I have to say I’ve never woken up in the morning with the urge to dive into Lake Burley Griffin. My head swirls with visions of blue-green algae, monstrous carp (presumably they must also poo), and all the various drains and ditches the water has washed through to get where it is.

But according to the founder and owner of Lake Burley Griffin’s new Floating Sauna, this is because I’ve been brainwashed by false advertising.

“A lot of locals I’ve spoken to have a real fear of the lake, that’s probably been instilled in them as children,” Nigel Reeves says.

“But [water quality] testing is done every week, and yes, there are parts that will close over time as Mother Nature responds to weather conditions, but generally speaking, the trend is that the lake is improving in water quality over time.

“We’ve got a freshwater shower people can use, but I really think the lake has suffered from bad marketing. It’s a really beautiful, clean waterway for swimming, as you can see today.”

I certainly can see it, seated opposite a massive window inside one of the two sauna rooms, where the temperature gauge is reading a balmy 80 degrees Celsius. The view’s perfect – with early-morning rowers, Telstra Tower and a shimmering lake all in frame.

The Floating Sauna opened on 3 December 2025 at Yarralumla Bay – after more than two years of paperwork, approvals, community consultation, more paperwork, and a little consternation from the National Capital Authority (NCA) about possible pollution caused by the wood-burning heaters.

In addition to the two saunas, we have a change room made up of eight separate cubicles and a freshwater shower – all mounted to a floating pontoon jutting out just past the shore.

Many of the materials – like the wooden doors and wood heaters – are sourced from the world leaders in all things sauna and cold-plunge: Scandinavians. Those ‘Sawo’ door handles, for instance? “They’re like the Holden and Ford of Finland,” Nigel tells me.

This Lake Burley Griffin fixture is almost an exact copy-and-paste of Nigel’s first floating sauna, located on Lake Derby in Tasmania.

“Derby is a world-famous mountain-bike town, and that gave me the idea of a sauna and cold plunge in the first place as a means of a recovery experience for the many bikers that visit Derby,” he says.

“Canberra then came up as an opportunity with the National Capital Authority. They really wanted to activate the lake, and get more people using the waterway … and connecting to nature through sauna and cold plunge is one of the ways to do that.”

The Floating Sauna is open seven days a week for one-hour sessions, from 7 am to 10 am, and is attracting plenty of attention.

“All of the people who have visited my other sauna site were keen to come back, and locals have been really inquisitive, wanting to know what the hell this is. Some people have even asked if I live on the pontoon.”

Alex Rouss is one of his regulars, a self-prescribed ‘sauna ambassador’ – on account of the fact he returns each week with a different friend or family member he’s spruiked the health benefits to.

“It’s a very natural way of removing all the toxins from your body,” he says.

“I did a sauna session here not long ago when it was about 38 degrees outside – it was pretty hot. But you get out, take a dip, have a cold shower, and afterwards you just feel like jelly.”

Alex Rouss aims to bring a new friend to the sauna each week. Photo: James Coleman.

In most saunas, the temperature hovers around the 70 to 80-degree mark, but Alex has cranked it up to 90 before.

“Look, the first round isn’t easy. But your body adjusts to it pretty quickly. And well, this is child’s play compared to Scandinavia – they’re going 100, 110, 120. They’re of the mentality that if you’re sauna-ing, you’re sauna-ing till you drop!”

I feel like I’m definitely going to drop tonight. Into a very fine sleep.

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