A Playboy playmate's hike to the summit of Mt Taranaki to take a naked photo has been condemned by some Māori.
Playmate Jaylene Cook, 25, hiked more than 12km up the mountain with her photographer and partner Josh Shaw last Wednesday, where she posed for the photo completely naked, apart from a beanie, gloves and shoes, to keep her warm.
"This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done!" she wrote on Instagram to her more than 290,000 followers.
"[Two] minutes out of the car park I was already hurting, sweating and ready to turn back. But it's amazing what you can accomplish with the encouragement and support of your partner!"
The photo itself has had more than 8000 likes on her Instagram post but some Māori won't be one of them, according to Māori academic Dennis Ngawhare who described the photo as "disrespectful."
"It's culturally insensitive and not what I would expect someone to do on the summit of Mt Taranaki," he told Fairfax Media.
"I'd imagine you will be getting a few comments from people saying 'what's wrong with that? Who cares?' But I know [relatives] who will be quite upset about it.
"They would consider it as being disrespectful towards the mountain."
But Ms Cook said she was aware of the mountain's cultural importance.
"We made ourselves knowledgeable on the history of the mountain," she told Fairfax Media.
"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 New Zealand-born travel and glamour model recently featured in the January edition of Playboy Mexico.
Newshub.
