I'm just going to start this post by
saying flat out that AfrikaBurn was amazing and the Camp Nowhere
group who took me in was wonderful! With that said, I'll start at
the beginning as always.
(Also, this post is very long but
mostly in terms of photos, there was just too much to share. I guess
you could say it is visually overwhelming, just like the event
itself!)
Leading up to the Burn, I was kind of
just bumming around the apartment Chris' parents
Rassie and Susan were letting me stay in, trying to get
some work done on selling some gear, figuring out shipping some items
home and watching TV. It was uninteresting and uneventful but all
things that needed doing.
The next day, I was to meet up with the
Camp Nowhere group I'd been invited to join down on the waterfront,
so I took the bus downtown and simply wandered the city core for a
few hours enjoying the buildings and views of the mountain in the
background.
As I was heading towards the group
meeting spot, I was approached by two people who asked me “Are you
Scott?” I was slightly confused at first but they quickly
identified themselves as Alex and Evan, two
members of the group and they recognized me from the blogs I'd shared
with the group online. We headed off for a few beers, then met up
with the rest of the group members a little later. That evening I
got to meet many of the group members who would be in our camp and we
had a dinner together were we sorted out some organization and
logistics.
The day after the meeting was our only
day to get everything organized, which was a bit of a task because
most of the group members are from London and had just flown down to
Cape Town for this event! Paul and David picked me up at my place
that afternoon and we set about trying to finalize everything. This
meant going to the mall, buying some stereo gear, food shopping,
loading a pedal powered vehicle ('The Sprocket Rocket') onto a
trailer and then meeting up again at 9pm with everyone to pack up
cars and trailers under street lamps in a parking lot. Given our
short time frame and most of us being totally foreign to the city, we
did very well!
At about 9am the following morning we
were off towards the Burn but naturally had a few stops on the way
for more supplies. By the early afternoon we were getting close to
Tankwa Karoo, the site of the event and entered the long dirt road we
had all been warned about. The road turned out to be quite good
until the last stretch that had turned into a mud pit thanks to some
earlier rain, but even in a loaded VW van with a trailer, Bruce
expertly piloted us all to the entrance gate.
The sun was going down as we finally
reached camp, but before heading in all of us new to AfrikaBurn had
to hit the 'virgin bell' to announce our arrival.
Finding our allocated site in the dark
was a bit of a challenge at first but we were able to figure it out
and began to unpack, cook dinner and start to see just what exactly
was going on at this crazy event.
That evening people took it easy, but I
had to get out and walk around to see what was going, and ended up
spending a bit of time at one of the parties across the circle.
This map shows just how the whole site
was laid out, essentially the exact same design as the original
Burning Man in Nevada.
With daylight upon us, it was time to
set up camp and there was plenty to do.
But still time to sit about and chat of
course!
Setting up our shade tent. The ground
here is VERY hard, and about two inches down is a rock layer.
Luckily for us our neighbors had a generator and a powerful drill, so
we were able to drill pilot holes before pounding in the huge stakes
but it was still a fair amount of work.
As we were all setting up, the rain and
wind began and it simply poured.
Remember we are in a semi-desert, and the usual problem here is heat
and dust. In a matter of minutes everyone and everything was soaked,
the ground had a few inches of rain sitting on top, the wind was
snapping tent poles and most people were running for cover. A few of
us, myself and Bruce in particular stayed out in the rain for a while
trying to dig ditches to divert the water, which worked to some
extent but it was impossible to deal with the amount of water that
arrived.
The flooded
aftermath, including plenty of ruined tents.
As the rain died
down, I went out to wander out and see what all had happened, as well
as to see the actual event grounds. Here you can see a few of the
larger art installations in the center area and in the background is
the c-shaped ring of tents that surrounded it all.
Me at the temple as
the sun poked out again.
One giraffe was
destroyed in the wind, but the way looked seemed almost intentional
to me, as if it was two giraffes mourning the death of another.
The San Clan, the
icon of Burns I guess you could say.
One of my favorite
sculptures. (two of three pictured here.)
The dragon, damaged
by the extreme weather.
Oh look, more rain!
And our kitchen tent leaks!
By the evening the
rain stopped for good and we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
This is Camp
Nowhere's art car, the Sprocket Rocket. It was built by Wim (who I
met and talked about in the last post) and attracted a lot of
attention, even though it was only partly functional.
My favorite vehicle
of the event, the one with the huge flamethrower!
Yours truly, the
next morning.
One of the art cars
covered in people
People powered two
wheel vehicle.
Awesome stoves,
wish I had pictures of it with flames billowing out of the top!
Another art car
(tricycle?).
Giant puppets
taking a break.
Paul dressed for
success in front of our camp!
And a drum circle.
A nice view.
I was a bit tired
that afternoon, so sitting down and enjoying some jazz was a
wonderful thing to do.
Rolling art
car/party at night.
The view from camp.
Our group was
organized and well run, one of the things we did best was food! (the costumes were also good)
More performers.
This Washington
Monument style piece was a great beacon from long distances away, all
white with light projections on the side.
A living room in
the desert, the TV was showing surf films when I walked by.
Green lasers to
weird things to cameras...
One of the many DJ
parties at night, this one under a giant crane.
The San Clan at
night.
Despite the damage
that happened during the wind and rain, the dragon got fixed and was
breathing fire nightly! An amazing sight for sure.
And a little
smaller fire with the camp that evening, roasting marshmallows.
Camp the next
morning
Another
instillation.
The Karoo area has
some very cool geology and this piece of stone is as beautiful as any
piece of art at the Burn.
Follow the path.
It looks small, but if you don't hurry it takes a surprisingly long
time!
Ohhh,
one of my favorites and something everyone
was excited to see. However it was clearly a TON of work to put
together, which you will see later on...
Part of the same
group, two boxing rabbits.
'Oasis Sunset.'
I remember these
little peg-impression things back in elementary school, but I've
never seen one this big!
Bubbles.
And our Sprocket
Rocket, this time with the sun shade on and serving coffee!
Painting sun
umbrellas.
Ohh, pretty colors.
Reflections of
self. (all mirrors, no photoshop here)
Take a ride on the
fish-cycle!
The group relaxing
at camp.
Me as navigator on
the Sprocket Rocket!
That afternoon the
goal was to get together 1,000 people for a photo. Lines were made
on the ground where everyone was to sit, and an airplane was going to
take a photo that would make the image of Nelson Mandela
“Places
everyone!”
And the resulting
dance party.
Just another day on
the playa.
Happy people.
Smoke grenades were
popular items.
Another of my
favorite pieces.
And a wider view of
the event.
I wish I could do
that...
Dancing under
another beautiful setting sun.
Gathering around a
burn. For those who don't know, a major part of this event is to
create a piece of art and then to burn it at the end. It is a
physical and emotional release and a reminder that nothing is
permanent.
Speaking of that,
tonight was Saturday (not that I was keeping track...) and I guess
what you could call the climax of AfrikaBurn, the burning of the San
Clan. I have to say, it is intense. Essentially everyone at the
Burn (5,000 this year) gathers in a circle around the tower, there is
music, dancing, a powerful human-energy I've only felt a few times in
my life, and then the fire is lit....
The flames
illuminating the crowd.
Up it goes.
Once most of the
structure was burned, the flamethrower van came in to help.
And down it went.
Seconds later, the crowd all rushed towards the center to celebrate
and dance.
A late night party
after the burn.
And then time to
sit down and unwind at the campfire with the group before bedtime.
Sunday morning was
when Camp Nowhere was scheduled to pack up and head out, so it was
time to get to work.
Carole picking up the last
little pieces of MOOP (matter out of place, aka trash).
Saying goodbye to
Paul and David.
And the van with
the rest of the group taking off.
I just want to say
again thank you so much to everyone in Camp Nowhere! I came as a
stranger and I like to think I left as a friend. I'd bought the
event ticket and plane ticket from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Cape
Town, South Africa just for this event with no plans and no group,
and it wouldn't have been possible for me to come without all of you
and your support. All of you made my first Burn an amazing
experience I'll never forget. Will I make my way to Nowhere in Spain
this year? Probably not, but there is always next year! Great to
meet you all and I hope to run into you all again some day!
Basically solo
again as the sun goes down.
Oh look, another
dance party!
I'd like to learn
to walk on stilts some day...
Crowds, art-cars
and characters gathering for more burns Sunday night.
The monument again.
This is the Temple
burn.
Next to the San
Clan burning, this was the largest gathering of people in the whole
event another amazing moment.
The flames were
huge and intense, causing nearly everyone to try and block the heat
with their hands or step back!
Down to the frame,
and then to ashes.
More dance parties.
Another shot of the
giant crane because I liked it so much.
Sunday night, the
night of most of the burns, this poor crew was still working their
asses off trying to finish the t-rex sculpture, welding, testing the
moving parts, setting anchors in the ground and everything. Suffer
for art I guess.
The Oasis burning.
And the crowd from
a distance as it falls to the desert floor.
Late night art.
An overview of the
scene that night. Intense.
Holding hands and
running around the fires. It really is an event about people and
community, the smiles on peoples faces showed that pretty clearly.
The Oasis reduced
to embers.
The monument
burning.
And the final big
burn of the night, the t-rex, the boxing rabbits and the world. The
rabbits were set on fire, then set to spin around at high speed;
legs, floppy ears and sparks flying everywhere! The world was set on
fire next, which you can see in the background.
Next was the t-rex,
and this is possibly the coolest thing I've EVER seen. It 'walked';
legs moving, head turning and mouth opening, all while on fire
heading across the desert floor!
Suddenly,
it sped up and began to run essentially (the leg movement was
amazingly realistic),
crashing headfirst into the burning earth! I don't know what I
expected to happen, but I honestly stood there shocked for a moment
processing what I'd just witnessed.
As with the other
burns, once it was 'safe' the crowd rushed forward, tightly
encircling the somewhat twisted and still flaming pieces.
Stepping back to
admire the scene.
Me the next
morning, contemplating my next step.
I'd intended on
hanging around for a few extra days to help clean up and whatnot, and
I'd visited the volunteer booth to look into it but due to a few
reasons it didn't end up working out very well for me and I decided
it was time for me to head out as well. After all it was Monday and
I'd been there since Wednesday; I was worn out (and I know I wasn't
the only one), feeling a little anti-social after such an intense
week(ish) and had some business to attend to in Cape Town.
Ashes from the
night before and the slow winding down of the Burn.
Checking
out one more piece of art before heading home, this was essentially a
para scope that projected an image of the outside onto a table in a
dark room, very cool.
Leaving AfrikaBurn
and heading out the long dusty road back to the normal world.....
I ended up getting
a ride back to Cape Town from Maarten, a great guy from the
neighboring camp. I had a great time catting with him and his family
on the long road back to Cape Town towing the Elvis trailer. Thanks
so much Maarten!
And finally
arriving home in the dark and drizzle of Cape Town, in serious need
of a shower and a laundry machine.
Wow................that's
finally the end.
Really, what a
special event and what a special group of people I managed to meet.
I've wanted to go to Burning Man back in America ever since I first
heard about it about 10 years ago, but it just never happened. This
year was going to be the year I went, but then I found myself in
Africa instead! When I found out there was a South African Burn,
AfrikaBurn, while I was somewhere in Tanzania I knew I just had to do
it and boy am I glad I made it! It was my first burn, but I assure
all of you it won't be my last. Thank you again everyone, I'll never
forget this week.
So
what is next? Haha, I still don't know. I'm just sitting around
Cape Town (and again, thank you Rassie and Susan for giving me a place to stay) trying to recover, clean up, sort out
some business and figure that out. I was thinking about leaving
South Africa quickly, but I'm thinking I might as well stay around
for a month or two, maybe find a backpackers lodge to work at so I
can settle somewhere for a while and stop bleeding money!
Bye for now
everyone, take care and safe travels.
