I attended my first orgy last month. My girlfriend Abi and her partner Jake, who are swingers, invited me to a sex club that they often frequented in Sydney’s inner west. Obviously sick of the endless questions I had asked them about their lifestyle, they suggested that I should find out for myself firsthand. I thought that they were joking initially, but they assured me that I could go as a non-participating guest and satisfy my curiosity once and for all, without breaking any morals or laws (at least in New South Wales). I accepted the invitation but made it quite clear that I had no intention of getting my leather gear on even though the club had a B&D theme night on.

Abi had always been an open-minded girl and when she hooked up with Jake, who had ’swung’ with his previous partners, she didn’t need much encouragement to start experimenting with him. Her initial experiences were clearly mind-blowing and she never failed to relay the sights and sounds to me the following day. The phrase ’too much information’ was probably coined for Abi although I had to admit that I was intrigued by the stories. Before long, it was me who was madly trying to extract information from Abi about the ’lifestyle’. I might be accused of trying to live the lifestyle vicariously through Abi, but it wasn’t that I was too inhibited sexually to try things myself (I’m happily married and enjoy my blend of ’vanilla’ sex with the same man).

I guess that I was intensely curious about the sort of people who gathered for group sex sessions and, for want of a better way to put it, how more than two people got it on at the same time. Would it be like nude Twister gone horribly wrong? Or would it be like that orgy scene from Eyes Wide Shut? I soon discovered that it was like neither.

On arrival at the club I was introduced to Maryanne who was the hostess. In her mid-40s and dressed in a black PVC mini-dress, Maryanne was pretty much there to hold the hands of rookie swingers who got the courage to come along. She happily took me under her wings and suggested a few quiet areas in the club where I could observe the goings-on without arousing too much attention as a single girl. Nonetheless, towards the end of my stay at the club, I was propositioned by no less than five men, three couples and a transvestite. It’s so nice to be popular.

To save any embarrassment on my part, Abi agreed that she and Jake would engage in multiple partner activities in a private room (there are just some things a friend doesn’t need to see). I was left to stand around and play voyeur at the main ’group’ room. This was an open space in the middle of the club that was clearly for all-in action. And action there was. It was on for young and old (literally). I saw a number of sixty-niner pairings of various gender combinations, as well as a woman who was hell-bent on proving that she had an orifice for all-comers (so to speak). Another cluster of people had formed a chain that was linked by mouths, penises and fingers. At times it was hard to work out when one person started and another ended.

I noticed that people did stop and take a break occasionally (you would have to come up for air at some point, I’m sure) before going back in for more fun. I probably watched for another 30 minutes before deciding that I got the gist of things and calling a taxi to go home to my husband.

My verdict? Watching a whole bunch of people have sex with each other was suprisingly not that confronting. You probably see more stylised and high-impact scenes in Hollywood movies. To me, the atmosphere was not erotic but certainly energetic. It was great to see so many people in wild abandon, enjoying the pleasure of the flesh, which of course is in keeping with the spirit of orgies. I guess if I had had fantasies of group sex before that night, I probably would have got my jollies out of seeing what I saw but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Still, I’m happy to report that my husband did get a nice suprise once I got home.