She said; “Would you like a fortune cookie from the Universe?”

 

“Yes please.”

 

And there it was; “The universe seems neither benign, nor hostile, merely indifferent.” Carl Sagan.

 

Welcome to AfrikaBurn, South Africa’s annual four day festival of art, creative activities, music, dancing and other largely adult fun, deep in the heart of the Karoo at Tankwa, about 300km north of Cape Town. A direct descendent of Burning Man, AfrikaBurn is now in its eleventh year and growing annually, despite its remote location 100km along Africa’s longest unpaved and dusty road.

 

My first Burn and as much learning experience as culture shock. Fantastic photographic opportunities, wonderful warm days and bitingly cold nights – this is a desert after all. I’m partying with 13,000 other revellers, mainly South Africans, but scattered through the crowds, representatives from just about every nation on Earth.

 

And, given the continent’s largely violent recent history, nary a cross word from anyone.

 

Enough verbiage from me. Here’s an insider’s view – captions where appropriate.