The Gay Crete Blog Visits.....New Zealand!

The last part of this series looks at LGBT accommodations in New Zealand with my experiences during my holidays last November/December 2010, just in time for your holidays this year!!

Although I am spending most of my time staying with relatives and friends for some nights I needed to have hotels and wherever possible I headed to those listed as gay owned or run, rather than just gay friendly, now surprisingly enough New Zealand comes out tops with more gay owned accommodation than anywhere else so far, but then this is hardly surprising as tourist accommodation in NZ is characterised by small family/owner run guesthouses or as they like to call it there, homestays, very much like Crete, Greece used to be before they started building all those awful impersonal 'all inclusive' resorts.

New Zealand is a very pretty country, there are mountains, lakes, volcanos, glaciers, and beaches but few would consider it a 'gay' destination because they haven't been there! In spite of the fact that at times it seems to be a few years behind the times, New Zealand is ahead of its time as well, it was the first country to allow woman to vote for instance, and certainly in terms of LGBT accommodation it has many more than you would expect, including some gems where I was fortunate enough to be able to stay.

Unless you are staying in Auckland forget about noisy gay clubs and bars, although you will find some LGBT nightlife in other places, New Zealand is for those with a taste for good wine, good food, some stunning scenery, (and a little bit of architecture), and a lot of very good 'arty' gift shops. In fact coming to NZ is a bit like visiting Scotland..The idea is to tour around see the sights and in the evening return to your lodgings whether you are staying there for one night or several doesn't really matter as travelling distances around NZ are not too demanding and the roads are good.

So to some nitty gritty reviews.....I had originally booked with a couple of guys in Auckland for one night on my arrival, three flight time changes later and the fact that I had to be up early to catch the 'Transcenic' train from Auckland to Wellington meant that I ended up staying at Rydges, not a mistake but very well placed for some of the sights especially Sky City. It took forever to get from the airport on the transfer bus (NZ$30), because some women seemed to think it was her own personal taxi and we had a scenic tour of the Auckland suburbs so that she could be dropped outside her house, nice for here I am sure, but not for the rest of us as it took hours to get into the City itself. Rydges I will not talk about, you can read my review on TripAdvisor, suffice it to say that the bathroom taps were considerably shinier when I left than when I arrived......

Sky City is an experience but whether it is worth NZ$28 is up to you....There is an Irish pub round the corner where you will pay NZ$8 for a pleasingly large brandy and coke, the gay area is a bit of a walk from this area and I had neither the time nor inclination to visit it as I had laundry to do and had to be up early for the train.....

Please take the Transcenic from Auckland to Wellington, it will give you some idea of what delights are in store for you in the way of scenery as it rattles and sways it merry little way southwards, just hope that you don't have any Russians sleeping off too much vodka in the observation car at the back as they seem to take up a lot of space.....And you can get hedgehog pies from the buffet and a really good cup of coffee too! (NZ$7.50). The views of the moody mountains on the way goes to explain why they used NZ for filming 'The Lord Of The Rings'.

Sometimes it takes Google a while to work out that are really serious with your searches so it was only after I had booked places that I found this web site Gay Stay NZ, nonetheless I found Wellington City Gay Stay through Facebook, where the guys were so upset because they were already full, but undaunted I had already found The Korimoko Homestay on the Rainbow Tourism web site....

Now the boys, (all three of them), at Korimoko bill the place as an 'architectural curiosity', and don't let that put you off, nor the mention of steps as they are not as bad as they make out out (I had left bags at the YMCA in Wellington City because I was only staying one night and was off on the bus the following day), what you will have problem with is a taxi driver who can actually find the place.

I flatly refused to pay the fare on the meter, because we had been going round in circles for thirty minutes until he managed to home in on the place, and that was using GPS!

Once there they welcome was sufficient to make me feel at ease, and this is a house where people live, you become part of the family (I couldn't help once again making a comparison with the b and b's you get in Scotland where you are staying in a place where people spend their lives).

Cosy, comfortable, the everyday accoutrements of daily life, books, a kitchen with 'things' in it, messages on the front of the fridge, and a bottomless teapot with a decent cup of tea in it. I got the room in a goldfish bowl, which was slightly disconcerting until I woke in the morning and realised I wasn't at all overlooked and had a view across to Wellington city, albeit through a very rainy morning.

Gardens around Wellington, and in New Zealand generally, are an experience not to be missed and Korimoko located on a steep slope is no exception. The temperate climate (compared to Australia or Singapore) combined with (more than adequate) rainfall, and soil, results in the 'jungle' effect of which I personally am so fond and the garden here is enhanced by the natural slopes ot the ground. My favourite area is in front of the garden shed and if you fancy a bath then there are two outdoors in the garden!

If we are going to give points then 10/10 and that is from someone who runs a gay homestay themselves.

Regretfully I am leaving the following day and the

guys are kind enough to give me a lift to the bus station which is really platform 12 and three quarters at the railway station as I am heading north to the Hawkes Bay area, to Havelock North and Ngatahi Lodge. The bus trip takes some hours and like most of NZ the buses are regular and cheap and this is good way of seeing the countryside without the stress of driving, but really to get the best out of New Zealand you really need to hire a car for that extra bit of flexibility.

Whenever you book accommodation like this on the web you need to have a certain amount of trust and be prepared for the unexpected and like Korimoko in Wellington, what you get at Ngatahi is unexpected to! Having had a an exchange of emails you start to get to know people, rather like I do at Villa Ralfa, but I was surprised when John offered to pick me up in Hastings where the bus dropped me off, even better, as it was a bit late in the day, he waited while I did some grocery shopping for a basic evening meal as I didn't feel like exploring too much that night.

The accommodation at Ngatahi is mainly a 'motel style' block, but what is inside is anything but motel style. About the first thing that hits you in the eye, in the Queen room, is the bed, we have all seen metal framed beds, but never like this!
Not only is the bed impressive it's comfortable too and there are other nice touches in the room, like a good, solid, old fashioned chest of drawers, and the shower cubicle in the bathroom is plenty big enough for two (!), and I just love the tap on the washbasin.....

Of course by the time I get there it is just about dark so the real treats have to wait until the morning.

Apart from the great location, for visiting the art deco towns of Hastings and Napier both of which have some beautiful gift shops selling a lot of art deco sculpture and ceramics, and also for visiting the number of wineries in the area one of the most outstanding features of Ngatahi is the garden, or rather gardens, as it is divided into various areas surrounding the accommodation and the common room blocks. Without giving too much away there are meandering paths through trees and shrubs (and let's face it, us boys, we love a meandering path through trees and shrubs), there's a lake, there's rose garden with an outdoor bath (I told you NZ was a bit old fashioned!), and even a couple of chairs hidden in a corner covered with almost as much moss as I am.

While I was there I was also able to see the cottage that John and Henk also have to rent, separated as it is from the rest of the buildings, the cottage is ideal for those wanting a little more privacy!

Roughly in the middle of the grounds is a modern communal block containing a kitchen and a comfortable lounge area overlooking the lake, and with a barbecue area this provides a focal point for social activities.

Regretfully the demands of family and flights meant that I had to cut short my stay, otherwise I could have spent another week just exploring the garden!

The town of Havelock North is within walking distance, (John and Henk lent me a bicycle), so although you could self cater on site there is really no need to do so. I must make a comment here though, and although I cannot speak for the other rooms, mine did not have its own fridge, it would only take a couple of cases of wine or champers to fill the fridge in the common room and at busy times it would be difficult to keep your wine and food chilled, but apart from that I cannot fault this haven of tranquility which makes it ideal for those wanting a get away from it all place with mod cons! Well done guys!

Villa Ralfa Goes ‘On Tour’ Down Under - Part Two.....More Flights, and The Knotty Problem of Finding ‘Real’ LGBT Accommodation.

Having booked the main flights, and trains, for my gay travels down under, your intrepid traveller finds that there can be a problem booking exclusively LGBT accommodation, and that Greece is still a cheap place to stay!

A couple of my fans have mentioned that there are a couple more things which you should have to hand when doing this sort of thing, these are your passport as many airlines want your passport or ID card number when you book, and more importantly lots of ink and paper in your printer! The airlines must save a lot of money not having to provide you with an expensive multipart ticket these days, and do make sure that you actually print out your ‘e-ticket’ and not just the receipt for the booking!

Of course I am well aware how big Australia really is, as I lived there for a number of years, but having booked the train journey from Perth to Adelaide, and then on to Alice Springs where I pick up a two day bus tour to King’s Canyon and Ayer’s Rock, there is the problem of getting on to Melbourne to leave enough time there to see friends and my partner’s mother.

About the only airline that comes up on Google is Virgin Blue and at A$600 one way from Alice to Melbourne it is hardly cheap, (and takes forever because they fly via Sydney), as usual with these airlines everything seems to be an extra!

After a look at my favourite airline site Attitude Travel (http://www.attitudetravel.com/), I discover Tiger Airways. What starts out at A$47 for a one way flight soon turns into A$154 by the time I add my luggage, pay A$8 for a seat, and they add on a ‘Convenience Fee’ whatever that is!

And finally I have to get flights from Melbourne to Auckland, and from Wellington to Auckland to pick up my return flight to Singapore. Air New Zealand proved to be the cheapest choice for Melbourne to Auckland, Jetstar the cheapest and most convenient for Wellington to Auckland. It is amazing how trouble free things can be when you have a credit card that actually works!!

And then we come to accommodation....For much of my journey I am staying with friends and family which is the cheapest way!

But to be honest I also want to do a bit of a ‘consumer survey’ during my trip and see what other LGBT hotels have to offer and whether there is anything I can do better (or worse!). And there are a couple of places where I do not have friends (yet!), like Singapore, Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Auckland.

Now when I say LGBT, I mean LGBT owned and GLBT run, not one of the enormous international chains, or even a national chain, where you could actually be in any hotel in any city in the world and not know where, and where your money goes to head office wherever that is! Let’s face it we are gay and we want a proper gay establishment, not one where the staff have had special training as if we are people with ‘special needs’.

My priorities here are in this order,

1. LGBT owned and run
2. Location
3. Price.

As you know I can be a bit mean so it might seem odd to put price last, but many ‘gay’ hotels are very much boutique style which always tend to be more expensive, although I think some places still believe that there is a ‘pink’ dollar, or pound, or euro, so tend to be more pricey, (I don’t know why they think we have more money as recent surveys suggest that the 6% of the population that are ‘gay’ are responsible for 6% of spending, so they don’t spend any more or less than any other sector of the population).

As for location, there are some very nice GLBT places around but some of them are way out of town which is a bit inconvenient when the bars and local attractions are miles away, unless you have your own transport of course, which I don’t. And a couple of times I have to get up early to get to airports and railway stations!

Searching gay and lesbian directories, and the various sites dealing with ‘gay’ accommodation proved very disappointing for the locations where I wanted it most. For instance, Google produced only one result for Singapore, which on closer inspection looked like the rooms were for rent by the hour, and were sparsely furnished at that, although since then I have seen a review from somebody who stayed there and said it was fine......Fine if you like staying in a bathhouse that is, but when you get to a certain age you need somewhere with a few creature comforts!

Below are links to some of the sites that proved useful although I ended up in going to ‘gay friendly’ places which happened to be located just where I wanted them to be.

Australia proved to be the most difficult, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised when I say that Adelaide and Alice Springs proved to be the worst, New Zealand on the other hand proved very easy!

Trying to book LGBT accommodations in Adelaide did have it’s amusing side, as after the Qguide site proved fruitless (the one place listed came back and said ‘We do not have accommodation’), I tried the old favourite ploy of sending messages to people on line on Gaydar. Out of six messages sent, two didn’t reply, one said ‘I do not know of such things as I am not gay’, (I didn’t understand that one either), two came up with logical suggestions, and the last sent me the following message, and I quote verbatim...... “Hey Tim! Thanks for your message. God! You poor bugger! Adelaide is a complete gay desert! An inbred cesspool of cheating 'happily married' queers and mental retards! Not a normal gay bloke to be found!”. Which probably explains the ‘I’m not gay’ response! In the end I chose a hotel listed as gay friendly, but just happening to be in a convenient place.

I did make contact with someone in Alice Springs who proved very helpful with advice about tours, but as both nights that I would be spending in The Alice were late to bed and early to rise days, I didn’t worry too much and just booked something convenient.

For Melbourne there were a number of listings on various web sites, strangely these proved to be gay-friendly only, when in fact Melbourne has a couple of quite good gay owned/run places the names of which I got from a friend who lives there.

And what about prices?

I deliberately avoided ‘budget’ accommodation as in many cases this is going to be youth hostels or back-packers accommodation, not that I have anything against backpackers, I have met some very nice ones in my time, so I took the lower end of mid-price accommodation. Strangely accommodation in Australia and New Zealand seemed to be the same price in both dollar currencies which for us Europeans means that New Zealand was the cheapest place! Working on this basis a room for two costs around $120 per night in both A$ and NZ$, and in Singapore, S$175 per night for two. As a rough guide NZ$120 is £60 or €70, A$120 is £80 or £90, and S$175 is £90 or €100 respectively. Note that these prices are for two, no reduction for single travellers like we do at Villa Ralfa, (and quite common in Greece and Europe generally!)

For more about where I stayed and what I got up to you will have to wait until I write up all my notes and do some more blogs, but for now I will give you the web sites I found most useful.

http://www.topgayhotels.com/, http://www.qguide.com.au/, http://www.gaystay.co.nz/, proved most useful for accommodation, the Gaystay NZ web site lists a lot of gay accommodation, probably more than there is in the UK, especially useful for those touring around. The Qguide web site is very strange as sometimes it is there and another time not. I didn’t look to see where it is hosted but there seems to be problems with web sites in Australia generally. When I was planning my trip I took this problem to be at my end, only when I got there did I realise this was not the case.

http://www.utopia-asia.com/, is an excellent site for things to do in Singapore and Asia generally, there was a bit of a shortage of accommodation in Singapore so I used http://www.rainbowtourism.com/ , which also gave me useful accommodation in Adelaide.

http://www.galta.com.au, is a generally useful site, it has many listings around Adelaide too but as these were not central and I had a train to catch they were generally too far away!

http://www.starobserver.com.au/ and http://blaze.gaynewsnetwork.com.au/ are both news sites, they are also the home of some free gay newspapers and mags which have a lot of info in them, plus there are some classifieds on the web site. Good for looking at current affairs and events.

http://www.pinkboard.com.au also provides some accurate information and maps on various locations in Australia, while http://www.outinperth.com/ provides information specifically on Perth WA.

This sounds just like the Oscars doesn’t it!!??

And finally my thanks to a long time friend in Melbourne who suggested I stay at The Laird in Melbourne, an Australian pub in the true tradition, http://www.lairdhotel.com/, and also to the fellow members of the Gay Travellers Network, who came up trumps with things to do in Singapore http://www.gaytravellersnetwork.com !!

Villa Ralfa Goes ‘On Tour’ Down Under - Part One.....Bookings Flights and The Pitfalls of Using a Credit Card.

Booking your holidays as an independent gay or lesbian traveller has never been easier and here are some of my experiences and do’s and dont’s, when booking your tickets and accommodation.

Yes, even humble gay hotel owners from Crete, Greece sooner or later need a break from home and as avid followers who hang on my every word, (you do, don’t you?), you will know that I am a great exponent of booking holidays independently, eschewing the conventional travel agents and travel web sites but you do need to a bit of planning, especially if you have a lot of stopovers and side trips to make!

I don’t say that it would have been impossible to book this through an agency, but I think even the most patient of travel agents would have been tearing their hair out after this one.

First off, plan your holiday.

I know this sounds silly, after all you are supposed to be taking it easy, but you cannot start to book anything unless you know where you are going and why! If you just want sun, sea, sand, and maybe a bit of sex thrown in then anywhere where you are going to find these, will do, well almost....Forward planning is essential (as is booking flights well in advance to make sure you get a seat and more often the best prices, and if you work in an organisation, that you will be able to take the time off when you want it).

In my case and this holiday, I wanted to go and see friends and relatives in Australia and New Zealand, catch up with my partner’s two boys and their children, and also visit some places like Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, that I never got to see when I lived in Perth, WA. And also make at least part of the journey across Australia by rail, something I wanted to do even before Michael Palin did it!

But I wanted to do it in a relaxing way with not too much flying and not too many airports.....I am going on holiday after all! And I have a month to do it.

Second, what you will need.

A credit card (or debit card, although some airlines will not take these), with plenty of credit on it, and an expiry date beyond your date of return. I say this because some airlines will not accept a card which expires before your return journey. Or that expires before you leave come to that.

Thirdly, check whether you need a visa to visit your chosen destination.

There are still many countries that require you to have a visa. In this case I am travelling to Australia which certainly does. Fortunately you no longer have to visit an Australian High Commission or Embassy to get this, and you do not need to go through a visa ‘agency’ either, as you can do it on line. (Some more advice on using the Australian on line visa application follows later).

Always apply for visas before you do anything else, they are usually valid for a year, and sometimes they do get refused, so if you have already paid for your airfare you are not going to get it back.

With the benefit of hindsight I will say, ‘Do not even look at flights until you have got the visa’.

So off we go.....

From my point of view it is easier for me to fly from Athens and like most International airport’s the AIA web site lists the airlines and destinations serviced, OK, I have flown Singapore Airlines before, and guess what? They do a flight on exactly the day I want it, giving me time to do a stopover in Singapore to recover from the time difference before I hit Perth. Even better the Singapore web site gives you the chance to book multiple ‘legs’ too, useful, if like me, you want to travel overland, but pick up a return flight from Auckland NZ.

First mistake is actually to go through the process to find out how much it costs....And I haven’t got a visa yet....And the price I get back is superb to say the least.

Putting in the on line application for an Australian visa is not easy. There are pages and pages of it, and lots of boxes to fill in. Make sure you save each page as you complete it and or course, make a note of the reference number!!!! You will need it to recall and complete the application if anything goes wrong, and on the day I did it there was nothing but problems with my Internet connection. At the end of the process there was no acknowledgment screen as I expected. So has it been sent or not? Three days later I am still not sure and trying to navigate through the web site to see the status of the application is well nigh impossible! Finally I enlisted the help of a friend in Perth who called the visa office, (in Tasmania, I believe), who confirmed that they had got it and were processing it manually because something had gone wrong. (Tell me about it!)

By this stage I am worrying about whether my nice cheap convenient flight would still be available! Checking the Singapore web site still shows it.....On day 4 my application for the Australian visa appears on their system, and three days after that I get the visa itself. Fast work there boys!

Too late, the flight I wanted is now full, and, all of a sudden, the flight from Auckland back to Singapore has trebled in price....Disappointment could have set in at this point, but hey, I allowed for a bit of flexibility didn’t I?

Well, actually, no I didn’t. A further check on flights doesn’t really help because returning later puts me too close to Christmas, and leaving earlier is too soon because I have arranged the house and dog-sitter already....And in the meantime I have been checking out my rail journeys in Australia and the Indian Pacific only travels on two days a week, and as I have decided to take The Ghan from Adelaide to Alice, then that trip is also pretty well fixed too.

Always have a Plan B, or C, or D, or Z even.

In this case, depart from a different airport. A quick check shows that Singapore Air, (and other airlines) have more frequent departures from London Heathrow, and although I was trying to avoid the extra flights, it was always in the back of my mind. Being idle doesn’t always pay off!

As we have visas in place and have organised some extra credit on my card, it makes sense to book the flight straight away, working out how to get from Crete to London Heathrow can wait! Available flights are leaving when I want, and strangely the Auckland NZ to Singapore leg that was so expensive before has now gone down!

I work my way through the booking process, making sure that I am not trying to depart from somewhere that I haven’t got to yet, and we arrive at the final screen ready to press the button that says ‘BUY’, except nothing happens.....Go back, click ‘Refresh’, re-send the data, try again....Just a message clearly placed there by my card provider. Close browser, clear data, try again, going all the way through the whole process again...Still no joy. (In the meantime I am also getting a warning message from Singapore Air that my credit card expires before I am travelling and that I will need to take my card to their nearest office to get is validated!)

Now incensed, I call my card provider in the UK (from Greece at peak time!), thinking that they have mucked up the increased credit limit, ‘Not so,’ says the young gentleman I speak to. I read the message out loud to him, ‘Ahh,’ he says, ‘I will put you through to ‘Clicksafe’, and finally get a nice Irish lady, and after explaining things to her she tells me that they are actually a separate company acting as sub-contractors to my card provider. After taking me through security, (one day they will ask something else other than my DOB and if there are any other card holders), she asks me what I am trying to do, I tell her and she says ‘That is what I can see here too’. Sometimes these people are so helpful.

‘You can’t do that with that card,’ she says, ‘Your credit limit isn’t high enough.’

I explain that the credit limit has been increased by the card provider.

‘Ah yes,’ she says, ‘But that is nothing to do with our credit limit. You can only use it up to £50.’

I don’t know whether they have ‘Clicksafe’ in other countries, I sincerely hope not, and if you can avoid signing up with it if you are in the UK, then do so.....

By now I am getting really pee’d off, and have done several ‘Back’ clicks on the Singapore Air web site trying, successfully, to retain the flight and price.

She takes me through a further set of security questions, omitting to ask me my inside leg measurement and the results of any recent sperm count. And finally tells me to try again.

Having not refreshed the screen often enough, the Singapore web site has now timed out due to inactivity! Fortunately for the world at large, starting all over again I finally get to book the flight.

Now you might think this is the end of this story, but of course, this is me we are talking about.

With plentiful flights from Crete to Athens, and Athens to London, during the winter months there is no rush to get on with the connecting flights, but train journeys within Australia, and now that I have had time to look more closely, New Zealand as well, are now priority jobs if I am to avoid flying again for a while after I get to Perth.

Buying through an Australian web site is something of an experience, for a start they don’t ask for the CCV number on the back, and they don’t worry about expiry dates on cards either, even though I am travelling after the expiry date. Even better the Great Southern Railway allows you to book and only pay a deposit, a great help of your credit is limited. And to be honest the whole booking is experience seems more relaxing and laid back, than, say Singapore Airlines, or even Easyjet!

I try to book the Indian Pacific from Perth to Adelaide. Without much information and no informative error messages it just tells me that they cannot complete the transaction and try again later. I try again later, but this time booking The Ghan from Adelaide to Alice. Success, all goes well and I even get the email confirmation for instructions on paying the balance.

I try the Indian Pacific again, still no joy.

I try to book my Easyjet flights to and from Athens to London, that will not work either, but then I manage to book those with a debit card which expires in two days time. Don’t you just love Easyjet?

I try to book flights with Aegean for the Crete/Athens leg with my credit card, no it definitely does not want to work.

I try to book the Indian Pacific again, still no joy. In desperation because it is important, I use my Greek credit card, hey presto, it works. So what is wrong with my English credit card?

The following morning I am emailed a copy of a letter from the security department of my card provider in the UK. They have tried to phone me, they say, which is a lie, because the only number they have is a UK mobile and that has not rung in weeks. In the meantime they have blocked my card for suspicious activity and could I please call them.

To bloody right I can call them, in peak time again too because they only work 9 to 5. I am not sure what happens if you want to report a stolen card outside those times.

Finally after more security questions during which I asked, in a voice heavy with sarcasm, if they would like my vaccination certificates too, and explaining why I am trying to use my card outside the UK, I get the block lifted. Is this something to do with the financial crisis in the UK I wonder?

And with my heart aflutter and a song on my lips, I manage to book the Indian Pacific, and the Transcenic rail journey from Auckland to Wellington.

This is more than enough for one blog, so I will leave you with the pleasant thought that I still have to book some internal flights in Oz and NZ. And I haven’t even started on accommodation yet!

Part Two will deal with the impossibility of finding true LGBT hotels and accommodation around the world, and booking a flight with the Australian version of Ryanair!