Anyone driving from Taupō to Napier would’ve seen the yellow AA sign as they come into Esk Valley, pointing them in the direction of the Hawke’s Bay Naturists Club.
Long has this sign captured the imaginations of those coming to Hawke’s Bay – but what happens once you reach the place that yellow arrow points to?
Is it a nude paradise or a dystopian naked nightmare? There was only one way to find out.
Pulling up to the club’s gate, a map of the area featuring two happy cartoon nudists greeted us, along with signs for the club’s Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed Christmas party.
Once through the gates, we saw the grounds of the club were finely cut and trimmed among tall trees and green bushland.
Soon we were greeted by the club’s president Geoff Kerr, secretary Peter Pickett, and residents Joss and Mark Palmer – all of whom were dressed, much to my disappointment.
“Mostly we’re naked, or in dressing gowns when it’s chilly,” Joss said.
“There’s no compulsion to remove your clothes,” Peter said.
“We joke that we have boxes at the gate where people have to undress when they come in. The only places where nudity is compulsory [are] the pool or spa, and we find that people are comfortable with that.”
Started in 1962 as the Hawke’s Bay Sun Club, the club moved to its current grounds in 1965.
“Pardon the pun but it was all bare farmland, it was just paddocks – so everything that’s here has been put here by the club or people have built it themselves,” Peter said.
The grounds include modern amenities, activity areas and a man-made lake.
Currently, there are 95 club members who come from all over the country to revel and relax at Hawke’s Bay’s Garden of Eden.
Members’ ages range from 30 years old and upwards, but many members bring their young families along.
Most just stay for weekends but 13 members live at the property year-round, with some commuting into town each day for work.
The club welcomes visitors both clad and unclad to enjoy the property, although some visitors think the AA sign reads: “Hawke’s Bay Naturalist Club.”
“They come here and look at the garden and things, and then go ‘Woah!’ when they see a member enjoying the sun,” Joss said.
“We do have to tell visitors that there will be naked people on the grounds.”
Anyone can stay for a few hours or a few nights at a camping site or a cottage at a reasonable price.
But there’s a bit more to becoming a fulltime member.
“The first three visits are free, so you can come along for a day and enjoy the place. Then you’ve got to make up your mind whether you want to join,” Kerr said.
Afterwards, the application process starts, which is followed by a 12-month probation period [in which] new members have to “prove themselves”.
“Just come along, be part of the group, make friends – you know, just prove that you’re one of us, and then after a year the committee will decide whether to let that person become a full member. If not, it’s just a, ‘Sorry, you didn’t make the cut’.”
Mark dryly recommends prospective members undertake a campaign of bribery by supplying members with alcohol.
“That’s how we did it,” he laughed.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music and culture.