As latecomers to the Naturist lifestyle we wondered if there was a trend of people discovering Naturism later in life?
In our case we discovered the freedom of being clothes-free when I happened to see a reference to our local clothing-optional beach on a map. This prompted some further investigation on the web and finally a visit, with a certain amount of anxiety I must say, and finally that wonderful moment where I shed my physical clothing and a whole lot of psychological stuff as well!
This experience was so potent that on my arrival home I was beaming and my wife was keen to experience my newfound freedom for herself. So having found a family friendly beach we set off.
She did say that she probably would only go topless but on arrival and after removing her top, I asked if she felt over dressed and she nodded and removed the rest of her clothes.
A short time later and we were enjoying the ocean as God intended.
We had some holidays planned shortly there after and I found a small cottage in the Byron Bay hinterland that was noted as nudist friendly due to it's private location.
So having booked the cottage we then needed a stop over and we selected a naturist B&B (Sylvan Glade) at Bowraville as our first experience of social nudism in a non-beach setting.
As it turned out we were the only ones staying at the B&B so it was a nice gentle introduction, made even easier by our hosts.
Sylvan Glade Pool
On our return we planned to break up our trip by stopping a couple of days at Bowraville and the 3 days at a new naturist B&B (Le Chateau) at Port Stephens.
This was where we met and spent time with a number of like-minded couples in a nudist environment. The thing we noticed about these experiences was the total acceptance and genuine friendship offered both by the hosts and the other guests that allowed us to be comfortable with who we were.
Le Chateau
The interesting thing is that a lot of the people we have met are in their mid 40s to mid 50s. Some have been involved in the lifestyle for many years others like ourselves are relatively new.
I read with interest a posting to one of the Naturist online forums where a woman involved in the lifestyle made the suggestion that women on reaching 40+ reach a point where they feel a lot less pressure to conform to the airbrushed ideals of the fashion magazines. If they can start to find an easy acceptance of their bodies then armed with this mindset they are ready to discover the full liberation of Naturism.
We have met a few families and they are bringing up their children in the naturist environment. But I would imagine it will become more difficult as the children grow and demands on their time will be increased.
Hence, we have heard of people leaving the lifestyle that they had discovered in their 20's & 30's, only to pick it up again when the children had grown up.
So now in our 50's we could be part of a growing trend that may see a strong revival of people looking for more opportunities for social nudity whether at a beach, resort type facility or traditional club.
