Aussie Virgin Burner

Enyala · Post by **Enyala** » Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:08 am

Hi,

Am really wanting to make it to BM in 2011, have been reading up on just about everything BM I can get my hands on to prepare myself but I am still feeling totally unprepared. Are there any other Aussies on here or anyone actually that could shed some light on the easiest way to do this ie. bring everything over to the states and lug it around or buy all my supplies over there?

Would also love to meet up with some burners around the Brisbane area if possible to get some insight on what I am up for :)

Thanks all!

Enyala

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:02 am

The typical is to get the supplies after you land on American soil.
A good place to start looking for Australians.

Enyala · Post by **Enyala** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:37 pm

Thanks very much for your help, I've joined the Aussie forums :)

CourtneyWalker87 · Post by **CourtneyWalker87** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:55 am

Hi!

So happy I found another burner and from Brisbane!

I really want to go but dont know where to start!

Something Im confused about is tickets - when they go on sale in the US what time will it be here? (stupid I know) I just dont want to miss out!!

Love Court

imperatrixi · Post by **imperatrixi** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:30 am

Hey!

It was my first time this year. Read as much about BM as you can, don't think you are overdoing it, you truly cannot be over prepared. And ask questions, most people are happy to help, they want you to enjoy yourself and be safe, better to ask a silly question that make a silly mistake that ruins your experience! Go with confidence whether you have grand plans or simple solutions, both will lead to success on the playa!

This is how I did it and my suggestions (wow this became epic fast!), some of which you may have seen elsewhere:

My best advice is Water Water Water, and more supplies than you need, you will probably need them after all or someone else will.

Any specialised gear like goggles and el wire and leds and some small nice gifts for special people are best to organise from home. Ebay is great for that. Things that you could pick up at a supermarket buy over there, if you can make it to a walmart or costco they have camping gear cheap and the thrift stores in Reno have good stuff too.

I was a bit particular about what I wanted in a tent so took one over that an Aussie company makes that is semi geodesic and has great wind resistance. The winds were high a couple of times but I didn't hear of anyone's tent being ripped to shreds as has happened previous years. Try and organise to camp next to vans if you are tenting it, they will help block some sun, wind and dust in a storm.

I was able to use a friend's spare rebar which was definitely needed along with some large plastic 3 edged pegs to secure my tent. I borrowed a sledgehammer and bought a mallet. The tent weighed a fair amount so that ate into my baggage allowance on the way there but a new friend is storing it for me so I didn't have to take it on the way back.

My tent also had 2 sections so I could keep the area for my bed relatively dust free and I even had a dustpan and brush which helped a bit!

Take some waterproof garment bags or travel vacuum pack bags or something like that to keep underwear or special costumes dust free until you need them. Clothing wise - you cannot be too fancy but utilitarian is fine too. Some thermals are a good precaution as it can get very cold at night. I took a LOT of socks. Comfortable walking/hiking shoes are essential as they can take the dust, can breathe and after hiking cross playa you will be grateful. Having said that I saw plenty of mega platform boots and even stilettos walking around.

If you are going to menstruate there, small sandwich bags are handy to carry with you, prepack them with your sanitary needs and a wet wipe and afterwards use them to put your used gear in to take back to camp. Also try to get a pee funnel beforehand or visit a camp that gives them out, it will save you from many porta potty nightmares.

I ordered my googles on ebay and they were great, check out the motorcycle googles and get a few pairs - dark for day clear for night. You can get several pairs in a pack with some companies. I lost one pair so having extra is good.

Also several pairs of sunglasses. SO easy to break and lose and so essential to have. Very dark and reflective ones that wrap around help a lot with the midday glare. If they make it hard to see inside they are probably perfect.

I used scarves and dust masks, scarf around neck for light dust and a mask in my bag to supplement during heavy winds. I don't recommend the paper ones, they squish too easily.

Take lots of heavy rich moisturiser especially if you plan to have bare feet, clean up and put moisturiser all over your body at least once a day, more often on hands, it's really dry and load it on your feet.

Having a bowl to wash your feet in is good. Saline nasal spray really works. Toilet paper - one ply. Safety pins and duct tape.

I bought a full length mirror and octopus straps/bungee cords and spring loaded clips to secure it in my tent. Brought my vanity with me!

The spring loaded clips meant I could hang some things in the tent too including a rope I hung my lights and scarves and sunglasses for easy access.

A warm fun coat for night is important and you can never have enough lights at night. People, bikes and vehicles come from all directions in the dark and being lit up is the only way you won't get bumped when it's busy. If you get a bike you'll want to string lights on it too. And some sort of basket for your bike is handy to put supplies in too. Also even if you aren't bringing a bike a small tool to adjust seats is good cos you can make use of the yellow bikes but they may need tweaking. I didn't have a lock and my bike stayed safe but I did decorate it with a blowup horse. Soft toys and fake flowers are popular too.

Take 2 or 3 headlamps. It may seem excessive but I lost 2 and they are so essential for late night porta potty trips believe me!

Batteries and more batteries if you are taking a camera.

A decent sized water bladder that you have tested before going. Yes mine sprung a leak! And getting dehydrated is no fun let me tell you! Gatorade or another electrolyte powder and a large bottle you can make up and drink in it's entirety every day.

If you drink, a hip flask to take on the road and if you can some extra spirits or interesting mixers for the numerous cocktail parties.

A funnel for disposing of grey water back into a bottle.

A parasol is fun to take out for a midday stroll.

If you bring hats try to get them firm fitting or with cords cos they blow away.

Spray bottle. Hand held fan. Large plastic crate with lid, (the more the better) the weight and strong sides helped my tent resist wind and I kept food in there kind of dust free.

Something to put rubbish and recyclables in, I picked up a heavy duty garden waste bag that I could fold over at the top, I think a laundry bag with split sections would be even better for sorting. There was a recycle camp this year.

Vitamin tablets. Panadol - they don't seem to have paracetamol there, at least no one knew what it was. It's good for bringing your temperature down if you get mild heatstroke.

Silly clothes and face paint are fun and if you can bring and play a musical instrument or juggle or hoop, sing, massage, teach yoga or perform some other trick you will have loads of fans.

Small set of tools if you can, it seemed someone was always needing a screwdriver or shifter.

What I found invaluable was a small book that I got people to write their details in. It had a pocket - you could make one, that I could store stickers and other bits and pieces. It had elastic around it so I kept the burning man map and art guide inside and I tied a small pencil to it. It was small enough to fit in my "bumbag" / "fanny pack". Also try to bring some markers " textas" sharpies etc. There's lots of things you can write on.

Patience, optimism and flexibility - the sensory spectacle and experiential overload is beyond anything else on earth: the best laid plans will fail but then you are free to make new ones; often everything will go wrong but then everything will go right; you will miss out on something, be disappointed by someone but you will find magic, experience miracles and meet angels - it's one hell of a ride!

PS try to get to the sunrise saloon for dawn at least one day, watching the sun come over the desert horizon like a big ball of flame was something that blew my mind. Oh and snap photos like crazy!

And come to our Oz Burn in June next year burningmanaustralia.com

Enyala · Post by **Enyala** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:08 am

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that information, you have helped me out more than you can possibly imagine!

I plan on being at Burning Seed and am also thinking of going to the Easter Confest as another BM warm up :) See you on BMAus forums :D

Courtney, where abouts in Brisbane are you? Would be great to meet up at some stage, are you keen for Burning Seed as well?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:56 am

paracetamol = tylenol, acetaminophen

Be careful with this.

imperatrixi · Post by **imperatrixi** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:22 pm

Thanks for solving that mystery! in Australia it is still the most popular pain reliever though I know if you have been punishing your liver it's not the best but generally you can have up t 8 in 24 hrs safely.

Da Mule · Post by **Da Mule** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:34 pm

imperatrixi wrote:Thanks for solving that mystery! in Australia it is still the most popular pain reliever though I know if you have been punishing your liver it's not the best but generally you can have up t 8 in 24 hrs safely.

In OZ and UK, they sell it over the counter with codeine, which you won't find in US without a prescription.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:45 pm

Da Mule wrote:
imperatrixi wrote:Thanks for solving that mystery! in Australia it is still the most popular pain reliever though I know if you have been punishing your liver it's not the best but generally you can have up t 8 in 24 hrs safely.
In OZ and UK, they sell it over the counter with codeine, which you won't find in US without a prescription.

That's because americans have weaker characters and would become dope crazed fiends if it were otc.

Tin Halo · Post by **Tin Halo** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:54 pm

theCryptofishist wrote: A good place to start looking for Australians.

The missing comma, here, had me cracking up.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:19 pm

Tin Halo wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote: A good place to start looking for Australians.
The missing comma, here, had me cracking up.

It's not so much a missing comma, but a missing "This is..."

Tin Halo · Post by **Tin Halo** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:58 pm

"This is a good place to start looking for Australians."
(ummm, Australia? Yep.)

"A good place to start looking for Australians."
(well, yes... Australia...)

"This is a good place to start looking, for Australians."
(Aussies start your Burn adventure here...)

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:49 am

Okay.

Tin Halo · Post by **Tin Halo** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:57 am

Punctuation saves lives!

"Let's eat Grandpa!"

"Let's eat, Grandpa!"

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:20 am

Tin Halo wrote:Punctuation saves lives!

"Let's eat Grandpa!"

"Let's eat, Grandpa!"

Your last name Donner?

(Ha! I did it again. Never underestimate the power of "is" at the beginning of the proper question!)