Heroes, Platforms & Splashes: Swimming Lessons at Lake Bunyonyi

You’d think that with a lake as gorgeous and safe as Bunyonyi, people would’ve been splashing about for centuries. Not quite. For hundreds of years the lake was more motorway than playground, busy with dugout canoes hacked out of eucalyptus trees. With 29 islands scattered across the water, families farmed or lived there, but swimming? Absolutely not! Girls who found themselves pregnant outside wedlock could even be dumped on Punishment Island, with no escape on the cards.

Even today many locals can’t swim. When accidents happen, someone has to track down a brave boat captain or the odd swimmer to attempt a rescue — or, grimly, to bring back bodies. Some dozens of people still lose their lives each year, usually thanks to booze or overloading.

Things only began to change in the late 20th century, when wide-eyed travellers turned up, swooned over the beauty of Bunyonyi and decided to get involved. Camps like Bushara Island and Far Out became the spots where curious locals first picked up a stroke or two.

Then came a big push with Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi. By 2004 proper swimming classes were happening, thanks to Slovenian volunteer Dunja Jezeršek. A couple of years later, two engineers from the same tiny country, Majda and Gorazd Strniša, built a wooden platform so beginners could practise without tumbling straight off the steep shore. Of course, wood and water don’t mix for long, so every five years or so it has to be rebuilt.

These days the Greek and Cypriot crew of Wheeling2help keep the platform alive and the classes rolling. Others, like Jon Lee from the States, have been chipping in with cash, gear and life jackets for years. Thanks to this unlikely bunch of heroes, local kids now dive in without fear, and Bunyonyi has gone from a no-go zone to the best place to cool off.

So when you get here, don’t just sit back admiring the views: join the splash brigade!