Over the last year and a half, Nudist Day has brought to your attention a number of places where you can hike naked for hours in a beautiful natural surrounding, without any objections from local authorities. Here we bring them back to you as part of a special report in order that you can decide where in the world your next nude hike will take place…

South Africa: Kudumanzi Eco Park:
Undoubtedly the biggest nudist venue in the world at 95 square miles. This African bush land is filled with wild flora and fauna such as zebras and giraffes, and is the only place where you can have a nude safari!…
Read more about Kudumanzi

Spain: El Medano (Tenerife, Canary Islands):
Go to one of the world’s largest nude beaches (La Tejita), then hike through miles of reddish volcanic rock formations. You can even scramble-up a 300 foot mountain. On the north side of El Medano you’ll find another nude beach and more rock formation, but with an ochre tinged. Public nudity is legal in Spain, but this area is where you’ll find many other like-minded people and nobody will raise an eyebrow…[photo above is from this area]
Read more about El Medano

Argentina: Yatan Rumi (Cordoba):
Hike or climb through 2000 acres of a nude reserve high in the sierras near Cordoba, Argentina. Highlights include several waterfalls as well as sightings of condors and wild grey foxes…
Read more about Yatan Rumi

Australia: Twin Falls (NSW):
Hike through 100 acres of Australian rainforest where you’ll encounter wild kangaroos and koalas…
Read more about Twin Falls

USA: DeAnza Springs (California):
500 acres of spectacular desert scrub land surrounding a full-service nudist resort…
Read more about De Anza Springs

NEW YORK - Imagine yourself dining on a yacht admiring a panorama of the spectacular lights of the Manhattan skyline and bridges. Sounds great, but the kicker is that on this particular evening you and all the other guests are completely nude! COdinners, the non-profit New York City club that specializes in organizing nude dinners, is launching its first nude dinner and cruise from Sheepshead Bay on July 11, 2007. We asked John Ordover, founder of COdinners, what motivated him to switch to a floating event:

“I’ve always tried to shake things up - in the past we’ve rented out a comedy club for a night, done museum tours, had garden brunches - and this just seemed like a fun idea. I’m mostly motivated by what seems like our members would think is fun. Plus in this hot weather, I thought it would be nice to be out on the water and seeing New York Harbor by night.”
The yacht can seat up to 220 diners and will tour the city’s harbor. One can be nude anywhere on the boat, but as Ordover points-out, the event is clothing-optional as are all dinners he organizes. “The only thing that’s not allowed is sexualizing clothing. I had to tell one first time diner a while ago who had stripped down only to a very enhancing bra and panties that she either had to take them off or put more on”, he quipped. Everyone is welcome, including singles. “…This is a social nudist cruise, not (a) swingers cruise. Anyone being inappropriate will be asked to swim home”, he added jokingly.
The dinner will be a buffet. “I like buffets because they encourage mingling and chatting, and because nowadays everyone comes with one dietary restriction or another and this way everyone is covered”, Ordover explained. The cost per person is currently set at 80 dollars, but since he bases it on the number of people who attend, a large turnout would result in a much lower price for all. Interested parties should manifest their intent to participate well in advance of the dinner. Detailed information is available on COdinners site (link below).

Related Sites:

• COdinners web site

Photo courtesy of COdinners ©

Nudist Day interviewed David and Laura of Houston, Texas, owners of a company that markets a unique new product: the Nudikini. It appeared to us to be a great idea for anyone who likes to skinny-dip or has to walk clothed to reach a nudist beach…

ND: How was the idea of the Nudi swimsuit hatched?
Nudi: Removing one’s bathing suit to skinny dip in the ocean is a quite common occurrence for people who generally do so discretely. It brings with it, though, the issue of what to do with the removed suit. We’ve all seen countless movies in which someone arrives to make off with the clothes of skinny dippers who have left them on the beach or at lakeside. If you carry it in the water with you, both hands are not free for swimming and there’s always the possibility of it accidentally being let do to sink to the depths below. Necessity being the mother of invention, I devised a concept that allowed a suit to be secured out of the way for skinny dipping, but returned to it’s original position when necessary. To be useful, it had to appear ordinary enough that it would not draw attention to its special qualities. Thus the user could be discrete on the beach but moments later naked in the water, with no one to be the wiser. It took a number of years to refine the concept. During that time, we were told that nudists would have no use for it, since they frequent locations where no suit is necessary. Our subsequent experience is to the contrary however. At least one clothing optional resort has only a pool, with an ocean dip requiring the use of the beach in the clothed portion of the resort. At another clothing optional resort, we showed our suits to a table of a dozen people, almost all of whom were clothed, some even in bathing suits. They cheered and applauded, and then went skinny dipping. We also feel that people who are not shy about skinny dipping may have friends who are not yet comfortable with nudity in the open, but who could be introduced to if the initial transition can be eased. My own limited experience is that if you can just get people to try it, pretty soon you can’t keep swim suits on them. If we really liked wet cloth hanging on us, that’s how we’d shower and bathe.

Photos courtesy of Nudi Inc.©

Nudist Day: Are you yourselves nudists?
Nudi: We are not nudists, but enjoy going to a variety of locations that are both clothing optional and not clothing optional. Our suit gives us the ability to skinny dip at any location, therefore turning any beach, pool, lake or boating adventure into a clothing optional environment.

ND: Is it the first product of its kinds or is it an improvement over a previously existing invention?
Nudi: It is the only one of its kind, with US and foreign patent protection.

ND: Are the products available only through your web store?
Nudi: Currently they are only available through our website at www.nudi.com. There has not as yet been any formal product launch, or any formulation of either a publicity or distribution plan. Our hope is to create the demand so the retail and resort markets will embrace the idea of selling a swimsuit for skinny dipping.

ND: Is the men’s swimsuit also retractable?
Nudi: The men’s suit is also definitely retractable. Our product is for both men and women to enjoy individually or as a couple.

“I seem to recall that AANR has about 50,000 members, but poles show that well in excess of 50,000,000 have been skinny dipping…”

ND: Is there much danger that the chain might come undone while one swims in heavy surf?
Nudi: The suit is most definitely meant to be worn in the water folded. The entire premise of the suit is to be able to go in to the water, fold it up and go skinny-dipping. As for the chain, our suits have been tested extensively in heavy surf without any problems.

ND: Do the tops also unclip and tuck?
Nudi: The tops stow in the sleeve that retains the suit when it is folded. We determined that it’s easier for a woman to just take a top off than to manipulate it into its own sleeve.

ND: Is there any reason why your website does not feature nude or partially nude models, keeping in mind that your customers will be nudists and that the top is sold separately?
Nudi: The reason it does not feature nudity is to avoid the age 18 restriction. However, as indicated in the narrative, we expect that a substantial market exists “in the closet”, as well as with people who may never appear nude out of the water.

ND: How do you justify the cost of the products? (i.e. what should we compare it to ?)
Nudi: The cost of our products stems from their construction. Everything is hand made to ensure quality control. We use high quality four way stretch lycra fabric for durability. And all the hardware on the suits, the chain, buckles and hooks are all stainless steel and corrosive resistant. On the women’s bottoms, the chain is gold or rhodium plated stainless steel. The attachment clips are specially fabricated stainless spring steel, also gold or rhodium plated. The clasps at the side are zamac, an alloy that is almost impervious to salt water corrosion. The suit can be immersed in salt water for a week, rinsed, and look new. We use the highest quality swimwear fabric we could find in its weight range. It will not pill. Laura has worn her suits far more that most people. We spend a significant amount of time in the British Virgin Islands and on the Gulf Coast, where we take hour long ocean swims several times a week. The suits hardly look worn. The construction of the suit is far more difficult than an ordinary suit where the sleeve is constructed with more attention to detail so that it works properly. Therefore, you should compare it to a top of the line suit with expensive decorative items, then add a bit for the fact that it does something no other swim suit does, and does it well.

ND: How has the reception been so far?
Nudi: About 70% of the limited number of people who know about it say “Wow, what an ingenious idea”. Another 20% wonder why on earth anyone would want such a thing. The other 10% think we are going straight to hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Hopefully the latter group will take care of publicity.

ND: Are you actively promoting/marketing the products in the “real” world?
Nudi: We are trying to figure out how to do so. I seem to recall that AANR has about 50,000 members, but poles show that well in excess of 50,000,000 have been skinny dipping. Hopefully skinny dippers will be the next significant group to come out of the closet. Therefore, while we don’t view it as a product especially for nudists, we feel that our interests are basically aligned.
Our first model used for the suit was from Argentina and is now living in Dallas. We took her to the Florida Swimwear Association trade show in Miami to demo the suit for buyers and it didn’t go so well. Number 1 - you have to be clothed at a trade show, so demonstrating the suit wearing a nude colored thong confused the buyers. Number 2 - she froze to death. Convention centers are notoriously cold!

ND: What are your plans for the future?
Nudi: Our plans for the future are to launch this great line of suits, add cover ups and then other products associated with beach fun and functionality.

Related Sites:

• Nudi web store

MEXICO CITY - The recent Spencer Tunick installation that saw 18,000 volunteers pose nude in the name of art in the central square of Mexico City was by no means the first instance of naked masses congregating in that city.
Up to 600 native peasants of all ages known as the “400 villages” protest three times daily in the streets of the world’s most populous city. They use their naked bodies as a means of drawing attention to an injustice committed against them 15 years ago in the state of Veracruz. It was at that time that the state’s governor, Dante Delgado, illegally took 2,000 hectares of land from them, as well as jailing 350 people. The name “400 villages” the movement adopted is inspired by a 1970 protest march that 400 Mexican villages participated in. Not all Mexicans support the protesters, many in the ultra-Catholic country finding the nudity offensive.

Related Sites:

• Photos of Protests

Meet Cheri Alexander, the founder of Travelites, a non-landed club which for 13 years has brought nudists together in Columbia, South Carolina. We asked her about what it takes to manage such a club…

Nudist Day: Gives us an idea of how membership has grown, or not. How many active members now?
Cheri Alexander: When it started, we struggled to maintain 25, now total membership fluctuates between 80 and 100 depending on peoples’ finances and what else they’ve got going on in their lives. In every organization there is a core group of about 20.

ND: You say you welcome everybody who wants to join, including singles “of good character”. How do you establish they have good character?
CA: I meet prospective members prior to inviting them to an event at a neutral environment. I am pretty good at judging people. Travelites, Inc. is now in its 21st year, and I’ve only had to cancel two memberships in all that time.

” I also welcome singles and will, if asked, contact a club asking admittance for that member ahead of time…”

ND: If an event takes place in a member’s home, does the member hosting the event set the rules, such as whom may attend?
CA: All members are invited to all events.

ND: Would you say a non-landed club is a better way for people to meet and bond than simply visiting clubs and resorts on their own?
CA: The members tend to be an extended family. I’ve met plenty of good people at landed clubs and resorts who are long-time friends. People who are members of a non-landed club often gather for non-nudist events as well.

ND: Does your group ever engage in naturist activism?
CA: I am the activist among the members. I’ve spoken in front of our state legislature many times, twice this legislative session.

ND: Is there a cost to join, or is it per event?
CA: Annual Travelites’ dues is $60 for a full membership plus $2 regular event. When we have our annual canoe trip, and members would like to rent a vessel, I have to charge for that. Some events such as our Thanksgiving Feast, the club supplies the turkey. At some events there is no event fee; it depends on what it is. There is also an Associate membership allowing people who live greater than 200 miles join for less.

Photo courtesy of Travelites ©
ND: Are events generally clothing optional or is nudity obligatory?
CA: If it’s a person’s first time, he or she can wear a towel or pareo wrapped around them. No clothes are allowed in any of the members’ hot tubs or pools. If someone is feeling chilled, they are welcome to wear something. It’s a nudist club, but it is understood that there might be times when a person for whatever reasons wants to stay clothed. I just need to be told.

ND: What’s your policy towards members who behave incorrectly?
CA: There is zero tolerance. Even in the club’s rules/regulations it states: “Excessive drinking, profanity, obscene or vulgar language, offensive familiarity, and indiscreet behavior are prohibited and may invoke revocation of membership. If such behavior is demonstrated by a prospective member, that person will not be offered membership nor welcome to additional events.”

ND: What are some of the plans for the future?
CA: Personally, I hope to be able to afford a pool within the next few years to offer members another option. We do have a hot tub on our property. Right now only two members have homes with pools. I would like to continue to grow. We do have a substantial number of members who live greater than 200 miles from Columbia, SC for a couple of reasons. The first being is that I market wholesome nudism positively across the net and off the net. I also welcome singles and will, if asked, contact a club asking admittance for that member ahead of time.

Related Sites:

• Travelites web site