I’d like to offer my hearty congratulations to long-standing SL friend Ringo, who this week told me of his forthcoming partnering to SL boyfriend Ori. Ringo and I became friends years ago when we both were regular attendees at long gone naturist sim Manatee.
Many gay people enjoy the naturist lifestyle, and I’ve long known gay and lesbian couples in real life and SL naturism.
Back in 2013 I blogged what I imagined might be the first blogged gay SL naturist kiss in the blogosphere when Ringo and then boyfriend Cecil puckered up for our cameras (see above). That relationship didn’t survive, but Ringo then found SL love with Ori. My very best wishes go out to both Ringo and Ori. 🙂
I don’t see quite so much of Ringo these days, as he tends to gravitate towards the likes of the 3 Bears Gay (Clothing Optional) resort.
I’ve not visited it, but it comes with Ringo’s recommendation as a fun place for any SL gay naturists. I’ll maybe try and get him to do a report from there in the near future.
Ella
the sl naturist 
In New Zealand there are three gay naturist venues, two are Bed and breakfast establishments at Rotorua. The third is Autumn Farm at Takaka. This was formed 1984 as a community. There are 4 households with shared ownership. Small organic farm run in a collective way. WWOOF affiliated. But Autumn Farm is best known for its homestay business specialising in accommodation for gay men. Organises two events celebrating gay naturism each year. But is open to all queer friendly folks. Property is clothes optional. More recently, the sponsor for the WNBR, the only ride in NZ . Takaka also has a clothing optional B&B in the centre of town and a clothing optional beach at Milnthorpe. Gay naturism has been always been part of the naturist scene in NZ, but it is only recently that there has been any public acknowledgment and ads in the naturist monthly magazine. It is quite significant is that the gay community made the first moves with respect to gaining a public space for nudity: Breaker Bay at Wellington became fashionable first as a gay naturist beach after World War Two. but very discrete, The same can be said about naked tramping in the mountains near Wellington popular amongst university atudents in the 1930s
Thanks for that info, most of which is new to me. I’ll now have to research further, particularly the 1930s stuff, as historic naturism is a particular interest of mine. Possibly a blog entry to follow! 🙂
Ella
Naked tramping today is more associated with naturists than the tramping clubs. The extent of naked tramping in the 1930s is impossible to tell. FKK ideas were popular in the years after WW2 with the skiing/ mountaineering/tramping set where naked swimming was common at remote hot pools with tramping parties. It is understood that some road building work carried out by skiing club members to provide access to the main ski field inland of Christchurch was performed naked in the summer months of the years following the war. Skinny dipping in mountain streams and hot pools today is restricted to the more remote locations well away from the popular tourist tracks. The practice of nude swimming at the Welcome Flat hot pools at Copeland Pass goes back to the late 1940s, if not earlier. Naked tramping was popular with Victoria University students in the Tararua Tramping Club in the 1930s and 1940s and involved a number of people who became fairly well known in Wellington political circles. The Hutt Valley Tramping Club opposed nudity and there were a number of incidents in the field where Tararua members were pelted with turf over this when the two groups met . Normally the Tararua Club had the backcountry themselves having its activities during the week and the Orongorongo Valley was a popular spot. In December 2006 a party of French tramped Mt Egmont/Taranaki naked. Nude tramping is known to have occurred on the Copeland Pass track in 2005. Naked tramping is known to have occurred in Wellington as recently as 1998. Up until about 2005 there was a web page on naked tramping, part of the NZ Naturist Federation website. A photograph of a naked tramper appeared in 2005 in a NZ magazine to illustrate a NZ story. Gerald Davidson
Thanks, Gerald. 😀