It has been 13 years since I did the Auckland guide for sexually active guys and a lot has changed with many places closed down.
WINGATE (76 Wingate Street, Avondale, Auckland): The location, facilities and even some of the punters have not changed much over the years. A sprawling Lockwood building in west Auckland includes bath house facilities, communal social area and large garden with spa and (smallish) swimming pool.
The floors around the showers and indoor spa especially need attention. All that constant wetness isn't good, even if the wood is treated. It made for a slightly slippery and uncomfortable feel underneath your feet. Three showers with obscured vision from the spa pool and sauna box, whose inside temperature is searing. The steam room is down some (slippery) steps and can be pitch dark there, which I really dislike. I never try out the spa pool - it's the only aspect of briny bath house culture I prefer stay away from - but it looks quite clean.
The outdoor pool area is its main attraction and a point of difference with all other Auckland venues. Check it out on Google Earth. Punters sprawl around it and soak up the rays on any Summery day. I really mean any day because I have visited on a weekday afternoons before and the place was packed - the quite substantial car parking was full - with gentlemen of a certain age who obviously find that environment way more appealing than having to sit around alone in their retirement home. I can't say whether a different age group, or body type, frequents Wingate on weekends or evenings, you'll have to try it out for yourself (not that I want to sound ageist – I can heartily recommend daddy sex because of all the experience you might learn from). The indoor recreational cruising area is fairly standard: an under-lit maze, small cubicles and a cinema where the seating is very uncomfortable due to straight upright wooden backs. There are two video streams.
In the basement is a large room with couches and (tiny) private cubicles, plus a dark room with floor mattresses for group play.
Wingate is obviously a life's work by the owners. Recommended for a lazy sunny afternoon.
PEACHES & CREAM (474 Karangahape Road, Auckland): The only venue left on K Road, which tells you something about the rapid gentrification of this formerly skid row area.
A large cinema space with a big screen and comfortable, expensive-looking leather seats and couches. It reminded me of an updated version of the former Classic Cinema on Queen Street where the Comedy Club is now. It shows straight porn but don't let that put you off, most of the punters here are after some cock action. But you have to be willing to perform in public, i.e. you may get an audience. There are some private cubicles if you want to watch a film by yourself. There are four cabins available, two of them with interconnecting serving hatches (not glory holes) which you can open or close at will. The toilets are sufficient (if not always spanking clean) but not a pick up or place of action due to the rather harsh lighting.
It’s a relaxing venue and a chance to meet non-scene punters. Great friendly staff at the front desk too (one time I was there the place was attended to by two chatty women who obviously had seen everything before).
THE BASEMENT (Canada Street, off Upper Queen St, Auckland): A sex shop and mail order business but also provides an area for cruising in the back. An ante-room provides space for rest and to get dressed up if you prefer to arrive in civvies. You can check in your valuables.
There is no maze but a series of themed areas for non-vanilla play, including a bath tub and two slings. A few cubicles, a dark ‘groping room’ and a decent size video room with circular seating (instead of rows of chairs) make up the rest. There are two video streams, one on a large, the other on much smaller screens. The toilets are clean and spacious, and towels are for hire.
The venue occasionally hosts private and public parties (check their website for details) which cater for the leather and fetish crowds. It costs more to attend those but they are quite well patronised and good fun as you can turn up dressed as whatever you want to be and realise that long-held fantasy without being judged.
CENTURIAN (NEW ADDRESS: 105 Symonds Street, Grafton, Auckland - in between the Cordis Hotel and Pizza Hut): The venue has relocated to a new space but still quite close to the city centre and it is still a world class bath house. Spacious, clean, catering for a wide variety of relaxation options, including the non-sexual kind - you can just watch Sky Movies/HBO in a sprawling lounge with leather seats or mainstream TV in a little café area, if that takes your fancy but that would be a sign of serious perversion.
All ages and body types can be encountered there. Since it is an inner city venue, it is popular with Asian students, flight attendants, tourists and gym bunnies. But it is eye-wateringly expensive even though the facilities are excellent: it’s clean, the staff are fun and engaging, the steam room first rate in atmosphere and temperature, and the sauna box spacious and hot enough to impress even a Finn. The spa pool is the largest I have ever encountered. There is a maze with whole raft of private spacious rooms with proper, lockable doors. In winter the communal areas and corridors are a little cold due to the lack of heaters in every space. Being formerly a shopping mall doesn't help. The cinema area is a major let down compared to the old venue. The seating is back-less and uncomfortable and there are no sprawling mattresses to relax on.
There a few theme nights, such as no-towel-days, which are a whole heap of fun and should bring out the exhibitionist in you. The atmosphere is far more congenial then, so I would recommend going for those. Orgy nights on the first Thursday of the month can be very busy but expect no privacy: all the cubicle doors are bolted open so expect a crowd to participate in your trading action. When there are a lot of punters, the action opportunities slow right down so you may want to avoid very busy times like Sunday afternoons. There are 130+ lockers, so it does get crowded occasionally.
The major addition is a cafe/bar for socialising, which is a big improvement on the past where alcohol licences were not issued to sex-on-site venues.
LATESHIFT (2/25 Dundonald St, off Basque Road, Auckland): The longest running cruise club in Auckland (even New Zealand). It is a safe, congenial and social place to meet up. The venue hasn't changed much over the years, it is still one of the best to spend a longer time in, such as pulling an all-nighter ‘til the sun comes up, when the drunks barge in from the K Road clubs for some fun at 5am.
There are two well-appointed playrooms available for extra hire charge where you can organise your own private party or, if need be, have a place to sleep. There is one small shower and towels are for hire. The urinal doubles up as a play area. There is a large maze with plenty of cubicles, glory holes and themed play areas (one has a dentist chair, another has a barrel – you get my drift. There is also a video link between two rooms so you can star in each other porn movie). There is an excellent tiered video area where you can watch 6 different video streams, including a straight one, in one go if you don’t want to entertain your neighbour sprawling beside you.
Non-sexual recreation includes a separate video room with Sky movies, a free internet café, a mainstream TV corner and pool table. Plus they cater hot snacks, free coffee and free breakfast on weekends.
Sunday afternoons is Jacks & Jocks, when the venue caters for nude cruising and masturbators.
