LGBT in New Zealand held annually in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Auckland and Wellington also hold regular lesbian social events. There are a number of gay and lesbian festivals in New Zealand. Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin host annual Pride Weeks, usually operated by the local UniQ, related youth-focussed organisations, or the New Zealand AIDS Foundation as a community-building initiative. The was a popular event in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and while the organisation pulled the 2008 festival due to funding issues, it returned in 2009. Until 2008, the Hero Festival was held in Auckland each February, and included the Hero Parade, which
Otaki, New Zealand Otaki, New Zealand Otaki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk railway between Wellington and Auckland and marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region. The construction of the Kapiti Expressway and the Transmission Gully Motorway are currently underway and will cut traveling times to Wellington. In the 2013 census the town's population was 5,778,