Beneath their conservative facade Waikato suburbs have been a hotbed of swinging for years, says the owner of a new partner-swapping venue in central Hamilton. Louise Colton opened Club 52 in Victoria St last night β a new bar billed as a "classy, erotic lounge bar for adults" which is the city's first specifically for swingers.
As soon as you say that people know exactly what you're talking about," Ms Colton said. The business offers an upmarket venue for swinging Waikato couples to meet like-minded others and has been eight years in the making, she said.
You're paying for that environment and atmosphere. It's not like the singles scene," Ms Colton said. The venue had been sited away from the city's existing nightlife to avoid accidental tourists becoming a nuisance.
Auckland boasted several swingers' clubs, with others in Wellington and Christchurch. Club 52 was aimed at people who had to either travel or invite friends to swingers' parties.
Ms Colton said she had enjoyed swinging with a long-term partner for six years but since that relationship ended she had not been interested and the bar was a business for her. While coy on specifics about what would occur in the bar, she said sexual activity would happen. The bar had strict rules for behaviour, including safe sex. It's done in a classy, upmarket way with no sleaze at all," she said. But swinging was not for everyone.
