Our latest event in Tauranga

It was another great event for those who came to our Pyes Pa weekend, starting with happy hour and a BBQ on Friday night. Saturday dawned without a cloud in the sky, so most of us headed to Papamoa Beach for the day. The new boardwalk takes us directly to our part of the beach making access easy and with the large numbers of other naturists present on the beach on Saturday, it certainly seems to be attracting a lot to the beach. At the same time, it has opened up the sand dunes to make it less attractive to the undesirable element that inhabit the dunes and give us a bad name.

The guys helped to put up a sign…

…then Col decided to try out his new Christmas present for the first time…

On Sunday, our ‘almost’ naked chef cooked us breakfast on the BBQ. 

With the day looking a bit dreary, we welcomed some other members for morning tea who had just come out from Ngatuhoa. 

A spontaneous invitation from a couple who are members of the group to visit their home a few kilometres away for a hot swim was eagerly taken up so after lunch all those present car-pooled up to their three acre block for a swim in their fabulous thermally heated pool. 

The water slide was used by some hardy blokes and one very brave woman. One guy mastered the head first entry…

But it wasn’t just a hot swim. After an hour in the lovely warm water, we were served some food including some beautiful fresh orange juice and warm plum juice. Some members were shown their medicinal herb garden, with one herb enthusiast leaving with several cuttings.

I would like to thank our generous members for hosting us for this event. You gave us all something wonderful to do on a wet day.

On Monday, a few members ventured east to the Bay of Plenty Sun Club for the day, with some staying overnight. This ended a great weekend for group members despite the slightly dodgy weather.

A weekend in Rotorua with the Bay of Plenty Sun Club

It was a great weekend for the BOP Sun Club’s outing to Rotorua, which included a walk up Rainbow Mountain, a hot swim at the ‘hot and cold’ pools, camping at Lake Rerewhakaaitu, a walk around Blue Lake (Tikitapu), camping at Lake Okareka and finishing with a walk around Hamurana Springs. We started by meeting at Rainbow Mountain where sixteen members of the group (nine were also members of BOP Sun Club, three from Rotota, and a couple from NUDVAN) set off up the mountain on a foggy morning. But above the fog the sky was blue and those who got to the top said it was actually warm enough to get their gear off for a photo (and longer). The view from above the fog extended as far as the snow capped Mt Ruapehu! After their descent, a local BOP Naturist took us to the ‘hot and cold’ natural thermal pools, aptly named as the water was hot and cold! However Peter (also confirmed by some of the locals) said that the water was much colder than normal. Once we took possession of the pools from the locals (who were frightened off by a group of naturists, even though we wore togs – to start with anyhow), we settled in for a hot soak but every now and then, the water let us down and went cold. But by moving slightly, the hot water returned (as well as the local rat who decided that Peter’s lunch was quite tasty)! After warming up in the hot pool, eight of the group arrived at a campsite by Lake Rerewhakaaitu for the night. Happy hour was convened beside the picture perfect lake as the sun went down. The next day, we toured around Lake Rerewhakaaitu, stopping off at the DOC camps on the shores of the lake. After lunch at Blue Lake, six of us walked around the lake which took 1½ hours, then headed to our overnight camp on the shores of Lake Okareka. Here we watched the sun go down and the moon come up, making good use of the DOC shelter on the shores of the lake for happy hour. Monday dawned to a cloudless sky so after morning tea in the sunshine beside the lake, four of us headed off to Hamurana Springs for a walk around this very scenic location. Lunch beside Lake Rotorua ended this very successful trip to Rotorua by the BOP Sun Club. This was a trial for future events to be held by the club, to which all members of BOP Naturists are invited. Although not truly a naturist event (well at this time of year, who would want to get their gear off anyhow), it was totally successful in getting together people with similar interests for a great time of socialising and outdoor events. Many more are planned around the greater BOP area and I look forward to seeing more members of the group at these future outings.