Downward Angle Icon An icon in the shape of a downward angle. Tourists walking by sand dunes in Namib-Naukluft National Park. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images Namibian authorities have criticized a tourist who took nude photos in one of its national parks. One government official called the act “disgusting.” Another said: “I’m shocked at how far people will go.”
Namibian authorities have threatened to blacklist a group of tourists who took nude photos atop the Big Daddy Dunes in one of the country’s national parks.
Local media first reported the incident on Wednesday, writing that visitors were surprised to spot the group of tourists. According to the World Federation of National Parks, Big Daddy is a sand dune in Namib-Naukluft National Park.
Photos of the tourists in question have been shared on social media.
Kenneth Nependa, vice president of the Namibia Federation of Tourism Associations, told The Namibia Sun he was “beyond shocked” when he saw the images. Nependa added that she did not know the details of the incident.
Big daddy dunes.Wolfgang Köhler/Getty Images
“I was like, ‘What the hell is going on now?’ I read a little bit of the information that was shared, but I don’t know where or how it happened,” he said.
Nependa told the report that the act was “disgusting”.
“I mean, we’ve got tourists graffitiing the Bushman rock art in Spitzkoppe, we’ve got tourists hanging from Deadvlei trees, and now we’ve got naked tourists climbing Big Daddy… “Big Daddy is a very famous dune for families, tourists and locals,” he said. .
Nepanda added that she was worried that other tourists would emulate this behavior.
“This happened in broad daylight and the tourists witnessed it. The ministry should speak out and warn tourists that if something like this happens, the law will be applied. ” he said.
Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda echoed Nepanda’s sentiments in a statement to The Namibian.
“We strongly condemn this act. We may consider the possibility of blacklisting them from entering our parks,” Muyunda told the media.
Muyunda and Nepanda argued that the act was indecent and violated national park regulations and local laws.
Tourists at the base of the sand dunes in Namib-Naukluft National Park. VW Photo/Getty Images
“We condemn this kind of behavior because it is not only against our morals, but also against the laws of the country,” Muyunda told the Namibian newspaper.
“This is public obscenity. It really shouldn’t be allowed in our parks. It shouldn’t be allowed anywhere in Namibia, because this is just a disgrace,” Nepanda told The Namibia Sun newspaper. is unpleasant and it’s really [creates] This is a bad image for Namibia. ”
Representatives from the Namibia Federation of Tourism Associations and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
