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Danielle’s 40km swim for Dementia New Zealand

  • A HUGE thank you!

      23 March 2026

    Thank you to you all for your support of Danielle and Dementia New Zealand. It was incredibly heartening for her to receive the donation updates while she was swimming and she was chuffed to exceed her goal of $15,000. Dementia NZ’s services are a lifeline to many families and we are thrilled to have raised these funds to aid their services.

    It was an enormous feat of mental strength to get through those 40.2.km and i’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that Danielle’s courage and determination to complete this swim is greatly admired.

    With best wishes and thanks,

    Lorna (and Danielle)

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  • Swimming on Saturday!

      20 March 2026

    After a looong and patient wait, Danielle has finally been given the green light to swim tomorrow - Saturday 21 March. She is making her way to Taupō today, along with her boat support crew, and she’ll get in the water in the very early hours to smash out a chunk of distance before sunrise. Follow her instagram to get updates throughout the day, as well as the link to her tracker: https://www.instagram.com/swim_taupo?igsh=MXc5cGR4dmNqbWt6

    Thank you for your donations to support this kaupapa. Danielle is humbled by your support and is ready to give this swim her all.

    Lorna (and Danielle)

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  • Swim Update

      25 February 2026

    Just a quick update to say that unfortunately the weather hasn’t provided an opportunity for Danielle to swim. She’s on standby for the next opportunity that comes up. Cross your fingers and hope for calm waters…

    Lorna

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  • Waiting on the weather gods…

      18 February 2026

    After a year of training, Danielle is ready to tackle this epic swim, and she is on standby for the right conditions on Lake Taupō. You can follow her swim on the day here on instagram:

    https://www.instagram.com/swim_taupo?igsh=MXc5cGR4dmNqbWt6

    Thank you for all your generosity in supporting Dementia NZ, and of Danielle’s goal of doing hard mahi in support of whānau and caregivers doing hard mahi. Please help spread the word, as donations on the day will really help her mentally to push on when the grind kicks in.

    In the meantime, you can listen to Danielle talk about the swim on this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/77dwvf9Z4CQjSJldsw8zBF?si=2xL3BW8ESIKcUBwOp5W0pA

    Fingers crossed for calm waters any day now…

    Lorna (and Danielle)

    💙

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