A new article appeared in the Surf Coast Times (read more here) providing an update on the “stalker” event on New Years Day. If you want to refresh your memory, you can check out the post previous to this one!!

Anyway, the summary is that the court date is set for February 17 in the Geelong Magistrates – everyone please keep an eye out and let us know the result if you hear it.

According to an article in today’s Geelong Advertiser, a Bendigo man has been charged with stalking and public nuisance after being caught “up-skirting” at Pt Impossible beach. The article states:

Police responded to complaints from beach-goers and discovered a video camera hidden in the backpack of a 54-year-old man mid afternoon on New Year’s Day.

“He had it set up so he could film through the eyelet of the back pack,” Detective Senior Constable Steve Thompson said.

While this is only our opinion – HURRAH!! While it is never pleasant to discover this sort of behaviour occurring on our beaches, the reality is that inappropriate behaviour happens on ALL of Victoria’s beaches at some time or another. So we’re pleased because of the following:

• The inappropriate behaviour was noticed – detection is half the issue, so spotting this particularly concealed behaviour is a win for someone with sharp eyes. Well done!
• The inappropriate behaviour was reported to police – this is what we’ve always advocated, if you see something wrong on any beach then the police should be notified immediately. Well done to the person or people that made the call
• The police responded in a timely fashion – this is assumed, since the man was caught and charged. Good work Vic Police, it’s great to see these kinds of reports taken seriously and acted on
• The man was charged and will face court – excellent, because such behaviour is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE and should be dealt with accordingly. Nude beach or not, wandering around with hidden cameras is WRONG, pure and simple.

As mentioned in the article, police are actually encouraging beach users to call 000 if they see anything suspicious – and we agree! Nudists should not hesitate to call police if they see anything inappropriate – remember that failing to report unacceptable behaviour reflects on us as users of the beaches, and we are tired of being associated with the undesirables who seem to think that “clothing optional” is the same as “inappropriate behaviour”

Well done everyone involved – we’ll keep an eye out for the court results. If anyone hears anything, please let us know. And, as always, make sure you behave appropriately on our beaches, follow the nudist beach etiquette and call police if you see anything suspicious. Oh, and keep out of the dunes, no-one is allowed in there (clothed or otherwise).

You can read the full article here

We’ve just received this email from a nudist who visited Campbells Cove (Werribee) today, and we thought we should post it – everyone knows it’s not our most popular beach, but this description makes it sound positively horrible!

To whom it may concern,

I decided to visit Campbells Cove today on a whim, as I was sort of nearby and had never visited before. The weather was reasonably warm, but cloudy and quite windy. I drove out to Campbells Cove Rd and turned left like the directions said. The road past the beach huts is excellent and appears quite new, so I was initially pleased with the location.

However, the newish road soon ran out, just at the end of all the beach huts. From there it turned into a standard dirt/gravel road as it crossed a turn-around area, and then it turned into the WORST carpark area at any beach I’ve ever visited! The potholes were massive, to the point where I thought my largish 4WD might even struggle!! This is not a carpark for your average sedan or small car, it’s precarious driving at best! Recent rains have not helped the situation.

Just when I thought it wasn’t going to get worse, I saw the beach – well, I saw the little strip of sand/seaweed/deadwood that counts as the beach! It’s not a pleasant bit of beach, the view (and smell) is not that great, and the little low “dunes” that exist are barely waist height and provide almost no protection from the carpark. Once I saw this, my interest in stripping off took a dive!

But the biggest disappointment was the other beach “users” – for a cloudy and windy Monday, about 10 cars in the carpark seemed like a lot. Yet there was not a single nude person on the beach. A quick look around identified a number of males either in their cars or loitering “with intent”(?) nearby. I was left with little doubt as to what they were all congregated in the carpark for. It clearly needs a police presence, although the beach itself is hardly worth visiting even without all the loitering.

I noticed there was a young couple with a dog walking on the beach – not nude, and I don’t blame them! I hope it wasn’t their first visit to a Victorian nude beach, it would be a sad introduction to our great beaches otherwise. I would suggest you update your website to let people know that Campbells Cove is not worth the visit. I’m not going back there ever again, that’s for sure.

Has anyone else been to Campbell’s Cove lately? What did you experience?

A couple of interesting articles came across our desks today, both of which are well worth the read!!

First off, The Lonely Planet has an article titled “Best Places to Get Naked”, and covers off a lot of interesting places around the world. If you’re planning that nakation, this article is well worth a look!

Yesterday, a small reference to Point Impossible was made in The Sunday Age “M” (weekend magazine) – the article, titled “The Beach is Back” indicated that Point Impossible is the best nudist beach!! We’ve been unable to locate an online version of the article, so there’s a scan of the relevant section below.

Check them both out, well worth the read!!

Recent interview with naturists in New Zealand in the Bay of Plenty Times, discussing some of the interviewees own history as well as many common issues. It’s a well written article/interview that’s well worth the read!!

For the reluctant females out there, this particular quote seems to sum up the situation nicely:

“I was the reluctant partner. I sat in my bikini on my beach towel while everyone else was naked. After a while, I thought ‘why not?’ I was more conspicuous with my bikini on than not.”

Over the years, naturism had boosted her self-confidence.

“The first time you try it you’re a little bit apprehensive but once you’ve done it, you never go back.”

Another comment that all naturists will agree with:

“Before I was a naturist I was shy, reserved, introverted. I was not confident in myself at all. It totally changed me. I had acceptance of my body and myself.

“Many people, especially women, think their body isn’t good enough to bare in front of others but as a naturist, people are accepted for who they are, not what they look like.

“We’re not all models. Everybody’s got scars, bumps and lumps. Women that have had babies have stretch marks. We don’t notice that.”

If you want to read the article, you can check out the full article. It’s also worthwhile checking out the New Zealand Naturist Federation website