Naturism in New Zealand

Public Nudity Laws

Comprehensive guide to public nudity laws, regulations, and penalties

Topless Sunbathing Laws

Is it legal to sunbathe topless? Country-by-country legal guide

Indecent Exposure Laws

What constitutes indecent exposure and the penalties in each country

Age Restrictions

Legal age requirements for nudity, naturist venues, and events

Photography Laws

Legal requirements for photographing nude subjects and naturist activities

Naturist Venue Regulations

Legal requirements for nudist resorts, clubs, and venues

Event Permits & Licensing

Requirements for organizing nudist events and gatherings

Allans Beach is a long white-sand beach on the Pacific coast of the Otago Peninsula, about 25 km by road from central Dunedin and 6 km from Portobello. It forms the seaward side of a spit at the mouth of Hoopers Inlet and is reached by a short track of about 300 m from the car park. Its far ends are quiet enough for informal nude sunbathing, and a long beach walk leads north towards Victory Beach. Wildlife such as sea lions and penguins use the shore, so keep a respectful distance.

Ashworths Beach is a long, open stretch of grey sand and shingle on the Pegasus Bay coast near Leithfield Beach in North Canterbury, reached via Ashworths Beach Road. The dunes and low traffic make it a long-standing informal spot for nude sunbathing and swimming, away from the busier beaches closer to Christchurch. There are no facilities on the sand itself and the surf can be strong, so swim with care, keep a respectful distance from other users and cover up near the access track.

Auckland.

Barrytown Beach runs along the wild West Coast of the South Island beside the small settlement of Barrytown, between Greymouth and Punakaiki. It is a broad, empty beach of dark sand and driftwood backed by flax and bush, and its isolation has made it an informal place for nude walking and sunbathing. The Tasman Sea here is cold with powerful surf and rips, so most visitors stay out of deep water. Bring everything you need, as services are limited to the nearby highway.

Beach at Waimama Recreational Reserve is a nudist-friendly beach in New Zealand. Nudity is optional.

Boulder Beach is a rocky, hard-to-reach beach on the southern side of the Otago Peninsula, roughly 16 km by road from central Dunedin. Steep farmland and a long descent keep visitor numbers very low, which is why it is listed among Dunedin's informal nude beaches. Yellow-eyed penguins nest behind the beach, and the area is closed to the public from November to February to protect them. Outside that period, visitors should stay well clear of wildlife, carry everything in and out, and expect no facilities at all.

Autumn Farm is a privately run, clothing-optional retreat on Central Takaka Road on the edge of Tākaka, the main town of Golden Bay at the top of New Zealand's South Island. It has operated since 1984 and is best known as a queer venue: most guests are gay and bisexual men, though the farm says naturists, pansexual and queer-friendly visitors are welcome too. Accommodation is spread through a garden of about 1.2 hectares (3 acres) and ranges from a lodge and rustic cabins to a dormitory and a campground. All bathrooms are shared, with composting toilets, solar-heated water and well water on tap; there is a swimming pool and an outdoor bush bath that is a social focus in the evenings. Guests can self-cater or book a shared dinner. Clothing is optional across the property, and in practice nudity is most common in the warm months from December to March. The busiest periods are its themed weeks, such as the long-running New Year Summer Camp and a Naked Week in late January, which in 2025-26 ran from 27 December to 3 January and 24 January to 1 February. The venue is open all year and can also be hired for private events. Pets are not allowed.

The Bay of Plenty Sun Camp is a clothing-optional naturist campground at 430 Manawahe Road, Awakaponga, in the eastern Bay of Plenty about 5 km from Matatā and 20 minutes from Whakatāne. It began in 1966 as the Tauranga Sun Club, moved to this rural site near Matatā in the early 1970s and for decades was a family members' club in the New Zealand Naturist Federation. As membership aged, it was taken over by private owners and now runs more like a naturist campground, where visitors do not need full club membership. The grounds have about 0.8 hectares of open lawn within some 5 hectares of native bush, with a clear stream running alongside and bush walking tracks; native birds are plentiful and blackberries grow along the tracks in summer. The camp has 17 powered sites with room for tents and motorhomes, plus unpowered sites, a cabin and an on-site caravan to rent. Facilities include a camphouse with lounge, full kitchen, wood fire, TV, games and library, flush toilets and hot showers, a fenced, filtered solar-heated pool, a covered spa pool, a barbecue area and fire pit, a mini-tennis court, trampoline, pétanque piste and golf practice area. It remains affiliated with the NZNF and welcomes members of other clubs and travellers.

Guysers Gaystay, also listed as Guysers B&B for Men, is a small gay-owned and gay-hosted bed and breakfast for men at 28A Sophia Street in central Rotorua, within walking distance of the city centre and lakefront and a short drive from the Whakarewarewa and Te Puia geothermal parks. It has two guest rooms, each with its own bathroom, plus a shared lounge and dining room. Facilities include a spa pool for about five people, a steam sauna and a private outdoor courtyard and garden with sun loungers. The garden, courtyard and spa pool are clothing optional, and the hosts' listings say clothing is optional indoors too but never compulsory; sarongs are provided for guests who want to cover up in shared spaces, and guests who are not naturists are equally welcome. It is an adults-only, men-only guesthouse rather than a naturist resort, and does not take children or pets.

Hawke's Bay Naturist Club is a members' club whose grounds, known as Rapere, sit at the south end of Glengarry Road near Rissington, about 22 km inland from Napier and 32 km from Hastings. The club grew out of a group formed in 1962 and took over the grounds in December 1965. The 4.5-hectare property has landscaped lawns, shade trees, hills to walk and a small dam or pond for canoeing. Facilities centre on a clubhouse with a large lounge, dance floor, dining area and kitchen, warmed by a wood stove in winter, with showers, toilets, a laundry and an indoor spa pool below. Outside there is a 20-metre filtered swimming pool, a toddlers' pool and play area, an outdoor spa, mini-tennis, pétanque, volleyball and tennikoit courts and a putting course. Visitors can stay in Norm's Lodge, which sleeps up to 12, a cottage and cabin, or on powered and unpowered sites for tents, caravans and campervans, while members keep cabins and caravans on the hillside. The club is family friendly and affiliated with the New Zealand Naturist Federation. Swimsuits are not worn in the pool, spa or sauna, and nudity is expected once newcomers feel comfortable.

Katikati Naturist Park is a privately run naturist holiday park at 149 Wharawhara Road, about 3 km from Katikati in the Western Bay of Plenty, roughly 25 minutes north-west of Tauranga and two hours south of Auckland. It describes itself as a resort rather than a club: there is no joining procedure, committee or working bee, and guests simply book and stay. The park has a quiet, private riverside setting and is open all year. Accommodation covers tent sites and about 40 powered sites for caravans and campervans, on-site hire caravans with cooking gear, kitchen cabins, deluxe cabins, self-contained chalets and a small park motel, with bedding for hire. Shared facilities include an ablution block with plenty of hot water, a laundry, a communal kitchen with barbecue, a swimming pool, a spa pool and sauna, a recreation room with pool table and TV, and outdoor games including pétanque, frisbee golf, volleyball and mini golf. It suits couples and families looking for a relaxed nude holiday base near the Kaimai Range walking tracks, Bay of Plenty beaches about 15 minutes away, and Katikati's shops and wineries.

Manawatu Naturist Club is a members' naturist club affiliated with the New Zealand Naturist Federation. Its ground, known as Lake Downs, covers about 7.5 hectares of secluded, flat rural land at 372 Lake Road, Oroua Downs, between Foxton and Palmerston North, just off State Highway 1. The centre of club life is a large purpose-built clubhouse with a catering-size kitchen and lounge, plus an indoor games area with a pool table, darts, table tennis and an indoor bowls floor. Outside there is a swimming pool and hot tub, a separate toddlers' and children's pool, a children's play area, miniten courts, a petanque piste and kubb, with shaded verandahs looking over the pool and lawns. Campers have two toilet blocks with hot showers, a campers' kitchen, a washing machine and a barbecue area. Accommodation is a small bach (cabin) for hire and powered and unpowered sites for tents, caravans and campervans; up to two pets per site are allowed, with an off-leash dog area at the back of the ground. The club runs regular social events and welcomes families. Because it is about 1.5 hours from the Wellington ferry terminal, it is a common stopover for naturists travelling to or from the South Island.

Nelson Naturist Park, long known as the Nelson Sun Club, is a members' naturist club on a 2.8-hectare rural property at the end of Sunrise Valley Road in Upper Moutere, in the Moutere hills west of Nelson. It is affiliated with the New Zealand Naturist Federation and INF, has about 75 members, and some of them live on the grounds year-round while others come mainly in summer. The club stresses that it is a naturist park rather than a clothing-optional one, that it aims to be family friendly, and that overt sexual behaviour is not tolerated. The clubhouse is a century-old bungalow with a large kitchen, a games lounge, a living room with a wood burner and four bedrooms let to visitors. Outside there is a solar-heated swimming pool and spa, a sunbathing lawn, a barbecue area with an outdoor table for about 30 people, a children's playground and a nine-hole chip-and-putt golf course with loan clubs. Showers, laundry and cooking facilities serve campers on the powered sites. Glowworms can sometimes be seen along the driveway at night, and the Moutere area's vineyards, potteries and craft studios are close by.

South Canterbury Sun Club is a small members' naturist club affiliated with the New Zealand Naturist Federation. Its 2.6-hectare ground sits on the historic Tripp Settlement Reserve in the farmland east of Geraldine, sheltered by hedges and a small pine plantation, and the old settlement school serves as the clubhouse. Inside there is a heated club room with a pot-belly stove and a full kitchen with a gas range and oven, used for meals, social events and meetings. Outside are an unheated swimming pool kept up through the summer months, a full-size concrete tennis court also marked for miniten, a petanque piste (bring your own boules), a barbecue area and a children's play area with a tree house and trampoline. Toilet and shower blocks have hot water heated by gas and solid fuel, and laundry facilities. Campers can use sheltered powered sites for caravans and campervans and plenty of tent space, and a small block offers two rooms with linen supplied: one with a double bed, the other with a double bunk, a single and a pull-out mattress. The club is a quiet, family-friendly rural base for exploring South Canterbury, with fishing rivers, bush walks and ski fields within reach.

Southern Naturally, which bills itself as the world's southernmost naturist club, is the home of the Southland naturists and is affiliated with the New Zealand Naturist Federation. Its grounds are the historic Aparima School, a former country primary school on Guise Road in the farmland of western Southland, about ten minutes from Otautau and forty minutes from Invercargill. The old school buildings serve the club. The setting is quiet and rural, with views to the foothills of the Longwood Range and the often snow-capped Takitimu Mountains. It is a small members' club rather than a resort: there are camping facilities for naturist campers, and the club's photographs show a spa pool, but the club publishes few details and asks visitors to get in touch first. Members can meet visitors, open up and show them around, as the gate and buildings are locked when no one is on site. By arrangement the club also helps walkers on the Te Araroa trail, which passes through Southland, and it makes a convenient base or stopover for trips to Fiordland, Milford Sound, the Catlins and Stewart Island.