It was the most popular beach in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday ― and it wasn't the swimming that drew the crowds. Ladies Bay in St. Heliers attracted more than its usual share of visitors after the Herald reported that nudists were upsetting tourists.
Among the visitors was air force pilot Nick Hall, 27, who grew up in the area, according to nzherald.co.nz. He said the naked beach users never gave him problems.
"As a kid, we would be running around in front of them, and they would pretty much just keep to themselves," he said.
Hall returned to the bay with his girlfriend, Gina Kindred, 24, after she read the report and wanted to find out what the fuss was about, the Herald said.
Kindred thought it was "great for Auckland to have a place where people could go for a full body tan."
Former local Tanya Fernandez, 28, who now lives in Sydney, says nude swimmers were "part of the landscape of Ladies Bay," according to nzherald.co.nz.
"They've been around for as long as I can remember, and everyone here knows they're there.
"If people don't like it, then don't look."
Ella Bogers, from St. Heliers, was one of more than 100 readers who responded to the Herald's report. She said she had stopped going after an unpleasant experience.
She said, "When I was 14 and my sister 18, we went to Ladies Bay for an afternoon swim and were followed up the stairway and along Cliff Rd by a man with an erection," the report said.
One upset local, who declined to be named, said publicity about the beach drew even more people. "These perverts come armed with binoculars, cameras, even telescopes.”