What is naturism?   It’s one of the questions that popped into our heads when we were watching the sunset one night. We were all alone on an island at the coast of Australia. No phones or computers to distract us. We had snorkelled, sunbathed, and just devoured our one-pan dinner made on our one-pan camping stove. Even though we weren’t at a naturist place, we were naked anyway. There was nobody who could stop us. Nobody could be offended.   Years ago, we would have given you a solid answer, inspired by the commonly accepted definition of the International Naturist Federation. We wou ..read more

Is it just us, or do you also immediately think about the Amazon when someone says the word “rainforest”?   We often seem to forget that there is more than one rainforest. Like the Daintree in northern Queensland, which is 10 million years older than the Amazon, making this the oldest rainforest in the world. In size, Daintree definitely can’t compete with the Amazon, but it can in biodiversity. In fact, it is home to the cassowary, one of the last remaining Jurassic birds.   What drew us over the line though was that there’s also a place to get naked.     How to get to Ha ..read more

After almost 7 years of continuous travelling to naked places around the world, we think that we’ve seen our fair share of what’s on offer. We’ve been to naked cities in France and Spain, visited the largest naturist domain in the world and the busiest nude beach in the USA, went high-end in the Caribbean, on a naked cruise in Croatia, visited clubs, resorts, and nude beaches in pretty much every continent. The list goes on and on.   Just when we started to wonder what else could be out there that might still blow our minds, we received a message asking whether we were interested in spend ..read more

New Zealand has no official nude beaches. Okay, now that we have the bad news out of the way, here’s the good news: New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that don’t have specific laws against non-sexual public nudity, making every beach a potential legal nude beach.   Of course, this comes with a side note: You are allowed to be naked anywhere as long as your nudity doesn’t offend anyone. In other words, the fewer clothed people around you, the smaller your chance of running into problems. This is why those who prefer not to wear bathing suits often seek out beaches where f ..read more

When we started planning this New Zealand trip and more and more naturist clubs found their way onto our itinerary, we wondered whether we weren’t overfilling our bucket. We would literally hop from one naturist club to another, all within just a few hours driving distance. How different could they really be? Will we not end up seeing the same things over and over? Will it not all become a blurry mix of memories that could have happened anywhere?   Already after visiting our second club, we realised that although every naturist club in New Zealand maintains the same values, they still man ..read more

One of the things we enjoyed a lot about naturism in New Zealand is not just that there are quite a lot of naturist clubs, but also that they are very well spread across the country. No matter where you live or where you’re staying, there’s always a club within less than a 2-hour drive.   For tourists like ourselves, no matter which region we wanted to visit, we could be certain that we could stay in a clothes-free place. One region we were particularly looking forward to visiting was Hawkes Bay, partly because we had heard great things about the naturist club, but also because it’s one o ..read more

It’s interesting how naturist clubs around the world have a lot of similarities. Obviously, you’ll find naked people in all of them, but there will also be a central building (often called the clubhouse), there will be some sports facilities, there will be events and social gatherings and most often there will be lots of greenery as well.   Yet, every naturist club is different. Some are very tranquil places where peace and quietness are the greatest value. Others have more of a party vibe with live music and dancing throughout the weekends. Some are located in suburbia while others are i ..read more

It’s fair to say that naturism in New Zealand has surprised us. Not just the possibilities, the abundance of unofficial nude beaches and the more than 20 naturist clubs spread around the country. But also the variation in what’s on offer. Some clubs are located in suburbia while others are in the middle of nature. Some are on quite large domains, while others are cosy with just some handsful of campsites. Like the Bay of Plenty Sun Camp, for example. How to get to Bay of Plenty Sun Camp Bay of Plenty Sun Camp is located on the northern coast of New Zealand’s north island. If you’re an interna ..read more

Naturism in New Zealand is very hierarchically organised, with a national federation at the top of the pyramid and in the lower layer, clubs spread around the country. But there are exceptions, in the Bay of Plenty region we headed to one of the very few commercial naturist resorts in New Zealand. How to get to Katikati Naturist Park Katikati Naturist Park is named after the town where it is located, in the northeast of New Zealand’s north island. If you’re flying in from anywhere within the country, the closest airport will be Tauranga, which is just around the corner. Other options are flyi ..read more

Before we went to the Auckland Outdoor Naturist Club, AONC in short, we visited our first nude beach in New Zealand. This wasn’t a huge success. Ladies Bay was an okay beach, if it had been in another country we might have even called it “a nice beach”. But this is New Zealand… Come on, we’ve watched enough National Geographic Channel to know what this country is supposed to have to offer.   What worried us even more than the lack of a breathtaking landscape was the crowd on the beach. All male, all solo, and many past middle-aged. As cliché as it can be. We crossed our fingers and wished ..read more