I know I can be classified as a troublemaker ... sometimes ....

I’ve got it ... it’s a marketing ploy!!  The news report I heard this morning is designed to attract tourists and voyeurs to St. Heliers!!  What other upmarket suburb has a nudist colony ... an apparently popular tourist spot!! 

Alec keeping the hounds amused!

Lying in bed this morning ... waiting for my tea - yes, I get tea in bed ... I heard the news reader say that complaints had been received about nudists on a popular beach in Auckland.  Imagine my shock when the news reader continues his story and identifies the beach as MY Ladies Bay .... POPULAR TOURIST BEACH ..... I nearly wet myself laughing!  I know the population of New Zealand is small but since when did a destination become popular because of 20 odd people visiting it daily!!

That news report explains the unprecedented interest in my bay this morning .. and the young, apparently well toned young man .... who proceeded to disrobe in full view of Julia and I whist the hounds were swimming.  Try as you might it was difficult not to see what he was flaunting when the hounds drop their toys behind you on the beach!!  Thank goodness he didn’t come and offer to throw ... or kick ... the ball for the hounds ... they might have got confused as to what they were meant to be chasing!

He wasn’t the normal nudist we're exposed to on Ladies Bay ... most of them are elderly gentlemen who do their best to be discreet ... this one was anything BUT discreet!

I digress though ... it was the news report this morning that piqued my curiosity ... particularly the bit about the Chinese tourist who’s tour group had stopped at Achilles Point.  His children had wandered down to the Bay (it’s a steep climb in and out ... not somewhere you generally WANDER to) and they’d seen two naked sunbathers.  The children were apparently intimidated by the nudists when they went to take a closer look .... it begs the question of why the children WANTED to take a closer look!!

I of course, shared this delicious story with Julia and our fellow ‘humans with hounds’ on the beach this morning - they were all as confused as we were about the apparent popularity of Ladies Bay. Julia and I seldom encounter other bodies when we’re on Ladies Bay, apart from our local fisherman and the council cleaners ... but today there was definitely an increase in the number of “tourists/voyeurs” exploring our special spot!  

According to the article in the paper, naked beach goers are reported to have attracted troublemakers and voyeurs armed with cameras and binoculars.   

Hmmmmm .... I wonder .... I know I can be classified as a troublemaker .... sometimes .... but does the fact that I always have a camera with me make me a VOYEUR too ..... maybe if I’d taken a pic of the nudist this morning it would!!

A mom and her 3 young children coming down to our Bay

For me, it re-iterates how very different we all are ... how very different our views and opinions are ... how very prejudiced some of us can be - and I include myself in that.  It also reinforces for me the power of words ... that news article is written to be sensationalist ... and it succeeds.  

The article mentions how the behaviour of the nudists is “shocking little children” .... today is only the second time in the 2 years I’ve been visiting Ladies Bay that I’ve seen small children in the Bay.  It’s not the most accessible beach .... if you were climbing flights of stairs it would be equivalent to 4, possibly 5 stories .... not for the feint-hearted.  Yes .. It is popular for nude sunbathing ... because of its privacy ... but that’s also why we walk the hounds there ... 

Walking the hounds today has been magical .... the weather - an abundant display of awesomeness ... blue skies ... glorious sunshine ... I could really get used to an endless supply of days like this.  I think it might be short-lived though ... the weatherman is forecasting rain for the weekend ... I so hope he’s wrong!