UK Edition
Playboy model angers Maori community with nude shoot on sacred New Zealand volcano
A model who hiked up a volcano in New Zealand and then stripped and posted a photograph of herself naked on social media has angered the local Maori community who say she “disrespected” the mountain.
Jaylene Cook, a 25-year-old Playboy model from New Zealand, caused a furore after taking a photograph near the top of Mount Taranaki and posting it on Instagram.
Insisting the image was “natural and pure”, she said she and her partner Josh Shaw, a photographer, had researched the mountain’s significance before their hike and were careful to avoid the summit.
"[The photo] is not crude or explicit in any way,” she told stuff.co.nz.
“We made ourselves knowledgeable on the history of the mountain. We were quite respectful. Being nude is not something that is offensive in any way. It's natural and pure and it's about freedom and empowerment."
The mountain, on the North Island, has a summit of 8,300 feet but visitors are urged to pay respect and to avoid the rock at the top. It was originally named Mount Egmont by Captain Cook, who sighted it in 1770.
“Mount Taranaki has great spiritual significance to local Maori,” says the New Zealand government’s website.
"The crater and summit is the sacred head of Taranaki, the rocks and ridge are his bones, rivers his blood and plants and trees are his cloak and offer protection from the weather… Respect the mountain.”
Dennis Ngawhare, a local Maori academic and spokesman, said the community was offended by Ms Cook’s behaviour, adding that he and his family did not climb the mountain because they regarded it as an ancestor.
“I accept people climb up to the summit, but what we do ask is that people be respectful,” he said.
"I'd imagine you will be getting a few comments from people saying 'what's wrong with that? Who cares?' But I also know cousins and relatives who will be quite upset about it. They would consider it as being disrespectful towards the mountain."
The incident follows several cases around the world in which visitors have stripped naked during hikes and offended local communities.
Neil Holdom, the mayor of New Plymouth, a city near Mount Taranaki, said the local community was not the “fun police” but wanted visitors to show respect.
“[People] should ask themselves how they would feel if someone took a photo of themselves naked, on the grave of a great grandparent,” he said.
Ms Cook said the temperature was 12F (-11C) but it was warmer than expected and allowed for the naked stunt.
"The sun up there was so beautiful that day, so it was not too bad," she said.