Citizens of Tankwa Town, this is your temporary autonomous home!

Click on the image for a much larger downloadable hi-res version. So, what’s new in 2016?

New Clan site
For a start, the Clan has moved further out from its old position. As you can see on the map, it’s now roughly halfway between its old location at 12ish on the Binnekring and the site where Subterrafuge stood & burned in 2014/5. The reason for the choice of the Clan site? As our city’s grown, so has the need to spread people and art out more. The new site is ideal as it’s still on the line of 12, and what’s more – as our Art team only place new burns on existing burn scars – the Clan will now, in its 10th incarnation, be standing & burning on the site of the very first-ever burn in Tankwa Town, that of the 12th Key, an artwork created by AfrikaBurn co-founder Paul Jorgensen.

New Camping Areas
To the right of the entrance road, we’ve opened up a new area of Open Camping on what was once our airstrip, before it moved. If you’re planning on arriving late in the week, or if you want pretty much the best peace and quiet, this area’s for you.

Bus & Tent Company Rendezvous 
Just before the new camping are on your right as you drive in, you’ll see the Bus Stop & Rendezvous point. As it sounds, this is where passengers on the independent bus service that runs to & from our event will be dropped off and picked up. It’s also where camps who’ve hired professional tent companies to erect their large stretch tents will rendezvous with them. Campers would then need to direct the tent co’s to their camp site. You can read more about our new tent erection guidelines on this post.

Parking area
As with last year, there’s a parking area provided for camps whose patches are too small for all the vehicles to be parked on them. If you have a camp that’s hemmed in by vehicles and has too little space for tents, you’re welcome to drive your car here and park it to free up some space.

Loud & Loudish Zones
As with last year, our Town Planning team have moved more dancefloor-based camps to the edges of our event site. This is specifically designed to ensure that the loudest rigs on site are not in the centre of the city – and to provide districts of similar kinds of camps. If you like it quiet, pay attention to where the Loud and Loudish zones are, and choose open camping at some distance from those. The Loudish zone at 2ish is also where our sex-positive camps are located, so if you’re a parent bringing kids, be aware that it’s an adult environment.

MTB Track 
See the little red arrow at the bottom of the map? The one that says ‘MTB TRACK’? That’s the one – if you’re a keen mountainbiker, or even just someone wanting to take in the sights & sounds of the Tankwa away from the hubbub of our busy town on your bike, then that’s where you should head. Look for the BIKE TRACK STARTS & ENDS HERE sign:
And if you do ride it, please remember to take some water along (it’s crazy hot out there) and to stay on the track. The reason we’re providing this track to ride? Because the Tankwa is a sensitive biosphere, and even a person on a bike will leave tracks in soft ground that will take many, many years to disappear. So tread lightly – even when on your bike.

Sensitive Biosphere zones
Speaking of sensitive biospheres, see that that strip of text to the right of the entrance road? It’s a very soft patch of sand, and is filled with shrubs – which is why it’s a bad idea to drive anywhere near it, or even ride a bike around. For that matter, it’s even a bad idea to walk there, as your footprints will leave deep marks. There’s another area (not shown as it’s beyond the limits of this map) beyond 2ish, 3ish and 4ish, and it’s the same kind of soft sand and sensitive plant area. Consider both areas off limits, as a measure of respect to the flora & fauna that live there.

Not new in 2016: 
– Toilets will be where they’ve always been. Please keep them clean.
– Don’t go anywhere near the airstrip, please. Propellors are not kind to the curious.
– Don’t camp in any water courses – if there’s a flash flood, you & your stuff will be washed away. We’re not kidding.
– Off-Centre Camp is located between 8ish and 9ish
– You’ll look amazing in that handmade costume of yours.