Afrika Burn
2014 - from a 'virgin's perspective
One of our camp portraits - Camp Dis-connect
So yes, my virgin
experience. What to say about it in human
words. Seems kind of difficult to
explain. It was awesome on so many
levels. Glad I had some good camping experience
already under my belt from being the Wild Coast gypsy girl haha…. That
came in handy on a few occasions :)
First of
all I’d say GO EARLY. You might as well get your moneys worth and
double it up :). We went on the Monday already and that helped
so much with adjusting, because if it is your first time there is a loooooot to
adjust to. I saw some people arriving on
the Thursday only and they just looked shell-shocked and couldn’t really relax and enjoy themselves. Also you get to meet more awesome people this way...
You have to
first of all adjust to the DESERT. This
is a leeeetle different to city life… That means for example getting used to walking a little distance to
your compost toilet and getting into that little routine. Your body needs to adjust internally to a
different eating pattern required by the desert and consequently that also
affects the whole circle of events going on inside your body.
Many people
can attest to a bit of a diarrhoea feeling, alhough it is more like just a
loose stool and nothing to worry about.
Just keep on drinking lots of water.
Your body is just adjusting. Minimize
on alcohol and other sort of chemical substances you really don’t want in your body. My favorite thing in the morning was my cup
of ‘stokkies’ rooibos tea (the kind you need a little sieve for) with honey and
perhaps some lemon to sooth my dry throat/mouth.
Yes it is
the desert and it’s dry. And hot during the day. You want to keep in the shade. That means getting up early-ish (you will be
woken by the loud bang/ explosion/ canon shot/ whatever that is) might as well
make the best of it, go for a quick toilet run and then explore the sights a
bit, on your bicycle if you have one.
Enjoy the
cool morning air and beautiful light until it gets a bit warm and it’s time to return to camp for the mid-day
siesta. Which can last pleasantly
long. Don’t feel like you have to rush around. Take your time to chill, have some
breakfast, tea/coffee, have a bit of a wash, tidy up your camp a bit, chill
some more and enjoy the company of your fellow awesome happy campers. And if you are lucky you will have a stretch tent covering your whole camp area. Thanks guys :)
Another good
idea for the morning is to pop in at your nearest yoga centre and stretch those
muscles a bit to get them ready for all the dancing you are going to do for the
rest of the day. Yay!!!
Or take
your djembe drum and join a circle for some awesome inspired beats together
with some other drummers at a great spot where you can for example
simultaneously watch some silk rope action going on or whatever catches your
eye…
Afternoon
comes and you are well rested (even if you didn’t get much sleep at night – next time I’m taking those industrial sound blockers, cause it’s been days later and my ears are still singing
– if it says loud zone it means tripple stereo LOUD from club speakers 360’ around you everyone trying to get their music
louder than their neighbor. Luckily I
had an extra little pillow that I held over my ear to try and block some
sound. It was SERIOUSLY LOUD!!!
Drink
enough water. Some people will say you
must take little sips throughout the day.
No. Drink liberal amounts of water.
Do not ration your water too much.
It doesn’t mean anything when it’s in a bottle, it only helps you when it is
actually inside your body. Remember that!
Also take a few packets of Rehidrate and put a little bit in your water
at the end of the day. One packet can go
a long way.
FOOD-WISE,
think desert food. The more you eat the
more thirsty you get, so actually don’t eat too much but eat clever. You should really stay a litlte bit
hungry all the time. Dates. Raw peanuts.
Green apples. Oranges/ naartjies/ Pomme-granates I took some avos
that were great on some low Gi bread for the first couple of days. With some fresh garlic and chilli and don’t forget your A. Vogel Herbamare veggie salt. Don’t need much more flavoring than that.
For brekkie, some rolled oats is good if you pour a little hot water
over and let it soak a minute or two till get it soft. Nice with some cinnamon and apple slices. You don’t even need milk.
We had a
nice big cooler box that we kept a couple of frozen meals in that we prepared
before the time, things like lentil stew, kind of spaghetti bolognaise with
lots of vegetables. Keep your body
healthy and you’ll be happy. Someone brought some rotis with fresh stuff,
sprouts, chickpeas, avo, cherry tomato. Yum.
Washing
wise – yes take wet wipes, they are definitely handy. Get those green Cherubs, Eco-Care baby wipes,
they are also biodegradable and friendly to your skin. A little bucket and a wash cloth can also do
wonders. In the end I only had one
shower the whole week (the guys at our awesome camp Disconnect put up a shower
for us – 3 poles teepee style, with material around – perfect. And we had one of those shower bags, that can
be left in the sun to heat up the water but a cold shower was actually welcome)
which was absolutely fine, the rest of the time I kept myself relatively clean
with a little bit of water in a bucket.
The dust is clean dust, you don’t really become as dirty as you think.
But you will have dust everywhere haha, all the way up your nose for
example. And once you start blowing it
could go on for a while… it might even look like you had a
chocolate factory up your nose :)
Have a look
at these desert survival tips 1-4 to get a better understanding of the desert.
(hopefully you don’t really get lost in the desert but it’s always good to know a bit more about your
surroundings)
Take those
dust goggles!! No jokes. You can get them cheap at the Agri market, like R10 each, take
some for your friends too, they’ll thank you later. It’s just a matter of time before a dust storm hits. We were lcuky it only came right at the end
on Sunday while we were packing up. If
you are a little prepared even these can
be lots of fun. That was the time I
missed my camera the most! Next time I’m getting like an underwater / dust case for my
camera, cause seriously. I have to pay a
lot of money now to get it fixed. It
conked in already on day 4. Dust is all
around. Bummer.
Oh and the
ground is H A R D. HARD. Someone at our camp took a drill to drill
into the ground for the steel tent pegs.
Obviously he was not an Afrika Burn virgin….
The evenings are cool, so boots, scarf, beanie, parka is important.
Other ESSENTIALS:
- Big sun hat
- Shades
- · Umbrella for the sun (it didn’t rain while we where there but check the weather before you go, cause that can change things dramatically, that desert does not soak up any water, it all floods)
- · Sunscreen
- · Lip ice with Spf
- · Water mist spray bottle for those hot days – flavour with buchu/ or whatever you want (you can make many new friends in an instant if you have this little gift to share)
- · Germolene – handy antispetic cream for minor bruises, burns etc.
- · Scissors
- · Elastoplast – the roll one is good, you can cut it any length and it sticks
- · Rope – you can get balls of material rope at Builders’ warehouse, my clever camp buddy Jes, had the brilliant idea to tie everything onto the rope and then onto something else, like the tent. From lighters, scissors, empty beer cans that served as cigarette butt cans, torches (those little solar ones you can probably get at the Chinese store became my favorite accessory around my neck J )
- · A wool type scarf is great to have, for warmth in the evening and also to wet and keep you cool during the day… A scarf can also help for breathing during a dust storm...
- · If you have a bicycle, make a tag with your name, camp ‘address’ and phone number for in case it does get lost. Oh and DO get those bars attached to your bicycle (on the sides) so that you can lift a friend- your friend basically stands behind you and holds onto your shoulders – those were some of my best memories of everything!
- DO take your favourite toys: Pois, Djembe, kites, juggling balls, whatever...?
- DO go and boogie your ass off and have the time of your life :)
- DO get some glow sticks for the night time, light yourself up
- DO go out and make new friends when you happen to lose your own. (That happened to me around every turn, I just got distracted every time and when I turned around my friends were out of sight. But no worries, there are plenty more... :) And it was awesome meeting y'all.
Other random advice and good ideas:
- · DO go and read other SURVIVAL GUIDES, this one is just basic and I didn’t go into too much detail about obvious things, there are other guides that cover more aspects.
- · If you’re handing out FREE GIFTS, be sensible about it. Don’t create MOOP. Eg. a thousand tiny sunscreen samples is a very generous idea but how about using a couple of big bottles instead and just spray it on for people, much better interaction in this way as well. Try to avoid things in wrappers
- · Warning sensitive readers: This one is for the LADIES ONLY! :)
- There is a lot we can learn at this event about preserving our earth and that we can continue in our ‘normal’ lives.
- · One great lesson I learnt as a woman was at the compost toilet: and then chatting to my friends about this situation of what to do with tampons that you are not supposed to chuck into the compost toilet (only human waste and toilet paper allowed). So how about avoiding tampons altogether and investing in what they call a ‘moon cup’. It can change your life! :)
- · (you can buy it online at http://www.healthinista.co.za/body-and-beauty/intimate-hygiene
- · If you don’t know what this is I’m talking about now, go read this histerical article that promises to enlighten the socks off you. http://www.xojane.co.uk/beauty/dont-try-this-at-home-mooncup-edition
The toilets get red flags as they are reaching their limit towards the end and you have to trek a bit further to find a white flag toilet..
- Okay, I think I’ll stop there for now. Maybe some things you’ll have to experience for yourself to create a bigger adventure…
Oke maybe
one last thing. You really don’t have to dress up like a maniac if that’s not your thing. Some people work on their costumes all year
and some people go rent stuff from the Fancy dress store. But that’s their thing. You just go as
yourself, yourself to the max. Yourself
in the desert. Your true happy self that
you love to be and no one else. You don't have to spend any extra money that you don't have. Well, maybe get a little something that makes you feel like a naughty kid...
And the
gifting thing. I only knew that I was
going a week before the time and couldn’t really figure out what to take as gifts. In the end I had lots of gifts to give
though, everything I took, like food, or little things like Zam Buk for the
lips (our international friends don’t know what that is and can be very grateful for it when their lips get
super dry and chapped), fruit or anything else that can be shared can also be
gifted. Sharing is caring. Take only what you need and give the rest
and everyone will have more than they need.
(The principle of the loaves and fishes is really true.) Don’t hog your stuff.
Also, if
you lose something, consider seeing it also as gifting. Probably whoever finds it will be very happy
to find it… Of course some things you can try
to get back, like your camera or whatever.
But I lost a favorite scarf and super cool little umbrella and I feel
like that I can let go of in peace and let whoever found it just have it as a
gift…
And I also received something in return… :)
Have an
awesome spiritual experience. Be thankful for everything. Get over yourself and love the
people around you. The Most High will lift you up
when the time is right. Yeah, He will
even make you fly…
Oke, good night..x
Ps. Please excuse my spelling, I'm in a bit of a hurry and my spell thingie is out of action.
PPS. If you have any other brilliant ideas you'd like me to add, just lemme know ;)
Also check out my photo page on Facebook for more pics: Lavonne Bosman Photographic Art
