The 2012 Dunedin Midwinter Carnival will be held on 23 June in the Octagon – the distinctive town plaza centre. On the longest night of the year, the Octagon’s Victorian streetscape will be brought to life with fireworks, stilt walkers, musicians and dancers, joined by hundreds of hand-made lanterns carried by local children. The iconic event theme is a winter fairytale “A Frosty Night.”

 The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival event attracts crowds of 10,000. If you’re visiting Dunedin for this event, be sure to book early with Rainbow Tourism approved accommodation.

For more information about festival events. www.midwintercarnival.co.nz

Calling all women who love a great venue, great catering, great entertainment, and great company – this is the “girls night out” for you!

Gay Auckland Business Association has re-launched the Auckland Lesbian Ball. It is back on July 7th at the Pullman Hotel (formerly the Hyatt) Auckland, and promises to be hotter than ever.

The theme is Butch & Burlesque, so interpret that any way you like and hire a costume (prizes for best costume)!

All-girl band The Mermaids are playing, as well as other “surprise” entertainment, and loads of prizes and give-aways. This musical act excels in dance music  – with music from every era – plus plenty to look at, with gorgeous costumes – coupled with fun & spontaneous onstage personalities.

Cash tickets are available at The Women’s Book Shop on Ponsonby Rd. for $80 each or online. Tickets are absolutely limited and will not be for sale on the night.
Hotel packages at the Hotel Pullman Auckland are available.

Other Auckland accommodation that is Rainbow Tourism Approved.

QWU Finalist Ms Jamacica 2011

The show, Queen of the Whole Universe, premiered in Auckland in 2004 and has travelled around the state for sell-out performances. The musical parody on a beauty pageant, now in its 6th year, has donated over $145,000 for HIV/AIDS causes in New Zealand.

Contestants from the universe lineup include every nation from Miss Bali Hi
and Miss Broadway to Miss Vatican City and Miss Wonderland.  Expect outlandish costumes and great comedy.

The 10th performance and the finale, is back where it started in Aukland.  Put this in your calendar if you live in NZ or will be visiting then.

When: Saturday 21 July 2012
Where: ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE, Auckland

• Need a place to bed down after the grand final?
• Places in Auckland and Surrounds
  
• Things to See and Do for first timers.
• Auckland Activities, Adventures, Accommodations

The American Express Queenstown Winter Festival is the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party.

From 22 June to 1 July the 2012 Winter Festival celebrates 38 years of winter fun and festivities with 10 days of totally outrageous and uniquely Queenstown events.

A combination of hotly anticipated classics and a real coup or two will once again deliver a programme that’s pure entertainment for both locals and visitors.

The celebrations kick off with the American Express Opening Party & Fireworks on Earnslaw Park (Friday 22 June) – this year Fire & Ice themed.  The next morning (Saturday 23 June) events can be wild or mild as people decide between the Auckland Airport Family Fun Day and Festival Parade or the decidedly physical Mountain Bikes on Snow, Frontrunner Golden Mile or More FM Birdman.

The following weekend promises sporting fun on and off the mountain with the Air New Zealand Mountain Mayhem on Saturday 30 June, rugby on the Rec Ground, Ice Hockey at the Ice Arena and Night Skiing at Coronet Peak.  On Sunday 1 July winter sports continue with the Quiksilver Invitational Slopestyle and the National Cyclocross.

The Wonderland Ice Rink on the Village Green will host a dazzling performance from the Australian-based Stars on Ice team (Tuesday 26 June).

Back again due to massively popular demand is the Mountain Scene’s Thriller in the Chiller (Saturday 30 June) and the Auckland Airport International Mardi Gras is this year to be staged as a closing party on Sunday 1 July.

• Queenstown Winter Festival calendar.
• For more information about Queenstown.
• Rainbow Tourism Accredited accommodation in Queenstown and surrounds.
• More Queenstown stories.

Les Ballets Eloelle are bringing their new production of ‘Men In Tutu’s’ – the most spectacular, talented and hilarious all-male comedy ballet ever – back to New Zealand.

Starting 10 July, the show will be performed in several cities on both islands before ending in Auckland on 25 August.

See cities and dates – men on tutus website

From the thrilling pirouettes of the male dancers to the side-splitting humour, Les Ballets Eloelle’s new show Men In Tutu’s is a show designed for the young and old.

The greatest troupe of it is kind around the globe; Les Ballet’s Eloelle features 50 ballets in its repertoire, and an array of the best international professional male ballet dancers from 13 nations.

These fine-looking and gorgeous soloists have executed with celebrated ballet companies around the world.The New York-based company is led by Creative Director and lead dancer Victor Trevino, who was artistic Director and Lead Dancer in 2007 with the hugely successful Australian and New Zealand tour.

Men in Tutus personifies the elemental parody of both classic and present-day ballet. The combining of magnificent dance proficiency, bantering and clamorous wittiness with designed mannerisms, dance misadventures and naturally outrageous hissy fits by gentlemen role playing both masculine and feminine personas.

“It is not a drag show, but a brilliant artistic and comical send up of the world of dance.” – USA Today

After checking performance dates, check Rainbow Tourism’s New Zealand North Island, South Island for recommended lodging in those cities.

Matariki is a celebration unique to Aotearoa

The tradition of Matariki continues and is very much alive in modern day Aotearoa.

Exhibitions, lively festivals, concerts and cultural performances are among a growing myriad of entertaining events that take place throughout this celebration of the Maori New Year.

Matariki is a celebration unique to Aotearoa, and a chance for everyone to forget the winter blues by embracing the warm spirit of Matariki ahunga nui – Matariki provider of plentiful food.

In Ōtepoti/Dunedin, the rising of the Matariki cluster of stars (known as the Pleiades) and the first new moon herald in the new year The city’s 4th annual Puaka Matariki Festival runs for a month with over 40 events from 18 June to 8 July.

More info on Maori New Year 
Matariki Cultural Festival video
Rainbow Tourism Accredited Accommodation in Dunedin 

Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker headliners in "Cloudburst".

Out Takes 2012 is only a few weeks away! Auckland 24 May – 4 June, and Wellington 31 May – 10 June.

The festival has announced two outstanding headlining films. ‘Let My People Go!’ is a frenetic and sexy comedy which will open the festival in Auckland and Wellington.  And ‘Cloudburst’ brings Brenda Fricker and a delightfully foul-mouthed Olympia Dukakis to Auckland’s Opening Night and the Lesbian Gala in Wellington.

Check out the 2012 programme: Out Takes: A Reel Queer Film Festival

• Rainbow Places in Auckland
• Where to Stay in Wellington

With arid badlands, crater and alpine lakes, sparkling rivers, breathtaking lunar landscapes, lush rainforest and alpine meadows to be explored, staying at the Chateau Tongariro is an utterly unique experience.

On Saturday May the 19th, the Bayview Chateau Tongariro will host the Gay Pink Ball.  This is the second year for the event organised by the local gay and lesbian community.

The Chateau Tongariro sits nestled in the shadow of three towering active volcanoes, and at the very foot of the majestic and sacred Mount Ruapehu. The 800 square kilometre Tongariro National Park – a dual listed World Heritage Area – provides a stunning natural playground bursting with diverse landscapes for visitors to the Chateau to discover.

Here’s a slice of what you should expect.

Check in to the hotel from 3pm. If you’re coming by train, our porter service will collect you. Relax in the stunning surroundings, take a walk in the surrounding National Park, or take a drive up the ‘Top of the Bruce’. At 1625 metres above sea level, the views are fantastic.

Then prepare for pre-dinner drinks from 7pm hosted by “Miss Ribena”. The parquet floor will be ready as will a full buffet dinner with beverages with dinner included followed by entertainment from at 9pm

Tables will be in groups of 10, so gather a group together or share a table and make new friends.

Your ticket for two includes:

Accommodation for two people double or twin share

• Beverages with dinner
• Full sumptuous buffet dinner
• Full buffet breakfast the following morning
• Entertainment – “The Mermaids” music and dancing

• For more information and ticketing, go to the Pink Ball web page.
• Check out the story about the Chateau

The Lonely Planet has a new adventure travel feature online, and on it is a list of the top 10 dive spots around the world. Number 10 on the 2012 list caught our eye at Rainbow Tourism NZ.

Rainbow Warrior, Best Wreck Dive in NZ

The Rainbow Warrior was Greenpeace’s flagship. Bombed by French government saboteurs in Auckland harbour in July 1985, the boat was later refloated and scuttled off beautiful Matauri Bay in New Zealand’s Northland.

Coated in colourful corals and populated by goatfish, moray eels and other fish, the Rainbow Warrior sits upright in 25m of water, wedged into the sandy ocean floor. Anemones, sponges and algae of all colours cling to the wreck; in its grave the Rainbow Warrior is far more rainbow than warrior.

The Rainbow Warrior is one of the world’s premier wreck dives, and truly is the ‘Jewel of the North’.Travel blogger Rosemary Neave who lives in Northland has dived this famous spot.

Rainbow Places to Stay when diving or snorkelling the Rainbow Warrior.

Treble Cone closest ski field to Wanaka

Wanaka: Best for Skiing, Snowboarding Addicts

Quickly developing a reputation as one of the world’s premier adventure towns, Wanaka sits on the shores of sprawling Lake Wanaka amid New Zealand’s sensational Southern Alps.

Surrounded by rugged, Lord of the Rings-style alpine scenery, the tranquil town of 5,000 is peppered with hostels, cafes, pubs, and small, luxury eco-lodges.

Wanaka’s four ski areas are within a 40-minute drive, including Treble Cone, with more snow and skiable terrain than any other South Island resort. In typical New Zealand style, the entire ski area is above tree line. It’s also steep, offering intermediates an array of plummeting, groomed runs but limiting the options for beginners.

Almost half of the runs are rated expert, and the in-bounds, backcountry-style terrain—a collection of wide-open bowls, chutes, and ridges—is what makes the area sing.

Cardrona Alpine Resort, a 40-minute drive south, has more beginner terrain, a quality ski school, and on-mountain lodging.

Wanaka’s ski season runs from June through October, making it an excellent choice for Northern Hemisphere skiing and snowboarding addicts escaping summer.

• Ski Gay NZ stories
• Wanaka the Winter Wonderland
• Rainbow Tourism Approved Places to Stay in Wanaka