PHUKET: A touring party from Phuket's Simon Cabaret is taking the famous ladyboy katoey show on the road down under, to New Zealand.

The tall, elegant performers from the eternally popular Phuket song and dance venue will have Kiwis wondering ''Is she a she or isn't she?'' on a flit through about 16 cities and towns from March 11-28.

''It's the first time that Simon Cabaret has been on tour,'' spokesman Thanawat Boonkerd said today. ''Sixteen performers and four crew will take part.''

An entrepreneur saw the show in Patong, Phuket's nightlife hub, and clearly thought it was time for New Zealand, which has an addiction to sheep dog trials, to move on to something a little more sophisticated.

According to reports from New Zealand, the audiences are expected to be queuing up for tickets.

''The cheeky cabaret is said to be 'steeped in tradition' and 'good taste' and contains no nudity of offensive behavior,'' said one report.

''It's a spectacular display of color, originality and fun,'' said another.

The tour begins in Dunedin in the south island and moves on to Auckland and other destinations in a tour bus that may cause locals to recall the 1994 film,'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.'

Set in the Australian outback, the much-loved movie related what happened on a bus tour with two drag queens and a transsexual.

It will be the turn of New Zealand audiences to enjoy the delights of playing the Phuket guessing game next year.

At some stage, the Simon Cabaret performers are likely to be greeted by traditional New Zealand Maori warriors with a ''Haka,'' a wide-eyed, tongue-waggling tattoo-faced dance with intimidating gestures.

We can't wait to see what the two groups of performers make of each other.

The complete tour schedule is as follows: March 11 Dunedin; March 12 Invercargill; March 13 Oamaru; March 14 Ashburton; March 15 Christchurch; March 17 Blenheim; March 18 Nelson; March 19 Nelson; March 20 P. North; March 21 New Plymouth; March 22 New Plymouth; March 23 Wellington; March 24 Hastings; March 25 Tauranga; March 26 Hamilton; March 27 Whangarei; March 28 Auckland.