Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

More than 30 brave souls waded into the cold Wallaroo seawater at 6.45am last week as part of a national tour to raise awareness and money for mental health.

At Office Beach on Friday, October 11, Australia-wide community movement and not-for-profit organisation Cold Nips completed its 71st of 100 sunrise dips at beaches across the country over 100 days.

The tour is designed to foster wellbeing, community and connection to nature, with the aim of raising $1 million for Happiness Co Foundation.

Cold Nips collaborated with Wellness on Yorkes and Port Hughes Plunge to host the local event, which raised over $600.

“We’re blown away by all you legends who showed up,” Cold Nips said on their Instagram page.

“We initially added Wallaroo to the list as we had a 7.30am ferry to catch but quickly found this little community is strong!” 

Cold water immersion has been a part of Grace Inman’s life since she established Port Hughes Plunge with her friend Maddie Combe 18 months ago, and they were eager to support Cold Nips.

“We were really interested in the cause because the main reason we do the plunge every week is to get those endorphins and dopamine (running) and improve our mental health,” Ms Inman said.

“We meet every Thursday at 6.15am in the South Beach carpark and we all walk down together and head into the water.

“And we basically go three, two, one and everyone goes in together, but there’s no pressure to put your head in or put your whole body in.

“We’ve had people that are so dedicated to coming every week they would even go in with their moon boot with a plastic bag around it.” 

To connect with Port Hughes Plunge, and to follow along with the rest of Cold Nips’ Australian Tour, visit their Facebook or Instagram pages.

To donate to the fundraiser, go to cold-nips-100-dips.raiselysite.com/o/wallaroo-office-beach.

The benefits

Port Hughes Plunge co-founder Grace Inman says research shows 11 minutes of cold-water immersion per week is the suggested time to reap the benefits, which include: 

• Boosted immune system and reduced likelihood of cold and flu
• Increased blood circulation 
• Decreased inflammation 
• Decreased muscle soreness and decreased recovery time 
• Faster metabolism 
• Stimulation of mood-boosting chemicals, such as dopamine and endorphins 
• Increased alertness, clarity and energy levels

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 15 October 2024.