uitgeskollie

for 3 days i blew out black muddy snot into white toilet paper, and had matted, crusty hair.

dust-choked, dirty and sleep deprived we missioned, from stage to stage, squeezed through sitting, lethargic crowds on tippy toes, to find a shady spot.

to sit down, only to get up from the straw lined floor to mission. again.

trips to and from the car boot for booze. repeated press boop boop key clicks and dodging that same thorn bush at the entrance of the campsite.

sealed off by candy-cane plastic tape. easily crossed with a lift and duck.

at oppikoppi the red and white tape doesn't keep anyone away.

in fact, this year's festival didn't keep anyone away at all. it was the first time in sixteen years that pre-sale tickets had been sold out.

what started out as a small gathering of musos on a koki-walled hilltop bar has now become a full-on sponsored event.

noticeable by the repetitive sponsor-thanks by unknown people on the stage between sets.

and the black cell-c blimp that hovered over the fest like a lonely whale.

but in true 'koppi spirit it was eventually cut free, and while eating our makeshift breakfast, made using a sooty, bent cadac, we watched it wiggle and fly like a lost balloon over the hill and disappear.

it made me happy that the koppi anarchy i'd experienced before hadn't been diluted in the mass of 20000 people who managed to find shelter in a harsh, thorny bushveld with limited resources.

if trying to get into the fest on friday night, or the crowd surrounding a burning mattress on day 4 was anything to go by, i think it fuelled the insanity even more. as opposed to the 'koppi's i'd been to in previous years, sexy.crooked.teeth had more of a chaotic energy.

less kak praat in the campsites and more active listening.

and walking.

and dancing.

i actually got to see most of the bands i wanted to see this time. even though days of consistent drinking in the limpopo sun did make evening naps necessary.

naps that sometimes took too long.

unintentionally.

but i managed to make it out to some of the early am mania, when anyone with true party stamina keeps partying at the top bar or red bull stage, even though the main stages below are dark, dead and deserted, with only a mess of debris and a passed out couple on a couch visible in the yellow light of the hanging cylindrical tree lamps.

sponsored ones of course.

and one that looked like the moon from far away, a golden-yellowish orb in the spaces between the branches of the acacia trees.

in three days we walked the same route, up the dusty path, past intoxicated people and dirty cars, people dressed in flower outfits and in a suit that looked like hundreds of plastic orange post-its sewn together.

who everyone wanted a photo with.

there were people in pirate hats who were made fun of in the most amazing comedy show, presented by a man in tiny shorts and one in white pants with an oversized, inserted plastic penis-thing.

there was a vuil afrikaans rapper with a song i'd never heard before called "farmhouse breakfast" and surrounding visuals of modified porn and phallic images.

a cape town rap crew who thought they were in gauteng, but put on a tidy set, and even handed out free avocados.

there were extremes of heat, from sauna tent baking to ice-cold dew soaked tent freeze in minus degrees. while trying to sleep.

morning tea in stainless steel cups, with long life milk.

gin and tonic and beer decanted into plastic bottles.

a realization that every year is a different experience, that the more effort you put into trying to find people the less bands you will actually appreciate.

and this year i appreciated more bands than i can remember.

i even managed to catch the regular wedding dj's 80's/90's revival sunday night set.

something i've never made it to before.

so when i left, and sat, with three days of accumulated dirtiness, in the exit traffic, for four hours, i felt a vague sense of accomplishment.

after all, 'koppi has always had a reputation for being more of a test of endurance than other eco-friendly festivals in daisy country.

something i hope will never change.