‘Disgusting’: Namibian authorities fume after naked tourists strip off at Big Daddy dune
Namibian authorities have heavily criticised a group of tourists who posed naked on the popular ‘Big Dad‐ dy’ dune in the Namib desert.
Three male visitors are said to have taken their clothes off for pic‐ tures and videos during a dune safari a er hiking up the sandbank, which is more than 300 metres tall.
The resulting images were then shared on social media and circulated widely. That prompted local officials to say they were “shocked” by the in‐ cident and to claim that the act was a public indecency violation of park regulations and national law.
How did the incident at Big Dad‐ dy dune come about?
Authorities were first alerted to the nude tourists when horrified visitors saw the trio and reported the inci‐ dent.
The three men have not been pub‐ licly identified and they are also be‐ lieved to have le Namibia before any punishment could come their way.
The Big Daddy dune, located in the Namib-Nauklu National Park, is one of the three largest in the area and is a popular tourism draw for Namibia.
It’s the tallest dune in the Sos‐ susvlei area and dwarfs surrounding dunes. It’s a famously challenging climb to the top, with steep sandy walkways and o en punishing heat.
The naked tourists have drawn sharp criticism from the African na‐ tion’s tourist board.
Vice-chairperson of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Association, Kenneth Nependa, told newspaper the Namibian Sun, that the incident was “disgusting” and poured scorn on tourists who think “they can do what‐ ever they want” in the country.
Citing other examples like “tourists writing graffiti on the Bush‐ man rock art in Spitzkoppe”, “tourists hanging on the trees in Deadvlei - and now naked tourists climbing Big Dad‐ dy”, he warned disrespectful visitors that “the law will take its course”.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism agreed with his approach, telling local outlet The Namibian: “It is a punish‐ able act, according to the country’s laws. When this had been brought to our attention, we were shocked at the extent to which people could go.”
“We condemn this type of action as it does not only go against our morals but also violates the country’s laws,” Romeo Muyunda added.
Will the tourists be punished for going nude in Namibia?
The Namibian government is said to
be considering banning the naked vis‐itors from entering any of the nation’s national parks in the future.
There has been a spate of nude tourists upsetting authorities in re‐ cent months.
In October last year, a foreign visi‐ tor to Bali was filmed meditating naked at a Hindu shrine. With a popu‐ lation that is around 90 per cent Hindu, the action caused uproar on the Indonesian island.
That incident came a er another tourist to Bali was reportedly de‐ tained by police a er posing naked by a sacred tree in April 2023.