| Letter of the Issue
It seems the South Australian police force are of the opinion that nude children encourage paedophilia. Now, under pressure from the police the organisers of this years Maslin beach carnival have agreed to ban nude kids from competing in events. Is it just me or has everyone gone mad? Could we possibly send a more screwed up message to our kids? Are we so comfortable saying that kids have some blame for paedophilia? that what you wear (or in this case don’t wear) validates deviant criminal behavior? Make no mistake, whether intended or not this is the message being sent to our kids! How can the organisers be so oblivious to the fact that by capitulating on this issue they hurt the whole nudist lifestyle? Sure they cite threats to close the event and call this a compromise, but there is no question that to concede, is to concede for all eternity. It’d be incredibly naive to think that conservative groups won’t mark this as a successful ‘trend’ and lend it momentum; then what next? no nude kids on the beach at all? No nude beaches? What a wonderful precedent has now been set and what a fantastic way we now have to combat paedophiles; by punishing not just the innocent, but the most innocent of all. A world gone mad. Anonymous
|
Still hooked!
Well done on a great mag. It’s well laid out, a great read and you should be proud.
I hope it continues to grow, succeed, inform and attract not only readers, but also converts to our wonderful lifestyle.
One thing though – is it possible to add captions to the photographs? It would be nice to see names (first names only if necessary) or a description to go with the photo.
It was interesting to read Bob Reed’s article about the popularity of beaches with families some years ago. I well remember that. It was such a great time.
I recall that in the late 1970s – I think I must have been about 19 or 20 - when we were sailing on my father’s yacht and we pulled in to Obelisk Beach “for a look”.
I was gob smacked. The beach was packed with families all enjoying the freedom of the sun, sand, ocean and being naked. And we were enthralled by the ice-cream man pulling up in his boat to sell ice-creams and drinks.
It was not my first brush with nudity. I’d skinny dipped a lot as a youngster and teenager, but only with a couple of mates or a small mixed group at night.
Anyway, we rowed into the beach, found a spot to sit and I was hooked!
After that I visited Obelisk regularly and later, when the family moved to Central Queensland in the 1980s, we’d sail over to secluded beaches in the Keppel Islands group to enjoy the freedom of sun on skin.
Earlier this year I bought a small cabin at River Island Nature Retreat near Mittagong and I visit there as often as possible. The peace and tranquillity is an amazing panacea for the hassles of day-to-day life and there are some wonderful people who go there from all walks of life.
Yep, I’m still hooked
Mark, Rockhampton
[Ed... Thanks Mark, we had lots of feedback about captions and you’ll notice we added more in this issue. Check out Mark’s photos in the Flashback section on page 40]
Naked bike ride
Congratulations on the recent revival of your magazine. I hope that it will continue to prosper and grow over the ensuing years.
I would like to draw the readers' attention to the World Naked Bike Ride, which is being held in Brisbane on Saturday 10 March, 2007. The World Naked Bike Ride originated in San Francisco as a protest against oil dependency and abuse of the natural environment in 2004. Since then, this annual event has spread to Australia with a very successful one being held in Newcastle. This event is not just for nudists only: it is also for cyclists, environmentalists, peace activists, artists, and anyone who feels like nuding up for the event. Many of the riders have their bodies painted up with hearts and peace symbols, and it is basically a fun event for both riders and spectators.
I have recently been charged with helping to organise this event in Brisbane by the Australian co-ordinator, so if any Brisbane readers of this magazine are interested in participating, they can e-mail me at either:
dario.western@powerup.com.au or larrikin70@yahoo.com.au
The World Naked Bike Ride web pages can be accessed at:
www.worldnakedbikeride.org/australia
and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
worldnakedbikeridebrisbane (Yahoo! ID required to join as well as a fully filled out profile).
Dario Western
|
Visiting the dream
The northern summer of 2006 saw me realise my long held dream of visiting the Cap d’Agde Naturist Centre. A dream I have had ever since watching the BBC Television documentary "Lets Go Naked". Despite planning well in advance I was unable to secure an apartment in the complex for the week I required. I had unwittingly picked Bastille Day week. I settled, instead, for a very charming and comfortable hotel in Cap d’Agde town, a short walk from the Naturist Centre. A good choice as the town has a large number of excellent eateries around the harbour and marinas.
Like all dreams though the realisation does not quite live up to the promise. The Naturist Centre appeared tired and uncared for. The Boulevard Des Matelots, the main street leading to the beach, was lined with cars. Dust and rubbish blew in the breeze. The garden beds were weed ridden and devoid of only the most hardy plants and bushes. It reminded me of my drought devastated Brisbane garden. Exploring the dream further, my wife and I visited the shops at Port Ambonne and Port Nature. Despite statements in the provided literature that, nudity within the center was obligatory, we were both fully clothed. I should point out at this point that my wife was a non-believer. No one looked at us or challenged us. Continuing our exploratory tour, we wandered into Heliopolis in search of the swimming pool featured in the documentary. The centre of the complex appeared to be a construction site and what spare space there was, was taken up with a funfair of sorts. Faced with this we decided to make for the beach where, having hired a pair of loungers and an umbrella for the day, we finally stripped. Yes, faced with being the odd one out my wife followed suit. Despite the appearance of the beach being crowded we never felt so and had plenty of room to swim and frolic in the sea. A beach Café, just a very short boardwalk from our enclosure kept us fed and watered. We had a fantastic day, returning the following day and the next.
For those contemplating a visit to this mecca of naturism I would recommend steering clear of the 14th July and for all but the dedicated naturist staying in town is a good option. To do otherwise means missing out on enjoying the many restaurants and vibrant night life to be had round the squares of the harbour and marinas. The food was magnificent and the locals friendly. The rest of this holiday town and the many shops crowding the narrow streets of the old town are well worth exploring. We spent many a barmy evening exploring and watching the locals play Boules well into the early hours of a morning.
Cap d’Agde is well worth a visit and we shall return, but the dream could do with a bit of tender love and care.
M.Juckes
[Ed...Having already done an article on Cap d’Agde for this issue, I contacted an accommodation owner at ‘Le Cap’ for comment on this letter. See below...]
It’s all about the beach!
The building site referred to in the center of Heliopolis is one of the three new developments. Its built on the area where the pool he refers to used to be. The Funfair is just an ankle biters roundabout and a few trampolines.
It was a particularly hot summer, and dusty? yeah! you bet. All due to the building site. But this will all be tidied up once the project is finished. They have to stop building during the summer months - July through to Sept. But no one tidies up.
It would seem that he really did not wander in to the heart of the Naturist village. We have some wonderful garden areas. The Area he describes is the road that runs between the back of Port Nature and the front of Heliopolis C, D & E. It is a bit of no mans land but you can also describe it as a palm tree lined avenue. They just planted them 12 months ago, so they are not yet at their best. Rubbish blowing about on a windy day - yep! it happens, doesn't it?
On a busy day we have close to 20,000 people on site. A couple of thousand are day visitors who park anywhere and everywhere. The rest is made up of the camp site approx. 7,000 and the rest are from the various residencies within the Naturist Quarter.
Tired, well thats a personal view but if he was here mid Aug. then we were all 'tired'. It was a long, hot, dry summer. Less rain than a desert.
It’s a shame they did not hang about in to the evening. Its the most amazing place, dressed, undressed, half dressed and oooh la la! Everyone co-exists so incredibly well. We have over a dozen bars most with entertainment. 20 restaurants, some of which are much frequented by the locals on account that they are so good.
But the beach is what its all about and and he has said it all.
I hope he comes back again to the Cap, but he really should stay here in the NQ to get the real feel for the resort.
We have dozens of guests from Oz each year, indeed many come back every year.
John & Irene
Cap-nat International
Cap d’Agde
|
Letter of the issue...
Each issue we will pick a “letter of the issue”, which we’ll publish in this column. The winner will be picked by the staff here based on a complex criteria relating to what we find interesting, what gets us thinking and talking, as well as possibly our mood and the approaching publishing deadline!
What we’d like to encourage is interesting discussion, relevant news, issues and observations of our lifestyle. Of course if you just want to write and say ‘hi’, if you have a query or just want to leave some feedback that’s ok too!
The author of next issues winning letter will receive the radio cooler bag shown on the opposite page. It’s a pretty cool prize with an inbuilt radio and a place to plug in an ipod or portable music player. You ‘d better get writing!
Just gets better!
We were glad to receive Australian Sun & Health number 2, even better than the first! Can't wait for number 3!
Just to lend support to other 'operators', such as Michael and Jean of Greenwich Lodge (Bottom Line OZSH#1) probably a lot of people don't realise that most of us also have to work to help keep things going, especially when most people won't head outdoors unless its a perfect day and even then only in Summer... When you go to a bush retreat or B&B's, etc, they are all unique in their own way and that is what makes this lifestyle so special! This means that you can go to a property that you normally wouldn't even see - let alone be naked on and also stay at! People need to appreciate that in this day and age, with the rapid expansion of suburbia, we are all preserving native bush as best we can, unlike a lot of rhetoric from people about saving things - we have all put our money where our mouth is! The best bit is that as a nudist/ naturist you can share our bit of paradise and help contribute to its survival as well!
Ian and Yolanda Strawbridge
(mr and mrs nudie)
Twin Falls Nature Retreat
The positive side
Following a spate of recent reports in the POST about the less desirable activities at Swanbourne beach, your readers should be made aware that there are still many hundreds of regular beach users, who enjoy the clean and healthy “free beach” lifestyle which this unique pristine environment offers. There are males, females, couples with children, together with visitors from overseas, all nice people of various ages and from all walks of life. We like our beach and the camaraderie which goes with long-term friendships.
We have no need to complain about “goings-on” in the sand dunes because, unlike “the man” interviewed by the reporter Linda Callaghan (POST 16/12), we don’t venture into the dunes to intrude on such activities. Yes, there are voyeurs around, but they are kept under “observation” to ensure the well-being of the general beachgoers. Confrontations, such as that reported, will do more harm than good.
Anonymous
(not for shame of being a nudist, but fear of retaliation)
|
