Last day of season for pool

Swimmers made the most of the warm weather yesterday to take one last dip in the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool before it closed its doors for winter.

The pool, which had opened for the season on October 1 last year, had not been as busy as in previous years.

Dunedin City Council aquatics manager Heath Ellis said the vagaries of various sets of Covid-19 rules and outbreaks in the community had meant the season was quieter than usual.

"We did see an increase in numbers once we changed to the traffic light framework, but then a drop off once Omicron was confirmed in the community."

There were about 31,500 visitors through the doors for the season, a decline on previous years.

The pool remained popular with visitors yesterday however, with one set of sisters who were regulars calling for it to remain open longer.

Paula Steers, of Dunedin, said ideally she would like to see the pool open year-round, but thought it could at least remain open until Easter.

"Every Easter it’s been beautiful but the pool’s been shut. It’s really disappointing that they can’t keep it open for at least another couple of weeks."

andrew.marshall@odt.co.nz