Ladies Bay Beach is located in Saint Heliers, an eastern suburb of Auckland that is about 10 kilometers directly east of the city center. The beach straddles both sides of a rocky point called Achilles Point. Apparently, the name of the beach is a bit of a historical holdover. Back during the days when mixed-gender bathing was not considered proper, the beach was divided. Ladies Bay was the beach for women on the west side of Achilles Point, while Gentleman's Bay was the beach for men on the east side of Achilles Point. These days, the whole beach tends to be known as Ladies Bay. Furthermore, the entire beach has evolved into an unofficial nude beach since the days of gender segregation. However, like St. Leonards Beach in the North Shore area of Auckland, Ladies Bay is avoided by many naturists because it has acquired a bit of an unsavory reputation due to the indiscreet behavior of some visitors.

The beach is accessed by a walkway and steps (see the green line) that takes you to the west end of Ladies Bay. Facing the water when you land on the beach, Achilles Point will be about 100 meters to your right, then Gentleman's Bay is the part of the beach around the bend and out of your view when you first land on the beach.

The stretch of the beach between the access steps and Achilles Point, which faces northwest, affords a spectacular view of the Auckland skyline and is partly visible from the Achilles Point overlook above the beach. This stretch of the beach is rarely all nude and may in fact be mostly or even all textile, just depending on the crowd that day. Continue around the bend to much more secluded Gentleman's Bay, which is the northeast-facing part of the beach, and you are likely to encounter only nudists. Once you round the bend, nudity is possible for about a kilometer since this stretch of the beach is not visible to houses atop the forested cliff, but the beach gets much narrower and rockier the farther you go. If you keep going past the next major bend, you will be at Karaka Bay, where the beach is visible from nearby residences, so obviously clothing needs to be worn beyond that point.

Core users of this beach are gay men, particularly on the Gentleman's Bay section.

more info from Free Beaches New Zealand (scroll down to Ladies Bay)

more info from Let's Get Naked New Zealand

VISUAL RESOURCES

GPS: -36.8440, 174.8633

suburb, region, island, country
  Saint Heliers, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

There are 5 placemarks related to this site.