BEFORE YOU GO, PREPARE
As you prepare for the desert, remember that you're responsible for YOURSELF at all times. Radical Self-Reliance!
Use lots of common sense: you need to bring everything you need to the desert, including all food, water, shelter, fuel, and basic first aid. And then you need to take it all back – because this is a Leave No Trace event.
Before you arrive, make sure you have your TICKET - printed or on a phone / device (with battery). Make 100% sure that your full name is on your ticket and that you bring photo ID to the gate with you. Our gate crew will need this to verify your ticket and can’t let you in if the details on your ID and ticket don’t match.
Essentials
THIS AIN’T NO PARTY. THIS AIN’T NO DISCO. THIS IS ONE SERIOUS DESERT FANDANGO AND YOU MUST BRING:
- Your ticket & photo ID for entry (SA ID, driver’s licence or passport) – ensure the name on your ticket is the same name on your ID/Passport.
- E-Toll per vehicle (Previously called Vehicle Pass). Caravans and trailers don’t need one but motorcycles do.
- 5 litres of water per person per day - carry a bottle of water with you and rehydrate regularly. Remember that water doesn't only come in 5 litre plastic bottles - help yourself to leave less trace by filling up a 25 litre container (with a tap) for your water needs.
- Enough food and beverages for the duration of your entire stay. (see below)
- Shelter, bedding, and preferably an open shade structure too. If it’s not windproof, kiss it goodbye.
- Protective clothing (including warm clothes and waterproof gear). It might be the desert and it is very warm in the day, but nights can be freezing and if and when it rains, it pours.
- Trash bags – because you’re going to be taking it all back with you.
- Fire extinguisher.
- Comprehensive medical first aid kit. Any required prescriptions (please note: our medics don’t dispense painkillers, headache tabs or antibiotics)
- Lighting: a headlamp, torch, bike light, fairy lights, EL wire (and spare batteries). Solar lights rock – find ‘em & use ‘em.
- Duct tape & rope – because they hold the universe together!
- Bringing wood? Bring a brazier or braai - campfires on the ground are NOT permitted.
- Recycling bins: you’ll need one for wet waste (a 25 litre bucket with a lid works well for this!), and others for paper, plastic and metal / glass - remember that the wind blows so make sure your bins are secured! Check out local area recycling depots, and use them on your way home – there’s nowhere for you to leave your trash on site.
- Please stay on your chronic medication and bring all of it with you, so that you have enough to cover your time in the dust. If you have any concerns, contact your doctor and speak to them, we are sure they will give you all the advice you need.
Food and snacks
Convenience is really important when you need to keep yourself fuelled at AfrikaBurn. You might have big ideas of 5 course meals and braaivleis every night, but after a long day in the desert heat, the last thing you want to do is cook a full meal from scratch. Things you can easily warm up, that don't need refrigeration are excellent, a frozen homemade Spag Bol can act as an ice brick in your cooler box and last quite a few days, and then be a delicious meal in minutes. You can easily get tinned curries, baked beans and all sorts of super long life foods in our supermarkets that might not be super fancy, but fill a hole and quickly provide enough energy to keep partying with a purpose.
Fresh fruit and veg get hammered quicky in the desert heat, often going vrot in a day, and while getting your 5 a day is easy in the city, it's much harder in Tankwa Town. April is the start of our citrus fruit season, so oranges, naartjies and clementines etc. are the best option for keeping scurvy at bay in Tankwa Town and don't need refrigeration. South Africa also has a long tradition of dried fruit, which can help with your vitamin intake and keeping your levels of fibre up. Avocados are also in season, but be aware that they all usually ripen at the same time and you find yourself having avocado with EVERYTHING for a day and then nothing at all. Carrots and cabbages also do well outside of a fridge and can be made into delicious coleslaw with a bit of mayo ... but try to mix things up. After 5 days of coleslaw you're going to struggle to look at a cabbage in the same way.
Snacking is essential, because you may find yourself out exploring the Binnekring for the whole day and BOOM! before you know it you last ate hours ago and are wondering why you're feeling tired and irritable. Art is a lot less enjoyable on an empty stomach. Some of the things we like to have in our bags are: Granola bars, Snack bars, Biltong, Nuts, Sweeties, Dried fruit, Crackers,
Electrolyte sachets and concentrates are your friend ... you can add them to your water and stay hydrated throughout the event. They are a lot more compact to carry than 5l of fizzy drinks and go a long way. A friend of a friend likes to mix in vodka and ice with their electrolytes in a flask and they stay hydrated and happy throughout the day (allegedly).
While some camps might gift drink, food and snacks these cannot be relied upon to keep you going for a whole week. 'The Playa Provides' is a well known Burning Man saying, but at AfrikaBurn you must be prepared to provide your own food and snacks throughout the event.
Please do NOT bring
Sure, it’s a burn you’re going to, but there are some items that are seriously not wanted at the event, and all for the same reason: they’re dangerous, either as mobile arson, or to critters. Not lekker.
- Feathers of any kind, such as boas, which shed and get blown in the wind.
- Glitter (even bio-degradeable, because others can’t tell whether it’s degradeable, and will assume all glitter’s ok, which results in horrifically difficult clean-ups for Leave No Trace Volunteers)
- Flares, Fireworks, Fire lanterns, sparklers, explosives or firearms of any kind, including BB guns or pellet guns.
- Excess packaging. Lighten your load – just bring the contents.
- Plants and pets of any kind. If it doesn’t belong there, leave it where it does.
Highly recommended
- Umbrellas, parasols, hats, sunscreen and sunglasses.
- Lip Balm. No matter how kissable you might think you are, the desert air will turn your lips into sandpaper without proper protection.
- Bring a bicycle (mountain bikes are best) and decorate it, make it an installation, light it up for night time cruising. Don't forget a puncture kit.
- A portable shower - you can get affordable black bags that you fill with water and leave in the sun for a day
- Smokers must please bring a portable ashtray. No butts on the floor. At all. Not even one butt, boet. The Tankwa is pristine and we are all tasked with keeping it that way.
- Anything that can make sharp tent pegs safer (tennis balls: perfect).
- An extra set of car keys, just in case. Top Tip - the firsth thing you do in Tankwa Town is put your keys somewhere safe and tell a buddy or neighbour where you've stashed them in case you forget.
- Costumes, musical instruments, signs, body paint and anything else that might enrich and make your AfrikaBurn more fun for you and your neighbours.
Read more: The Three Things You Need