Namibia condemns tourists for posing naked on Big Daddy dune

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s travel email

Namibian authorities have criticized a group of tourists for posing nude on the popular Big Daddy Dune in the Namib Desert, saying they were “shocked” by the incident.

Three male travelers are said to have stripped naked for photos and videos during a dune safari after climbing the more than 300-metre high sandbar and then dropping their clothes.

After the footage was widely circulated on social media, officials said the act was a public indecency violation of park regulations and state law.

The Big Daddy Dune at Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park is one of the three largest dunes in the park and a top tourist attraction for Namibia.

According to the Namibian sunFederation of Namibian Tourism Association vice-chairman Kenneth Nependa branded the incident “disgusting” and added that tourists think “they can do whatever they want” in Namibia.

Nependa said: ‘I mean, we have tourists writing graffiti on the Bushman petroglyphs in Spitzkoppe, tourists hanging from trees in Deadvlei, and now naked tourists climbing Big Daddy – a very famous dune for families, other tourists and the locals.

“The ministry should really speak out and warn tourists that if this were to happen, the law will take its course.”

Disturbed visitors who came across the stark naked trio reported the incident to the authorities.

Romeo Muyunda, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, told a local newspaper The Nambian: “It is a criminal act, according to the laws of the land. When this was brought to our attention we were shocked at the extent to which people could go.

“We condemn this kind of action because it is not only against our morals but also against the laws of the country.”

The naked men have not been publicly identified and are believed to have left the country before local authorities could take action on the reports.

Muyunda added that the ministry is considering not sending foreigners to Namibia’s national parks in the future.

It is not the first time that tourists abroad cause nudists a nuisance.

In October, authorities in Bali investigated a foreign visitor who was filmed naked while meditating at a Hindu shrine, sparking outrage on the Indonesian island.

Balinese influencer Ni Luh Djelantik reposted a video of a tourist baring it all, to the outrage of respected locals.

The incident followed the case of a woman who was reportedly detained by police in Bali after posing nude near a sacred tree in April 2023.