Burning Man 2011 - I'll Be There Come What May!

age-of-aquarius · Post by **age-of-aquarius** » Tue May 03, 2011 2:15 pm

Hi All,

I'm super excited about coming to Burning Man this year, it will be my first time ever and I will be flying all the way from South Africa!

The only issue is that I may end up coming on my own as the people who are supposed to come with me are not 100% certain that they can make it.

So I decided to plan ahead of time and see what options would be available to me in this case.

My plan so far is to fly from Durban (South Africa) to Sacramento, then fly from Sacramento to Reno/Tahoe International Airport where I will rent a car/van, buy supplies etc and then drive to BM.

My challenge however is that I have no experience in camping whatsoever (especially for a week and in a desert), and I'm not too sure that I would like to camp on my own if my friends can't make it to BM.

So I thought maybe I could join a group (with some previous BM experience preferably) who are planning to go to BM this year...

Your thoughts and recommendations are much appreciated :)

Best regards,

Zed

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue May 03, 2011 2:59 pm

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

Post by **Savannah** » Tue May 03, 2011 3:05 pm

Hey Zed! My 1st Burn found me camping-free for the previous 13 years, & never in the desert. I still managed to have fun, 'cause I had a good attitude, no expectations, & no illusions of needing to do it in high style. If I managed, you probably can, too.

First timers must read the Survival Guide or perish:
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... index.html

(Note: Perishing still possible.)

Reserve your vehicle ASAP. Be prepared for flak if they know where you're going--& they probably will. (The Q&A Forum has info about how people deal with rental companies.) Allow a lot of time on the return journey, because the Exodus takes 2-3 hours on average just to hit the blacktop, then it's another 2 hours' drive to Reno, etc, etc.

Look around in the forums under the "Introduce Yourself" and you'll see "2011 Theme Camps". There's also Cryptofishist's cool thread:

How to Join a Theme Camp
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 67&start=0

One of her links led me to this page about South African Burners. Couldn't hurt to meet any local burners in your area if you haven't:
http://regionals.burningman.com/af_za.html

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Tue May 03, 2011 6:10 pm

If you fly into Sacramento, rent a car/van there. The owner of the downtown AVIS/Budget dealership is very burner friendly and will generally beat any deal you'll get from his competition. The expense alone to fly to Reno will pretty much pay for the car. (Amtrak is a four hour ride and 1/4 the cost of air without the hassles.) If you'd like his info, PM me. And welcome.

age-of-aquarius · Post by **age-of-aquarius** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:30 am

Thanks all for your valuable info and advice...

I was doing more research and stumbled upon the following Adventure Travel company http://www.greentortoise.com/adventures ... tival.html who are saying on their website that they take care of transport to BM from San Francisco, camping and food & water.

This seems like a good deal for me considering it's my first time at BM.

Has anyone heard of this company or had previous experience with them? Do you think it's a good idead or not?

Cheers,

Zed

Post by **Sham** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:08 am

Welcome Zed (pronounced Zee around here).
Green Tortoise is a good way to go, but you lose a bit of your independence to to shop and roam around a bit. If you can do it, rent the car and go that route. If you fly to Sacramanto, you will find lots of people heading in the same direction and will also be able to pick up any supplies you need. There will be no shortage of places to buy food and any camping gear you may need.
It's really easier than it may look now.
See you in 4 short months.

age-of-aquarius · Post by **age-of-aquarius** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:08 am

Thanks, maybe Zee should be my nickname for Burning Man 2011 :)

The other attractive thing, from my point of view, about going with Green Tortoise is that I won't have to worry about food, water and camping. They also say on their website that there's no need to bring a tent.

I wil be calling them today to find out more and ask them a few other questions.

I read a few posts about driving there on my own which discouraged me a bit, they sounded like you need to prepare as if you're going on a Mars mission...

age-of-aquarius · Post by **age-of-aquarius** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:48 am

Dr. Pyro wrote:If you fly into Sacramento, rent a car/van there. The owner of the downtown AVIS/Budget dealership is very burner friendly and will generally beat any deal you'll get from his competition. The expense alone to fly to Reno will pretty much pay for the car. (Amtrak is a four hour ride and 1/4 the cost of air without the hassles.) If you'd like his info, PM me. And welcome.

Regarding car rental, any car is OK or does it have to be a 4x4? What about petrol, do I need to bring reserve with me as well or no need to? One last thing, will a Sat Nav work or do I need a conventional map?

Cheers,

Zed

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:27 am

I'd say any car is fine, some people like minivans for space considerations. As far as having extra petrol, it all depends upon whether or not either gas station in Gerlach or Empire are open come late August. I don't know the answer to that. Otherwise the nearest place to get gas is in Nixon, which is about 65 miles from the playa. You probably don't need to bring extra. And should you happen to run out, as unlikely as they seems to me, I suspect you could scrounge up a couple of gallons on the playa. But I could be wrong.

Post by **Savannah** » Wed May 04, 2011 10:13 am

I just went to the Green Tortoise website out of curiosity, because I considered going with them one year and wondered if they were still doing what I consider unusually short Burns. (3-4 days). They seem to have a Tuesday through Monday trip to the event now, which is better.

I would make sure that you're very, very clear about the tent issue, as they say every person gets to bring "a checked bag, a carry on, a tent, and a sleeping bag"; extras if space is available for $30+ per bag. I think you do need to bring a tent.

The "no tent needed" issue seems a reference to some of their other trips where people are sleeping under the stars for one night at a time.

graidawg · Post by **graidawg** » Wed May 04, 2011 10:26 am

I would if i where you panic, run around like a madman, reasearching prices for everything, plan what youare going to eat drink lose your lists, do it all again. research prices forget everything start again.

you might want to carry on like you are doing though, personally i dont feel i've done it right if i dont have at least you one major panic a week. ymmv

oh shit 4 MONTHS ??????????

whre is everything what have i done with my passport? wheres my papperwork what was i going to buy again what about food whgat was i going to eat oh shit

can anyone remind me where the important lists are again?