A Manawatu newspaper has got a little over-excited in reporting 8,000 campers have gathered at Vinegar Hill but the glbti numbers are swelling rapidly into the several hundreds. Camping in style at Vinegar Hill For over two decades half of the DOC's Vinegar Hill reserve just off State Highway 1 on the banks of the Manawatu River has seen the nation's largest gathering of glbti holidaymakers over the Christmas and New Year periods. "It's going really well," says regular camper and GayNZ.com correspondent Calum Bennachie. "There was a little rain on Friday, but more and more people are arriving, not the 8000 reported by the Wanganui Chronicle but a sizable number." He says the events held so far are going well. "We had a Great dinner and dance at Camp Condom on the Friday night. The Queen's cocktail party was on Saturday with awards being made to Andy Cox for services to entertainment and Andrew Morgan for his medical services." Bennachie was himself named to the Hall of Fame for his services over fourteen years of making sure condoms were distributed around the camp. One of the highlights of the glbti camp is sure to be tonight's New Year's Eve party which traditionally includes a bonfire, home-grown entertainment and the crowning of a new Queen of Vinegar Hill who, in exchange for the exalted title, is charged with ensuring some of the basic organisational matters are attended to for next year's gathering.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 31st December 2012 - 9:50pm