I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the poor summer that we have had in our part of the country and the higher-than-average rainfall. There are some things in our lives that we do for enjoyment, and we need to do them regularly to maintain a level of fulfilment. I don’t know about you, but I find I need to fill my summer batteries to help me get through the winter months when there aren’t so many opportunities to get out and about.
You guys are lucky you didn’t stay the extra night - huddled under shelter and cooking in the rain. It bucketed down the whole night. But company was great and we still made the most of it ! Was a great weekend and good to catch up again with you both
The comment no nudity because if the children really gets on my wick. And its often like this one where you cannot have a discussion about it which means they have the final say.
Maybe the statement “keep your clothes on, this is a family campsite!” boils down to the fact that generally speaking, we may not be seeing families participating in naturism as they once might have.
This is probably due to more of a general phobia towards nudity and a gross misunderstanding of what recreational nudism entails.
With particular venues deeming themselves “adults only”, I doubt that helps the situation.
Having spent a lot of time recently exploring the https://www.freebeaches.org.nz/ website, I’ve been struck by how family orientated the imagery is.
Compare that to what we generally see on modern social media and it’s little wonder naturism is considered a predominately adult orientated activity.
Reading through a century of history in the NZ naturism scene, the thoughts and challenges haven’t changed much.
If anything massive ground has been lost as pre-WW1, naked bathing seems to have been a somewhat common activity.
One vast improvement, in NZ at least, is that the Bill of Rights and several high court rulings have firmly established that mere nudity in public isn’t illegal.
On that basis, focusing on the theme that “Nudity is OK in NZ”, might help make it a little more common place.
I can’t think of too many other ways of turning the tide other than demonstrating with actions vs words that being naked is perfectly acceptable and non-offensive.
Thanks for the report, Steve. I was wondering if BoP's Opoutere weekend went ahead. I usually shoot over there on the Saturday to catch up with some of the folks, but with SH25a being out of action the 40 minutes over the range is now 1 hour 45 minutes via Waihi and Whangamata. Anyway glad you had a decent enough weekend.
Yes, you always find the oddball that likes to jump on their self-righteous soap-box trying to protect others from something that doesn't need protection from. Like the poor soul on the Waitawheta hike. But Opoutere Beach has never been an issue. I've often walked the entire length each direction, one end to the other, carrying a kleensack and picking up plastic rubbish - especially through the southern area where most of the clothed people gather. Never once had a negative comment, and often thanked for helping to clean up the beach. It seems that context is everything!
It's good that you have two good week end days to enjoy. Keep it up.
Sounds like the kind of weather we have been having in the Pacific NW.
Summer is on the way.
Thanks for shareing.
You guys are lucky you didn’t stay the extra night - huddled under shelter and cooking in the rain. It bucketed down the whole night. But company was great and we still made the most of it ! Was a great weekend and good to catch up again with you both
The comment no nudity because if the children really gets on my wick. And its often like this one where you cannot have a discussion about it which means they have the final say.
Maybe the statement “keep your clothes on, this is a family campsite!” boils down to the fact that generally speaking, we may not be seeing families participating in naturism as they once might have.
This is probably due to more of a general phobia towards nudity and a gross misunderstanding of what recreational nudism entails.
With particular venues deeming themselves “adults only”, I doubt that helps the situation.
Having spent a lot of time recently exploring the https://www.freebeaches.org.nz/ website, I’ve been struck by how family orientated the imagery is.
Compare that to what we generally see on modern social media and it’s little wonder naturism is considered a predominately adult orientated activity.
Reading through a century of history in the NZ naturism scene, the thoughts and challenges haven’t changed much.
If anything massive ground has been lost as pre-WW1, naked bathing seems to have been a somewhat common activity.
One vast improvement, in NZ at least, is that the Bill of Rights and several high court rulings have firmly established that mere nudity in public isn’t illegal.
On that basis, focusing on the theme that “Nudity is OK in NZ”, might help make it a little more common place.
I can’t think of too many other ways of turning the tide other than demonstrating with actions vs words that being naked is perfectly acceptable and non-offensive.
Thanks for the report, Steve. I was wondering if BoP's Opoutere weekend went ahead. I usually shoot over there on the Saturday to catch up with some of the folks, but with SH25a being out of action the 40 minutes over the range is now 1 hour 45 minutes via Waihi and Whangamata. Anyway glad you had a decent enough weekend.
Yes, you always find the oddball that likes to jump on their self-righteous soap-box trying to protect others from something that doesn't need protection from. Like the poor soul on the Waitawheta hike. But Opoutere Beach has never been an issue. I've often walked the entire length each direction, one end to the other, carrying a kleensack and picking up plastic rubbish - especially through the southern area where most of the clothed people gather. Never once had a negative comment, and often thanked for helping to clean up the beach. It seems that context is everything!