I supose the "Gathering" is still a global top 10 dance party, I was talking to the boss (Murray) and he said they had a turn out of about 6500 and that they don't know if they came out on top. But the Gathering itself has changed so much in the last 4 years for better or for worse I don't know but 4 years ago it was mainly hippies and their bus's so you would be in the tribal zone, then someone hands you a splif so you just pass it to the left, now you've got boy racers and flash cars just dinking piss, Then there is Vision that picked up about 3000 people around the corner out Collingwood somewhere, its in the same stage the gathering was 4 years ago but they don't have resource consent yet.
So take your pick.

Is it even possible to split a tab into 7, I didn't go this year because I was on a yacht with 3 mates and 5 lovely women. we wached fights on the beach, a hill catch on fire as a result from a signal flare and the local law enforcement trying to enforce the ban on drinking in public. John Dickweed was employed for his international superstar number one DJ skills for a reasonable $75,000 for 4 hours* the only thing lacking at vision around the corner was enough porta'loo's and one of the major events I belive was when a number of cows escaped through an open gate.
That sums up the top of the south new years gigs any other in NZ?
Doctor O its harvest season soon in this area, some good deals going.

*Suposing he played for 4 hours? Don't know if he did.

It's more like a police oppressive in this area, the latest event was one of an early morning new years day booking at a local BYO restaurant where two tourists had a bottle of wine in a shopping bag and were pondering the menu and along came a member of the local volunteer police department and ask the lady to open the bag, on finding the bottle of wine put her in hand-cuffs and took her down to the police station where she was not charged.

Also some guy had a small business of testing the strength and quality of the Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine you just happen to have in your pocket (The stuff that is popular with a wide range of clubbers and the US Army as a truth serum in the '50s) the Gathering management denied all knowledge that he even had his stall on site but the police kindly asked him to take it else where...Vision perhaps.

How obvious was the undercover police this year at the gathering?

I believe later on in the afternoon of new years day after the stall had been shifted to a more
Un-noticeable but still profitable spot, the organisers say, "we have found and evicted him" then "the gathering does not condone the use of drugs". I suppose the police weren’t to worried about crushed glass, white sprits or phamalderhide* in this year’s batch of pills.
I saw in the paper a lovely picture of the trance zone with two people sparking up, a bunch of 40+ lawyers and accountants trying to be part of a new revolution and some bogan in tight black jeans and a holey black t-shirt trying to find where he left his groove, if he ever had one. So I wonder what will go down at next years?

More incidents like that one will do wonders for tourism market all over the country.

*Heard a few rumours about some of the shit that has been found in some batch’s of Ecstasy any true?

The party didn't seem to be so much about the drugs as the shagging. when the midnight hour came there were more than a few people getting carried away with the new year's snog on the hill. Best of the bunch was the young dude who didn't give a shit who watched him give 12 good pushes for NZ, pull up his daks, finish his beer and hi-five his mates standing 3 or 4 metres away.

AAAH DAMMIT! HOPEFULLY next New Years i will be motivated (not to mention 'over-age') and will go to wherever Steriogram plays! As it was, i wathced TV4 @ my friends house, nice but not as good as Steriogram :P

Kosher... *blush* hehe... Pepper, Bubblez and I were pretty easy to spot. Email us at blushingxpilgrim@yahoo.com and we'll give you a more accurate description :)