Group of naked tourists spark fury after stripping off in popular sand dune dubbed ‘Big Daddy’ & now face police probe
A GROUP of tourists have been banned and set to face a police probe after stripping naked at one of the world’s beauty heritage spots.
The nude trio was pictured sunbathing on one of Namibia‘s top attractions – the Big Daddy sand dune in the Namib desert.
They now face being fined £40 and blacklisted from entering any of the country’s parks, a tourism ministry official told local media.
It comes after appalled visitors called for action after running into the naked travellers roaming around the sandy destination.
Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations Kenneth Nependa warned against drawing tourists who “think anything goes in Namibia”.
He told the Namibian Sun news website: “It is very sickening and it really creates a bad image for Namibia.”
Nependa added that the Big Daddy dune is a place for families, not just tourists.
Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the ministry of environment, forestry and tourism, condemned the group’s “extremely shocking” behaviour.
He said that visitors are generally law-abiding people, but there have been a few exceptions.
According to Muyunda, the ministry is now pleading with people who witness legal infractions or park rules and regulations to report them to the ministry or the police so that appropriate action can be done.
He added: “We condemn this action strongly.
“We can look into the possibility of blacklisting them from entering any of our parks.”
In a statement cited by local media, he slammed the “public indecency” act and claimed the tourists violated park rules and regulations.
Muyunda said: “We condemn this type of action as it does not only go against our morals but also violates the country’s laws.
“It is a punishable 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.”
The unnamed men had reportedly already left Namibia by the time authorities received reports of the naked stunt.
Despite the national backlash, some people on social media asserted that sunbathing was perfectly OK.
One user on X wrote: “Why are they in trouble? They bothered no one.”
The Big Daddy dune is one of three largest dunes in Namibia’s vast Namib-Naukluft National Park, one of the world’s largest.
The dunes are famous with tourists, who trek to the top to take in the beautiful views across the crests.
The National Park is also home to the Namib Sand Sea, one of Unesco’s precious Heritage sites.
It is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog.
PREVIOUS INCIDENTS
There have also been other incidents including naked tourists causing controversy across the globe.
Earlier this month, a drunk backpacker was arrested and forced to make a grovelling apology for stripping in front of tourists in Thailand.
Joseph William Kershaw, 23, was seen stripping off in front of holidaymakers as they posed for pictures in Krabi, southern Thailand.
A video of the incident showed the Brit cupping his crotch in front of a large group – unfazed by passing motorists.
He bent down and then walked around briefly before getting dressed again.
Meanwhile, a yoga influencer was facing up to six years in jail and a £55,000 fine after posing completely naked for a photo shoot under a sacred tree in Bali.
Instagram star Alina Yoga shared pictures of her pushing her boobs up against the tree in Indonesia on her popular social media account.
However, the racy photos quickly reached Balinese entrepreneur Niluh Djelantik, who chastised her and urged local authorities to intervene.
According to Djelantik, the Russian beauty posed naked in front of the 700-year-old weeping paperbark tree, also known as kayu putih.
The bendy influencer, who has over 16,000 Instagram followers, might now face up to six years in jail if she is proven guilty under local porn laws.
The photographs show her perched on the trunk, with a cheeky peek over her shoulder.