As New Zealand‘s most populous and cosmopolitan city, Auckland holds great promise for the future as an LGBT destination.
Auckland is definitely a welcoming and mostly gay-friendly city (especially in the Central Business District). Karangahape Rd, running West to East in the CBD’s northern part, is the city’s designated “gay street,” in which most of the gay venues are located.
With a number of gay bars, Auckland at first glance seems to have a thriving and fun gay-scene.
The bars are there, full of potential, but the sad reality is that, at least in my perspective as a visitor, Auckland failed to deliver in the LGBT front.
Not sure if it was the time of year I visited (mid-autumn), not knowing the right people, being in town during weekdays and not over a weekend, or a combination of these factors, but to me, the LGBT scene seemed to be a little hidden and underground. Even knowing where the gay bars are (through google), didn’t help to find a lively gay scene. A lack of rainbow flags even in Karangahape Rd (except for a few proud businesses), deepens the impression that the scene might be more hidden from the naked eye.
I visited a couple of gay bars, both of which were empty (with about only 8 clients each). The biggest night club is only open on Weekends, so I was not in the city to check it out. SOPV are not my thing, but I imagine they would probably have more visitors, as part of the city’s hidden scene.
The “gay street” is there, and so are the bars and nightclubs (great facilities for the two I checked out). What is missing is the people to fill these spaces to create a vibrant scene. Surprisingly, I found a better gay scene in New Zealand‘s much smaller capital, Wellington, than I did in it’s most-populous city, at over four-times the population, Auckland.
Memorable spots worth visiting if you do feel like having a drink in a LGBT environment (word of warning:, you could be having that drink all by yourself!) are ‘Club 7′ and ‘Family,’ both venues located in Karangahape Rd.
Filed under: •Auckland, Gay & Lesbian
