Inside Lesbian Travel

Butch & Burlesque July 7th Auckland Lesbian Ball

Lesbian Ball Auckland

If you’re planning on visiting New Zealand’s North Island in July, you’ll want to join the local women for the Lesbian Ball. Costumes and music around the theme Butch & Burlesque.

For more information, contact Gay Auckland Business Association and for recommended hotels in Auckland, see Rainbow Tourism Places.

Rainbow snow alert for women skiers, boarders, frosty frolickers.

Australia’s Lesbian and Gay Ski Week, aka the Frosty Fruits Ski Trip, runs down the slopes of the Victorian Alps, from August 19 to 24 at the gorgeous Hotham Alpine Resort.

Now in its fourth year, the hosted and very social. ski week is six fabulous days and five fun filled nights; a full week of organised social events, snow activities and lots more. With Lady L, Pink Sofa and Lemons With A Twist in attendance, it promises to melt the peaks!

Accommodation is on-mountain with stunning views. You can stay in the special Pink Sofa Chalet and meet other women from around the country.

Grab The Pass!
Access to the trip is via the Frosty Fruits Trip Pass. This gives guests access and entry to all our organised events and social activities. Key events include film night, day spa afternoon, fine dining “Sivilised Supper”, plus Dinner Cabaret and Final Night Party. The pass also includes all breakfasts, most evening meals and our welcome lunch and farewell champagne lunch. Guests are then able to build a package with their required add-ons including accommodation, transport, lift passes, hires, lessons and snow clothing.

Need the schedule, discount deal and more incentive? Contact the Frosty Fruits at Lesbian Travel Net.

Thinking about your next holiday destination?

As the warm weather arrives to the northern hemisphere, many of you are thinking about a summer vacation.

Would you like to join a group of gay women exclusively for a trip to Kenya or the Azores Islands?

The Azores are a group of volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and San Miguel is the largest of the Islands. In the countryside there’s a lovely accommodation in a typical house of 1937. The House Felicitas is a guest house only for women, where travellers from all over the world can meet, share ideas or just relax close to the ocean.

Breathtaking views, a virgin nature, great variety of flora such as hydrangeas, azaleas, quiet and solitary corners, flowers and routes for hiking, small coves and natural beaches. The Azores Islands are a natural aquarium that this full of whales and dolphins, as well as a wide variety of aquatic animals, plants and fish.

Africa more your thing than a guesthouse escape? Try this 7-day safari through Kenya, combining wildlife and beach, which starts in Amboseli National Reserve to see Mount Kilimanjaro, known as the roof of Africa.

Enjoy car rides among the population of elephants before proceeding towards Tsavo West, home of the famous man-eaters of Tsavo. Apart from other wildlife, the attractions include the Mzima Springs, and the lava Shetani of a dormant volcano.

The safari concludes with a tour of the coast, with snorkeling and a visit to the island of Wasini aboard of a dhow kayak, and time for a massage at the spa.

For more information about Trips for Gay Women Groups – www.lesbianasviajeras.com

Bali is for lovers…whether for Valentines, wedding, anniversary or other celebration. It’s full moon and Valentine’s this year at Tamu Seseh, a gay-owned villa complex located on the edge of a fishing village and surrounded by rice paddies, both providing romantic sunset vistas.

Bali’s Little Black Book deservedly includes the luxurious villas at Tamu Seseh…a place to celebrate or rekindle love and relationships. Apparently, there have been several gay weddings at the villas, and couples who previously had a holiday at Tamu Seseh have come back for their special day.

I’m told lesbians prefer the cosy one-bedroom overlooking mangoes, the three-bedroom units if travelling with other couples. There’s something romantic about watching the sun set over the rice fields out back.

Tamu Seseh thinks of everything for setting a romantic environment. Like the Erotic Bath package, whereby you turn the outdoor bathroom and marble tub into a Garden of Eden.

The “Pleasure Pack” includes a traditional herbal aphrodisiac labelled Kuda Dua X. Pop one in your mouth to release the desire within. Next move to the shower for coconut and vanilla scrub and apply to each other sensually. Rinse in the candlelit tub awash with flowers and a milk bath of sandalwood and yiang yiang. Soak, towel each other dry, and let the real fun start by leaving the rest up to your imagination. (Other mood enhancers include champagne, wine, beer, romantic music – and a full moon if that time of the month:>)

Once Bali’s most exclusive gay-owned villa property (before others opened), Tamu Seseh is now hosted by 5-star hospitality veteran Listi, and her gay assistant manager, Adi, who make your stay a seamless sequence of enjoyable experiences. Make yourself at home at this oasis and let the peace and tranquillity of the village create a memorable, relaxing and romantic experience. 

Inside Out Bali. Photos and story by Rainbow Rambler Dee Farrell in Bali.

Amigas!

The owner of Lesbianas Viajeras (Lesbian Travelers) is a young lesbian enterpreneur who has lived for years in different cities such as Paris, Madrid and New York. Isabel, from her personal experiences around the world, has acted on her observations that gay women want to join and share travelling, friendship and group activities.

She has launched an online project aimed at the gay community and supporters of gay women worldwide. Its purpose is to be a meeting point whereby women can join private travel groups to share holidays, hobbies, seminars, courses, parties and more.

We propose a different kind of tourism from the conventional way, which is tailor- made to the needs and tastes of the travellers, taking special care to details and offering the possibility to join other exclusive lesbian travellers groups and meet people all over the world.

Spain is one of the most visited countries of the European Union, and a very gay-welcoming land at that. Lesbianas Viajeras offers matchmaking with compatible groups  - like women motorcycling tours - and custom itineraries, designing independent travel on private routes with their best suggestions and ideas for a holiday in Spain.

Britain’s Laura Robson has caused a stir at the Australian Open by wearing a rainbow hair elastic supporting equal rights – just days after tennis great Margaret Court made controversial comments about gay marriage.

But Robson, playing on the arena named after the Aussie tennis legend, denied she was making a formal protest against Court, whose staunch opposition to same-sex unions sparked threats of a rally at the grand slam event by gay activists.

“I didn’t see anything about a protest. I wore it because I believe in equal rights for everyone. That’s it,” said Robson, 17, after her first-round loss to Jelena Jankovic yesterday.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, the Australian Open continues and rumors about which players are gay continue to go back and forth faster than a fast serve.

Travelling the Tennis Circuit?  For help in finding lesbian and gay welcoming accommodation on the road, ask the tennis fanatics at Rainbow Tourism.

Rainbow Rambler on location in Bali

In Bali, I have spotted only a few lesbian travellers – but then, I’m off the beaten tourist trail.

Staying at the same resort recently, I chatted with Melbournians Diane and Mandy, who have visited Bali a dozen times in the dozen years they’ve been a couple – pretty much every year during school holidays for these teachers and explorateurs.

Asked why, they chimed together “For the culture.  We don’t even think about being lesbians, so the gay scene and nightlife are of no interest,” they echoed. From their past experiences in Indonesia, they feel comfortable as out partners. “We’ve seldom experienced hassles when checking in and requesting one bed – with knowing smiles exchanged.”

Where now, What now.  They sort out what to do differently each visit.  “We come to catch up with each other and leave computers and busy lives behind. We go exploring, enjoy interacting with locals and soaking up culture if not sunshine during wet season.”

If you’re coming during end of March and before Easter, you can experience something that will change your world.

The Bali Spirit Festival, 28 Mar to 1 April, is an annual celebration of yoga, dance and music. Held in Ubud, the cultural heart and wellness centre of Bali, there will be more than 100 workshops and world music concerts!

Di & Mandy would approve.

The Women Say Something forum is where women have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions from a diverse panel of women, featuring some of our communities most infamous personalities.

Dinner, entertainment and thought provoking conversation with some laughs thrown in. A great evening to connect, share and learn from other women.

As part of Mardi Gras Festival 2012, this is a night (22 February) not to be missed. Hosted by DJ Kate Monroe, panelists are being announced over the coming weeks and the names will not disappoint. It will sell out fast, say sponsors LOTL (Lesbians on the Loose) magazine and My Family car stickers.

It will be an interesting theme to explore with some exceptional women having their say.

It’s time to acknowledge the families we create, including the role our pets play, our friends play and those who become our families. It’s time to celebrate the communities we build and talk about why we do this. Lets look at the differences and reasons we create logical families as well as biological families and the roles we all play in supporting each other.

Equestion on beach

In Bali, you have a choice of horse trekking on black or white sand beaches, depending on which side of the island you’re staying.  It’s a great way to escape the hustle and  bustle of the touristy areas for a few hours, getting you in tune with the true pace of paradise.

There are plenty of choices for gay-welcoming hotels, and the concierge or tour desk will help you organize a leisurely ride along the sparkling coast.

Or ask the Rainbow Tourism Concierge Dee who’s just moved to a mystic beachside hut where she rides a black pony at sunset…

shoeless in Bali

The bamboo Green School in Bali is a shoeless classroom.

More and more, Bali is welcoming families with kids – in many cases lesbians with babies to teenagers. In many respects, the island of Bali is a kids paradise, and Moms are loving the experiences – from riding an elephant, feeding monekeys and snorkelling a torpedoed US Cargo shipwreck.

In Central Bali, The Green School is worth a visit. The first annual BambooPalooza holiday extravaganza featured Balinese cultural activities, musical acts, dancing and celebrations. Food, sports and gifts made by students at this international school were popular – including the American hairdressser offering fresh cuts n curls.

Sending your kids to the Green SuperCamp would also be a top draw to this Indonesian destination. It is held at The Green School for a week, providing transformational education in a spectacular setting. It’s all about nuturing young leaders of tomorrow on sustainable living.