand swimmers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/6891/marathon-swim-courses (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 February 2016.