Doug Hughson reported on Val Kalmikovs‘ unprecedented 24.7 km swim down the Gordon River on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia.

The 50-year-old Latvia native is an open water swimmer, escort boat pilot, and coach who also serves as the Vice President at Derwent River Big Swim and the Australian Long Distance Swimming Federation and as Director of the Keppel Islands Swimming Association.

So, he is never far from the water and is always helping others achieve their dreams. Now it was his time to achieve another one of this dreams.

His dream was to pioneer a swim along the rugged wilderness along the Gordon River, a major river located in the central highlands, southwest, and western regions of Tasmania.

The Gordon River descends 570 meters over its 172-km course much of which is located in an uninhabited wilderness area, contained with the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and Southwest National Park. The lower part of the Gordon River is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and contains a cold-climate rainforest and rare trees.

The water is fresh and drinkable – but does not look so because its weak tea color is caused by tannin from button grass growing along the shore. 

Kalmikovs swam from Sir John Falls on the Gordon River to Heritage landing in water that ranged from 13.4°C to 15°C with outside temperatures ranging similar to the water.

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