travel

Dexx and myself just returned from a long stay in New Zealand. It was the furthest from the United States that I have ever traveled. Aside from the obvious excitement of seeing a new country and going on adventures, I was extremely excited to dive into the kink scene in the city of Auckland. This was the most metropolitan, international destination I’d been to since being outwardly kinky and I was not going to miss the chance to connect with the local kinksters. Prior to our departure, I scoured FetLife for Auckland events and friendly folks from the area. I was not disappointed! I primarily made contact with a local rope instructor, Headmaster2 and NZSilverfox; a flogger craftsman. Not too bad of a start. I RSVP’ed for several events that coincided with our visit and over the ocean we went.

The evening of the first day we were in town, there was to be a play party at The Chili Club, a local swingers bar that holds a BDSM night once a month. We were in luck that the party coincided with our trip! Despite some desperate jetlag, Dexx suited up and I donned my French maid outfit (it was Halloween costume themed) and we set out to see how the Kiwis get kinky. Upon arrival, we were greeted by some very friendly door people-so far so good! We were pleased to see the bar was just as crowded as any of the regular parties we attend in Los Angeles, in fact the party was in full swing. There was a full bar and lounging areas covering several rooms. We toured ourselves around the space and located the main play area. A large room with multiple pieces of play furniture, hard points, and large posters with the club rules were displayed. I was pleased to see they emphasized mutual consent and safety.

The space was full of people mingling; one couple was playing while another was preparing for a rope suspension. We chatted with some of the people present-they were extremely friendly and told us all about the Auckland scene. We were told the scene is very small but not fragmented. Because of the size, everyone has learned to cohabitate and play nice. This means there are no separate play nights for different orientations and dynamics. Everyone plays together at one party. This differs from LA in which all of the clubs host nights for different communities-hetero male tops/female bottoms, gay couple nights, female tops/male bottoms, etc. While there are occasionally parties where everyone comes together, for the most part, the LA community keeps to their individual groups. There is also always some element of drama occurring between one group or another. While the Auckland scene is not without problems, the people generally say that any disagreements are solved rather quickly and with some community assistance. This also helps weed out any individuals who are less than savory, so to speak. One other topic of note was the community at large had greatly expanded over the last few years, thanks in part to a few dedicated individuals hosting munches and classes.

We watched as a few more couples started to play. I spotted Headmaster, my FetLife contact. Dexx encouraged me to approach him to introduce myself. I was greeted very warmly and we discussed the rope classes happening later in the week. I introduced him to Dexx and we met Headmaster’s lovely partner Zylah. We talked for a while until Dexx and I could hardy keep our eyes open (remember the jetlag?). Headmaster kindly invited us over for dinner later in the week and to show us his in home dungeon-an offer we couldn’t refuse! We departed The Chili Club sleepy but happy to have met so many welcoming people.

Fast forward to a few nights later. We located Headmaster’s house by navigation but also by a large “HM” marking a long driveway. Headmaster and Zylah were at the door and informed us we would be having homemade pizza currently being prepared by their friend. The pair gave us a tour of their massive home, situated on several wooded acres of land with a large backyard and pool. It made me slightly envious, as Los Angeles does not always lend itself to such privacy. Their in home dungeon was wonderful! My favorite part was the cage ledge, built into the wall. I wouldn’t mind spending the night in there myself. They were totally stocked in the way of toys and equipment and even had a suspension rig set up. It was great seeing such a fun private dungeon. We enjoyed a quick dinner before Dexx and I had to depart. We hope to meet up in the future with Headmaster and Zylah.

The fun was not over for us. The following Saturday, we arranged a photo shoot with my other Auckland contact, NZSilverfox. I was his apprentice for a day and helped him make not one but two leather floggers. You can read about his whole process here and sign up to win one of the floggers!

In all, the Auckland kink scene welcomed us with open arms. Generally, most of the local people said they do not receive too many kinky visitors, so we’d like to think the exchange was mutually beneficial. We can’t wait to go back some day. Because of this experience, I’m also comforted by the fact that wherever you go, you can most certainly find a local community of people getting their kink on.

Writer, model, babygirl, submissive. After trying vanilla relationships one time too many, anniebear finally realized her submissive desires and discovered the BDSM community. When not writing for Kink Weekly, she enjoys spankings and being tied with rope.