For Pammy's A*Musement

Pamela Anderson and Richie Rich in Auckland last night. Photo / Getty Images

Pamela Anderson had her very first ride in a helicopter today, choppering over for lunch at Stoneyridge on "Waihee-key".

She loved it, and enjoyed the calm atmosphere of the vineyard after a frantic day in the leadup to the debut of her A*Muse collection with designer Richie Rich this afternoon.

But she's found time to party, hitting Ponsonby Rd late last night with Rich and his partner. Seems she had a few Kiwi surfer friends she wanted to catch up with.

She startled staff at the Westin by opening the door to her suite naked and last night held an impromptu clothes fitting session.

Later, she lounged around naked on her hotel bed, modelling porn poses while confetti was strewn about the suite by her adoring gayboy fanclub.

Tonight she has a line-up of interviews and is then believed to be having a private dinner. She flies out of the country in the morning.

Yesterday she kept everyone guessing on whether she would attend the evening Hailwood show after her hilarious press conference.

The decision that she was taking a breather in her suite at the Westin Hotel was conveyed just five minutes before the show started.

This is less about diva behaviour than a generally loose approach, which typifies her gay little entourage. They're fun and friendly, but the tight team are hard to pin down.

They happily hung out on-site at Fashion Week after the unknowing media scrum subsidised.

They'd exited in cars, only to drive a few hundred metres up the road to the week's favourite fashionista hangout, the M.A.C-ghd Lounge. This pampering zone is invite only, but is usually packed out.

Security on the door blocked newcomers getting in, but I headed in with Fashion Week managing director Pieter Stewart. It was a no-camera zone. Anderson had her makeup touched up, before retiring to a roped-off corner to sit with her cohorts.

I chatted to Rich's partner as he too had a little lip gloss applied. The pair had been in the lounge the night before and went to town on the makeup, appearing at Kate Sylvester's show in full Boy George slap.

Up close, Joe "Green" (a last name made up to match his fluro T-shirt) is a lovely hunky looking guy. He said he was being coy identity-wise because he'd cut college classes to come down.

The New York couple and A*Muse's manager flew into New Zealand a day earlier than Anderson and saw several shows on Wednesday, plus they caught up with Fashion Week's American publicist and long-time attendee, Bryan Long, who engineered the visit.

Anderson arrived off her early morning flight from the States with plenty of energy and went with the boys to the set of the new Lucy Lawless vehicle Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

The raunchy Roman sword-and-sandal series is being made on a set in Mt Wellington. The group chatted to Lawless and enjoyed a tour of the costume department before a low-key afternoon as the weather packed in. The show is being made strictly for cable television in America and Green quizzed me about New Zealand's more liberal attitudes to what can be shown on free-to-air networks. (Richie Rich's line in yesterday's press conference that Anderson was a "gay boy in the body of a woman," made the cut on last night's news).

He chatted away to me and Rowena Roberts, whose exclusive Jo Malone range is used for hand massages in the lounge. She said the night before the boys had been in the mood to play, hamming it up good naturedly, but last night after around 45 minutes kicking back, tiredness took its toll on the party animals. Back at the Westin unpacked boxes of clothes beckoned.

The fact there's a fashion show to stage seems almost an after-thought to everyone but the label manager, who was keen to talk clothes with me. (Remember they're here to launch an eco-friendly range of beach and casual wear before taking the show on the road internationally, first stop Brunei).

I'm meant to be chatting to Anderson after today's show, and there's no doubting the commited vegetarian is passionate about animal rights, but judging by the press conference the conversation could head in any direction.

Watching her riff with Richie Rich was a riot. From the time she teetered in, clinging to the pink sarong she'd twisted round her diminutive frame and its ample assets, it was clear this pair were going to have some fun. The moment she came into the venue, which was the hospitality lounge for Fashion Week's champagne sponsor, it was: "Thanks to Moet, I drink a lot."

We were told there were to be no personal questions, but the guests were quick to get personal and have a little fun with the media pack. The Crowd Goes Wild's James Somerset was told to get his gear off. He tried a quick flash with his jacket, but was instructed to lose the lot and once bare-chested got the nod as a potential model.

Another sports show jock, Karl Te Nana of The Code, showed he was one for the main chance in offering to show Anderson how to hongi. The former Sevens star can claim to have scored after Anderson said the experience had been "strangely erotic".

"Sometimes less is more, I've just discovered."

I asked a few standard questions about why the pair were in New Zealand (we're good and green) and what eco-friendly fashion meant (um, where do I start), before the telly news boys indulged in a bit of dull one-upmanship that bored everyone but them. (Along the lines, of I'm from TV3, the better network). The posturing reached new heights, when Oliver Driver of TV3's Sunrise drew himself up to wear everyone down with a rambly old line about knowing nothing about fashion.

He wasn't alone in that room, the front row of the press conference was filled with boys from the sports shows. The security guards and barmen were clamouring to get close too, with more than a few sneaking a cellphone snap.

Anderson took another question from another unresearched TV hack who started droning on self-importantly about the agricultural products we export and the harm the dairy industry does our environment before asking Anderson what she thought should be done about it. "Don't eat meat."

Next question puhleeze.

After Te Nana, the most interesting tack came from another non-journo, 18-year-old star-to-be Ruby Higgins. The popular contestant from New Zealand's Next Top Model stood up to ask a question in her role for the week as C4's Fashion Week commentator to be immediately told by Anderson "You're beautiful."

Higgins asked what the animal rights activist would do if rats invaded her room. Go girl.

Anderson said she'd let Ruby's rats go in the bush, but she showed she knew something about our environment by acknowledging that we had a possum problem. She also knows about sheep muesling and that it's the Australians not us, that do that to their flocks.

Anderson's not into fur or leather, but thankfully there was no time to further explore her views on how our pests should be controlled.

Time out on the press conference did that trick nicely.