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)!

p� �

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!

Fun and games at the Bay of Plenty Sun Club

The weather was great, the turnout was great, there were a lot of visitors and the games were fun! What else can I say about the BOP Sun Club’s fun games weekend apart from fantastic! Many BOP Naturists (also members of BOPSC) were there and certainly got involved in the fun and games. We played horseshoes, petanque, croquet, mini-golf, pool golf (that’s swimming pool golf) and no-one got wet – take note Waikato! We also tried out a new game called fling golf. After a shared happy hour and BBQ, we finished the day with a darts competition.

Of course I must also mention the newly formed water volleyball team, which got in a lot of practice in the pool. It helped that the water was warm and someone brought a net and ball! Our visitors from Rotorua and Wellington enjoyed themselves, staying over the weekend and beyond. 

A fun weekend at Pyes Pa

The weather really turned it on for our annual weekend campout in the heart of Tauranga suburbia at Pyes Pa. By Friday night, there were already a dozen people there and this number grew to over 30 for Happy Hour on Saturday night. A large group based themselves and their campervans or tents at the park for the whole weekend.

A trip to the beach on Saturday was quite a blast – from the wind I mean. I think we all got more windburn than sunburn. Many of the group ventured into the surf, which with the windy conditions actually felt warmer than the air. Several young new couples were also there trying out the naturist lifestyle. We regrouped at Pyes Pa for Happy Hour and enjoyed a communal BBQ. This led to us all sitting around the fire till the full moon came up. With such a diverse and interesting group of people, the discussion was interesting – all topics from climate change to theoretical physics to astronomy! Which way the water goes down the plughole in the Northern Hemisphere vs the Southern was another topic.

On Sunday, after a breakfast cooked by our own naked chefs, Peter took us on another walk – this year up the same stream that we went down last year. A large group of us enjoyed the walk up the creek, except for me, who fell at the first post and twisted my knee. Some walked for an hour upstream while others went some distance in between.

On Monday, a large contingent visited the Bay of Plenty Sun Club and enjoyed a day at this lovely club. The pool got well used by many of those there. Some stayed on for a BBQ and we stayed on for the night.