The Amazing AfrikaBurn 2012!

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.

Saying goodbye to Tanzania and the return to Cape Town

Wow. Well first things first, I am now all the way back in Cape Town, South Africa. At the southern tip of the African Continent. Where I began this trip nearly four months ago. With the original idea when I came to Africa being a cross-continental Cape-to-Cairo trip I guess you could say this puts me back at square one. That said, I am thrilled to be back in Cape Town and I see many good things in my future. Let me tell how I got back here first though:

When I left off last I was just returning from our amazing safari and back in Moshi, Tanzania I had a lot to think about. After all, in less than two weeks I'd be flying back to South Africa for the AfrikaBurn festival and then I'd be on my own, flying solo with no plans what so ever.

With this in mind, I stayed up until about 3am reading the guidebooks overview of every single country in Africa. That is not to say I necessarily follow the guidebooks like a bible as some do, but when you read that one country requires a 'letter of recommendation' from someone inside the country, is currently at war and only gives a 7-day visa, while another is peaceful, friendly and gives a 90-day free of charge, it tends to affect your plans. So what are my plans? Right now they involve Botswana and a bicycle, but it is still in the idea phase and I'll reveal more about it as the time comes.

I was sitting on the internet taking care of some business, when I walked outside and saw a police truck blocking the main road and a large crowd gathered. Naturally I ran up to see what was going on, after all this is Africa and it could be anything: a wild animal, 'street justice', a performance, I just didn't know. What I found, was a rally car race! While I'm not a huge motor sport fan, I do like cars and knowing that the rules of rally fandom say 'thou must get as close to the action as possible without being killed' I stood at the apex of the corner with my camera on high speed burst, close enough to touch the passing cars.

I followed where the cars were coming from and eventually found the pit/starting area. Being white the guards assumed I belonged, or at least that I wasn't there to cause trouble (sad but true facts) and I was able to wander freely. There was even a VW Beetle in the race (I have a 1970 Beetle myself) but it was embarrassingly slow... As the race wound down, hooligans took over the crowded streets and I expected mass carnage. Luckily the locals are good at dodging speeding cars and motorcycles but for a little while it was a very exiting place to be.

Oh look, Mt Kilimanjaro again!

The next day Weon and I were off to a small town 40km east called Marangu where one of the entrances to the Mt Kilimanjaro Park is. Those of you with sharp eyes might have noticed someone new in the truck, and that would be Jenna, a girl from Scotland. She was staying at the same place as us and because she was headed in the same direction we were, Weon invited her to join us.

Marangu is a very small town, that in itself has absolutely nothing to offer. That is not the reason to come however. The reason is that it has an interesting cave, a series of waterfalls, nice views of Kili and a cool, green climate.

We ended up staying at a place called Bismark and the old man who ran the place happened to also be the village chief. Also, his grandson was being baptized so a celebration was setup and he was in his finest cloths. Here he is blowing the traditional antler-horn to call the village people together.

See? I told you the place was green and beautiful.

Later that afternoon the festivities began and we were shuffled into the food line, in front of many people who I can only assume actually knew the child and the family and thus we were the only non Tanzanian Chaga-Tribe people in attendance. It was a bit awkward, but the food was delicious and the beer was free so who am I to complain.

The Chaga people are known for bananas. It is a key export for the region, a staple of their diet and a source of alcohol as well. Thus, it was time for me to try what they called 'banana beer'. Let me just begin by saying I love trying local food and drink and that when someone offers me something I will do everything I can do either enjoy it or at least to suffer my way through it and finish it.

With this stuff it simply wasn't possible. Imagine an oil drum (and they had a 40-gallon drum of the stuff) full of peeled bananas left in the sun to rot and ferment for a week. Then it's all stirred together, then the biggest bits are strained out. Then you drink it. I'm not exactly sure how they make it, but it's probably not far off from that. It is served in the traditional way, in a 'sausage tree' seed pod with a handle. I managed to drink half of the seed pod worth, having to chase every gulp with another gulp of western beer to cleanse my mouth so I wouldn't puke. Meanwhile, the 60 year old women in front of me are drinking it non-stop out of a little plastic bucket. I guess it is an acquired taste.

The next day it was off on a little walk to one of the waterfalls in the area and that meant a nice peaceful walk through the village. We intended on doing it on our own, but we were sort of coerced into having someone act as a guide and paying him...

The Ndoro waterfall was beautiful though, even if we did have to pay 5,000 shillings to go see it. We stayed their for over an hour just relaxing, watching and listening before heading back towards town.

We'd planned on skipping it, but as we walked back towards town we saw the sign for the caves in the area and decided to check them out. They wanted 10,000 shillings each which is frankly way too much, but we managed to get all three of us in for 10,000. I was expecting natural caves, but what we ended up seeing was man-made caves, around 300 years old, that were dug to protect locals from attacks by other tribes. Some parts you crawled on hands and knees almost, some parts had spots for defenders to hide and ambush possible invaders and some parts had cooking areas and once held cows. While the 'tour' only lasted about 5 minutes, they claim the system was 4km long.

Making a stir-fry for dinner after buying some veggies at the local market.

The next morning it was time to set off towards the coast. We passed the Usambara Mountains again which gave some time to reflect on our visit their two weeks before. As we drove, Weon happened to get caught in a speed trap (we saw a few that day in the towns, which often consist of just a dozen buildings; the speed limit drops suddenly from 100km/hour to 40km/hour or something). The fine was for 30,000 shillings, but Weon ended up simply bribing the officer for 10,000 off the books (about $6.30).

We got to the city of Tanga on the east coast of Tanzania and checked into the Ocean Breeze Inn, a cheap but perfectly functional place to spend a few nights. While the car was parked there, someone happened to see it and left a note for us. It was some other South Africans, and they wrote that they were heading south on a Cairo-to-Cape trip and that we ought to meet them at the Tanga Yacht Club that evening if we wanted to chat. We did en up meeting them and while we told them our Cape-to-Cairo trip had fallen apart it was very interesting to talk to them about what north Africa has in stock and it defiantly kept me interested in heading that direction at some point while I am out here.

After breakfast I went for a walk around Tanga, which while there isn't really much of anything to do, it is a pleasant little place that has some public green space and while they are all a bit run down, I can't say I've seen parks in any other cities/towns I've been in so I appreciated it a great deal.

I was walking around town looking for an internet cafe when a car pulled up next to me and asked where I was going. I told him I was just wandering around and he offered to show me around town. I hopped in the car and he told me his name was Shabbir. He grew up in Tanga, born to Pakistani parents and runs a bed and breakfast in town. We had a nice time driving around town while he showed me around, including driving past the school he went to as a child. He told the same story as all the other locals I've met, about how everything has gone down hill so quickly since nationalization and how sad it is to see what Tanzania has become as a result. On the bright side, we got drinks and sat in the park while I showed him photos of my travels, home and family. A truly friendly person I feel glad to have met.

Oh, also on the subject of public parks, this is another of them. In the evenings tables and chairs are put out and you can eat dinner there, which is very nice.

The thee of us played a lo of cards together.

We had intended on going to the Amboni Caves which are just outside of Tanga, but when we asked how much it cost now and was told 20,000 shillings we simply said no. They used to be 3,000 and we simply were not willing to pay what they now wanted. Sorry, but I have to rant for a minute.

The problem is that this is happening all over Tanzania, the government is jacking up the price of EVERYTHING tourist/foreigner related. The government is corrupt, incompetent and short sighted according to literally everyone I've talked to and what I've seen seems to support that belief. Let me give some examples: The tourist visa for the country is $100 for a one year multiple entry. Last year they raised the price of a volunteer visa to $500!! To volunteer, aka, to work for free in Tanzania, they charge you an extra $400! The thing is, many of these volunteers end up paying the organization to volunteer as well, then do tourist activities in the country after their project ends. Volunteers do a lot of work and bring a lot of money into the country, and the government is simply going to push them away. There are dozens of other countries in Africa with an equal or even bigger need for volunteers that will be happy to take you, and you can do it for free, without throwing an extra $400 into a corrupt bureaucrats pocket. Another example: the government wants to turn the coast around Tanga into a 'protected marine reserve'. It sounds good in practice, but the real reason they want to do it is to charge foreign visitors more money. As part of this 'marine reserve' that could reach from the northern border south to Pangani or more, and go inland as well, they want to impose a $20 a night fee on all visitors who sleep in the area! To put this in perspective, we were paying $5 a night to camp. If the government has it's way, that will suddenly become $25 and NO ONE will come. The government is doing the same thing with nearly every tourist attraction, no matter how small and uninteresting. 

Ok, and here is one last example Chris just posted on his facebook, I'll let him tell it: "Today my blood was really boiling.... We saw how fisherman were catching dolphins in the Mnemba marine reserve, during this the Marine park rangers came up to us and asked for our passes. Hearing this we asked them what they are doing about the fisherman. They had no reply. We replied by giving them the finger. A sad day on Zanzibar ...."

The next morning we headed back towards Peponi. Between Peponi and Tanga however is the Tongoni Ruins. I was curious to see these because there isn't a lot of 'built history' in Africa in the form of ancient buildings and whatnot so I was curious to see the place. We decided to check that out but when we got there and the price had been raised from 1,000 shillings to 10,000, we simply turned around. I need to give them credit for the fact they actually improved the infrastructure at the site, having built a new bathroom and ticket office which is a step in the right direction, but the price was just too high, especially when you could see it all from the road as you drove past.

In the early afternoon the three of us arrived back at Peponi and Jenna and I set up camp. Weon on the other hand moved into one of these bandas because he was settling in to work at the resort for the next two months. Back when Chris and I were still on Zanzibar, Weon had returned to the mainland and ended up staying at Peponi for about two weeks, befriending the owners in the process. They happened to be going on vacation shortly after and offered him a job as supervisor at the resort while they were away. With Chris having gotten a job on Zanzibar and then my heading back to South Africa, the timing couldn't have been better and Weon accepted the job.

In the early afternoon the next day Weon, Jenna and I set out on the resorts dhow boat for a snorkeling trip. I knew it would be my last time in a warm ocean for a long time, so I was excited to get some water time.

It turned out to be a windy day and the visibility underwater wasn't very good but the aquatic life was fairly good and I saw a few nice things including this nice lion fish.

Clown fish and a few others around a sea anemone.

The sailing dhow was really cool to be on. These traditional boats are hundreds of years old and are still built and widely used today. To get to be on one and see how the rigging works, how the sail is hoisted and adjusted and just how the whole thing works was very interesting.

A while back I met someone who said they'd run into two travelers that had actually bought one of these boats in Tanzania. Obviously they had never sailed one before had a lot to learn, but were going to attempt to sail down the east coast of Africa. This sounded like an awesome adventure to me and had I not already bought tickets to AfrikaBurn and plane tickets back to South Africa I would have gotten their contact information and tried to join up on that trip!

Oh look, another group of Norwegian nursing students! (I wasn't kidding when I said they were everywhere). On the left is Gregory, a Swiss guy who has been working here in Tanzania as an architect. Greg and I had a lot of interesting conversations late into the night, it's too bad our schedules didn't match up, he would have been a cool guy to travel with.

The next morning it was time for me to head off to Dar es Salaam to catch my flight, so it was time to part ways with Weon. As you know the original idea for this tip was for the three of us (Chris, Weon and I) to do the full Cape-to-Cairo trip in the 4x4 over as much as a year. Well, it lasted three months and while it hasn't always gone perfectly it's been quite a rewarding experience. We had a lot of good times together (and some bad ones of course) and I have to say that this last part with just Weon and I in the north of Tanzania has been one of the most enjoyable sections of the trip. Weon, it was good to meet you and I bet we will cross paths again at some point.

I caught a bus that picked me up just outside Peponi, and while the ride wasn't too bad, it took nine hours.

I arrived in Dar around 5pm and tried to get a taxi into the city center to find a place to sleep. The taxi far was pretty expensive, 20,000 shillings, so I sat down for something to eat and make a better plan. I happened to see two other foreigners, a newly wed couple from Brazil, and we shared a cab into town.

I am sharing this particular photo because one thing I noticed right away about Dar is that it has new construction everywhere. It is said to be the fastest growing city in East Africa, and I certainly believe it.

We ended up going to the YWCA, which had single rooms for 10,000 shillings which wasn't too bad, then headed out together to get dinner. It turned out a group had reserved all the rooms in the YWCA for the next night and we'd have to move, so we walked a block away to the YMCA to check it out. As we were walking towards the door I saw a familiar face, it was Esther (on the left of this photo) who I'd met in Moshi! She was heading out to dinner with Mary (on the right) who is from Ohio and has been in Tanzania for about three years with the Peace Corps. So we all joined forces and went out to dinner together at an Indian place that was quite good.

The next morning I had to move into the YMCA, and was rather displeased it cost a a full 25,000 shillings for a room that is no better than the room at the YWCA that only cost 10,000. I sucked it up and paid, since I didn't feel like wandering all over looking for another place (and I knew there were not many choices anyways) and it was only for one night. While there I ran into Mary again and we spent the morning walking around Dar running errands and chatting.

Interesting architecture in the city. On a side note, people told me Dar was a big nasty dangerous city. Maybe I am missing something, but it didn't feel that way to me at all. In fact, I wish I'd had a few more days in the city to walk around and explore...

At the internet cafe, I met Todd, an Aussie guy and we hung out that evening. Once again, I ended up at an Indian place (there is a big Indian community in Dar, the previous night I seriously felt like I was back in India walking down one of the streets) for dinner and after dinner I was going to help him out by burning some DVDs of his photos as a backup for him to mail home. One of the disks he bought on the street was empty as it was supposed to be, but somehow the other was full of Indian pop music videos, which made us both crack up when I put it in my computer and it started playing.

I grabbed a taxi to the airport, another 20,000 shillings, and sat down to read my book for a good while.

Reflecting on my time in Tanzania, it really has been wonderful.  I've done great scuba diving, gone on an amazing safari, hiked up an active volcano, sat in the mountains surrounded in forest and trees, met tons of good people (locals AND foreigners)  and had a wonderful time overall.  Tanzania is definitely a country I could recommend to almost anyone.

As I checked in for my flight back to South Africa, they asked me if I had an onward ticket. Of course I didn't, because I didn't know my plans/schedule for my time in South Africa. They were not pleased with this answer, and I had to explain a few times what I was doing (uhh, being a tourist without a set schedule???) and wait a while for them to decide what to do with me. They ended up letting me through but said once I land in SA I may have to buy an onward ticket on the spot. When I landed in Johannesburg, I was again questioned by the immigration officer about why I didn't have an onward ticket (I was never asked any questions when I first came to SA from the USA...) but he ended up letting me through without further incident.

I landed in Cape Town around 11pm, and JC, the husband of Chris' sister was there to pick me up. Thanks JC!

When I arrived at the apartment of Chris' parents (who are not around right now, meaning I have the place to myself!), I found his sister Maresna had bought some groceries to get me by until I made it to the stores, once again wonderful hospitality! With this, I had a wonderful place to stay, (Running hot water! A clean bed! A TV! A laundry machine! It's been a while!), wonderful people to help me out and a place to simply decompress for a while until AfrikaBurn.

Cape Town and Table Mountain in the background, round two!

Naturally after a good shower and sleep, it was time to sort through my things again to decide what I will sell, what I will keep, what I will ditch and what I will send home. My things exploded all over the floor and it was time to get to work.

Maresna, JC and their kid, who also live in Woodbrige where I am staying. Thanks again you two!

So as part of going to AfrikaBurn, I had to find a group to camp with. It is 300km out of Cape Town in the desert, with no shops or anything so you have to be totally self sufficient. The result of that is I couldn’t just show up with a backpack and be taken care of, I needed to join a camp. Through the AfrikaBurn forum, I was invited by Paul Pickup to join his group Camp Nowhere, and through that group I was put in contact with other members of the group including Wim. Wim lives in Cape Town, and we set up a time to meet up and hang out. He picked me up on his scooter, and we set off to his place.

Wim and Hanlie are nomads themselves, but for now are here in Cape Town with a nice apartment and a beautiful view of the city and Table Mountain.

They were originally planning on going to AfrikaBurn, but with a three-week old baby Eland decided it was no longer feasible. Too bad they won't be coming now, but we had a nice evening together over pizza and beer, and I got a bit of advice about what to do and expect from the event. Thanks you two!

Clean laundry! These couple of days here in Cape Town have been pretty low key, just taking care of business and relaxing which you need every once in a while.

Sometimes I can connect to an open wifi connection from the apartment, but usually I can't. However there are two networks that I always see, and I wanted to find the owners so I could ask if I could get the password and use their connection for a few days so I can check email, facebook, do research, etc. I set about knocking on doors of the nearby units and was met with friendly faces but a bunch of 'no, that's not my network' or 'I don't know anything about computers.' I got that same answer from Hugo and Birdie who are directly across the street, but Hugo invited me in and we began to chat. We ended up drinking tea together and I grabbed my laptop and gave them and their son who happened to show up a slide-show of my trip up Africa so far. We had a great time chatting and I'll defiantly drop in again to see them.

I didn't manage to find where the wifi signals were coming from, but in talking to one neighbor I found out that the cafe near buy has wifi, so that will be good enough for now. With that (somewhat) solved, I set out via bicycle to swing by the local scuba shop to chat about selling my gear rather than shipping it back home. It was closed, but it was fun to get out on a bike again and I stopped by the grocery store to stock up for the next few days.

Looking back at this post, I'm amazed how many people I've met in the last two weeks! I haven't had any big 'events' during this time like a safari, or scuba diving, or crossing into a new country or anything like that but the time has been just as interesting and enjoyable. So next of course is AfrikaBurn that starts April 25^th and goes to the 30^th, and after that I have no idea. I'm leaving it open because I'm sure I will be meeting a ton more interesting people at the Burn and that it will probably lead to some new opportunities for me to choose from.

Stay tuned, the next post is going to be really good ;)