Beer fest at BOP Sun Club

Although not a Bay of Plenty Naturists event, members were invited to the Bay of Plenty Sun Club to join in with their Labour Weekend festivities. The weather was great when the sun was out, but the air was very cool when it disappeared behind a cloud. Still it didn’t stop many of us getting the start of a tan (some a little red tan!) and feeling the freedom of no clothes after the long winter.

On the Saturday night, we had a pot luck dinner followed by a beer tasting competition. With 13 different unlabelled beers to taste and identify, the results showed that we really don’t know a lot about beer! The winner got 2 right and I got 1½ right (the half for saying stout instead of Guinness)! The beer tasting, was followed by drinking the products (well we couldn’t waste it eh?) and then a few fun games. 

On Sunday, we lazed around in the sun then Col and I went for a bush walk taking some photos in the bush and around the creek.

That night we had a shared BBQ after happy hour then honed our quiz skills in preparation for the quiz night as part of the Phoenix Shield against Waikato Outdoor Society in a few weeks.
Another brilliant day dawned on Monday. Col and I went for a bike ride to Matata 5km away. It was a relatively easy ride to the beach, but coming back we had a head wind, so this tested our ‘not-used-much’ leg muscles. Still we made it back in time for lunch, before heading back to civilisation mid-afternoon.

Summer events calendar out now

We are holding out last dinner meeting on Saturday night, so that will wind up the winter activities. Unfortunately it seems that our hot pool nights will not start up anytime soon due to the pools being closed due to mechanical failure. But now that we are heading into spring and with daylight saving starting next weekend, there are plenty of great events planned for the summer.
From now on there will be more outdoor activities to take us through to March/April. These include bush walks, beach days, picnics, naturist club events and campouts. Some of the dates might still change, but if you are a member of the group, you will be informed of these changes in plenty of time.
To find out more about the Bay of Plenty Naturists group and the planned events, contact me on bopnaturists@gmail.com.

Polar Bare Plunge

Nineteen hardy Bay of Plenty Naturists (including a couple of kids) took part in the annual Polar Plunge at Katikati Naturist Park. The pool temperature was a mild 12^oC (1 ^oC warmer than last year)! Most warmed up in the spa pool, before posing for a photo by the main  pool. Then it was all on, with lots of shrieks and squeals, lots of splashing then a quick dash back into the spa pool to warm up the frigid bodies again. Some of the keen (crazy?) participants even went back in for seconds! Some arrived later and still did the deed, and it was great to see some kids take part as well. Good on all those who did the plunge. I would have joined you but hey, someone had to take the photo!

A glass or two of sweet, spicy mulled wine was served to all present to warm up the insides, followed by some hot savories. Thank you Linda for making up the ‘mulled’ part of the mulled wine. It was so popular that the participants asked me for the recipe. So I twisted Linda’s arm and here it is.

Linda’s Mulled Wine

1 cup water                                                                                 ½ cup brown sugar

4 cinnamon sticks                                                                        10 whole cloves

4 star anise                                                                                 2 cardamon pods

Rind of 2 lemons

Boil all together and leave 24 hours. Strain and stir into warmed red wine. (I added 2 litres of port to the mixture above).

Following on later was a Karaoke evening by Willie (the Groove Dokta). There were some hidden talents amongst those present and the music and dancing carried on well into the evening. Thanks Willie for taking the time to come along and entertain us (and for jumping in the pool)!

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A good turnout at Oropi

Our return to Oropi hot pools near Tauranga after an absence of 5 months, was celebrated by over 40 members of the Bay of Plenty Naturists last night. With the pools being closed for maintenance since the beginning of the year, it was obvious that the members had missed this great night out going by the huge turnout. We had members from as far away as Auckland come along on a mild May evening to enjoy the lovely facilities at Oropi.




As well, it was the 71st birthday of one of the members, so she celebrated by joining 30 other members for dinner in the cafe and blew out the candles on the cakes provided by the group.
These monthly gatherings will continue throughout the rest of the year. If you would like to come along, email me on bopnaturists@gmail.com.

The inaugural 'Nudesby Picnic'

Some members of Bay of Plenty Naturists enjoyed a unique and novel experience over the weekend. It was the inaugural 'Nudesby Picnic' at a private property in Tauranga. And it will not be the last!
Based loosely on the traditional 'Gatsby Picnic', a celebration of the 1930s 'posh' picnic, the 'Nudesby Picnic' turned out to be one of a kind. The picnic was held on the 'Village Green' at a park-like garden and those present, got into the theme coming suitably 'dressed' (or undressed) for the occasion.

It was a brilliant warm, sunny day and the array of 'costumes', (bow ties, boaters, boas, beads, etc), suitably adorned picnic tables with silverware and bone china, cucumber sandwiches, cup cakes and other fancy sweet delicacies, such as butterfly cakes and meringues, along with jazz music playing in the background, could have made you think that you were reliving the past!

To add to the event, a group of local artists came along to join in the fun. After all, drawing was one of the activities that the gentry undertook at such events. Several members posed as life art models, much to the delight of the artists present who really enjoyed the atmosphere and the novelty of drawing outside on a warm sunny day. They came equipped with a gazebo and set up their easels in the centre of the 'Village Green'.


While they sketched, other members played games of the era including marbles, horseshoes, quoits, croquet and petanque.
Of course no 'Nudesby Picnic' would be complete without the people who made it so much fun. It was a great day and heralds a new annual event on the BOP Naturists calendar.

Opoutere Beach weekend

Well after all the fabulous events during the summer, you wouldn’t think there could be anything better. But there was! Our third annual weekend at Opoutere Beach was once again a great success. The endless summer carried on and we had two wonderful sunny days, with little wind to spend at this recognised naturist beach.

A large group camped in the campground. Some went fishing. The results didn’t supply us with much fresh fish, although one member did catch one and the fishermen learnt a new skill – how to catch pipis (shellfish) with a fishing rod! All of the group went to the beach and although the surf was a bit unpredictable, managed to catch some good waves with their boogie boards. On Saturday night we all joined up for happy hour and a shared meal. On Sunday morning after our own naked chef cooked us all breakfast, we all headed back to the beach, with six of us walking the 5km stretch along the beach to the ‘island’ wearing nothing but a hat. Magic!

The one thing that was evident during this weekend was the age of the group members present. Although the ages ranged from 2 to over 70, the average age would have been much younger than at many previous naturist events we have been to recently. These members sure enjoyed themselves this weekend and it is great to see this new generation of naturists coming to the fore. Although I don’t keep stats on the age group of members, I can certainly see that the group is attracting many ‘generation Y’ naturists to the fold – which can only be good for naturism in New Zealand. 

Napier's Art Deco Weekend

A group of ten BOP Naturists camped beside the sea along Marine Parade for Napier’s Art Deco weekend. Here we met for Happy Hour and then all went along to the RSA for dinner, decked out in our 1930s gear. After dinner, we all went our separate ways and enjoyed the night-time events, whether it was dancing in the streets to the live jazz bands or watching the free concert at the Soundshell.

This city sure knows how to rock (or should I say Charleston)! Everything about the weekend (actually it is a whole week) is geared around how the city was after the 1931 earthquake, when it was flattened and rebuilt in Art Deco style. Many of those buildings are still standing (or if demolished, the facades are still there) so put everyone in 1930s dress, have about 200 vintage cars around the town, get out the steam engine, traction engine and vintage bus, fly old planes overhead and have a few jazz bands playing in the streets and you would think you had been transported back in time to the 1930s.

It is very hard to explain how great this weekend is unless you have been there, because it is the atmosphere that drives it. Everyone is having fun – including the children – who also get into the swing of it (they even have their own soap box derby!). There are no drunken louts in the town to spoil this fun family weekend. Most events are free and if you haven’t been before you really must experience it at least once in your life. I guarantee that then, like us, you will want to go year after year.

The vintage car parade went on for about ¾ hour. Then they were displayed for everyone to see along Marine Parade, while jazz bands played in the streets. 

On Sunday we went to the Gatsby Picnic, where we enjoyed the picnic atmosphere along with hundreds of others, who were picnicking with their fine china, silver tea service and old music. The jazz bands entertained us again and the Red Checkers and Harvards did aerobatics over the sea. We met up with some more BOP Naturists at the picnic and joined them at their gazebo for a spot of champers! What a great day!