Gay Ski Week NZ was in it’s ninth year last August when it all went horribly wrong. Three days before it was due to start Sally Whitewoods, who owns a backpacking hostel with her wife Mandy in Queenstown where the ski week was based, got a call from the organiser saying his company had gone into liquidation. ‘We just made last year happen within a 48 hour period,’ says Sally on the phone to Gay Star News from New Zealand. ‘Luckily we managed to keep everyone happy.’

Sally and Mandy initially weren’t sure about doing it again this year, because they’ve already got a pretty demanding business with the hostel. But they decided to go for it and it’s all fallen into place with support from other accommodation providers in the town, and sponsorship from major organisations like Australia’s DNA magazine, Gaydar and Gaydar Girls.

With a new name - Gay Ski Week QT - the Whitewoods’ ski week is more flexible than the previous Gay Ski Week NZ set-up. People book their accommodation themselves, with help from suggested links on the website, rather than paying for packages up-front. This makes the accommodation cheaper, and the Whitewoods have got the website set up early so people can get good deals on flights. Early bird deals on the events are also available now, and the week will run from 25 August 25 to 1 September.

The Whitewoods have planned fun events around the skiing including a Rocky Horror night at the local cinema, wine tour and tasting, a black-tie Casino Royale night, drag-hosted karaoke and DJs flown in from Australia. There’s going to be a competition on their Facebook page to decide the fancy-dress theme of the closing party, that’s sponsored by Gaydar and Gaydar Girls, with DJ Haylenise from Melbourne.

Sally and Mandy Whitewoods are from Bournemouth in the UK, but moved out to New Zealand six years ago. ‘We took the gamble and it’s been the best thing we’ve ever done,’ says Sally.