Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and
sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself…
A 50th birthday party, held at Place of Dreams in Tankwa or (POD) as it's affectionately known. POD has a few festivals a year but there are a few things that separate it from other festivals. They meticulously scrutinise the guest list. You can't just simply book your ticket and arrive. You have to apply, with every application read and considered, it makes for a beautiful experience for everyone. Isn't that wonderful?
The other thing that separates it is its raw and rough beauty, Chris and Avril have spared no expense and every aspect of the camp has been carefully planned. I hadn't been there before and frankly; I wondered if the reports I'd heard from friends weren't a little exaggerated. Nope! It really is everything and more than I was told. POD is simply magical.
Here are the photos!
Anyone who knows me knows that if possible, I'll bring my camera. Yes, photography is my job, but it's also my passion, I just can't help myself. I love shooting documentary style, capturing great pictures of what's going on around me. Sometimes people don't even know I'm there, sometimes I engage. Either way, I get to share fantastic memories with beautiful people. For the main group photo, I used my phone to trigger my Fuji Xt-3 on a tripod so I could be in the picture as well.
Nick's incredible 50th.
Held over 5 days, Nick and his wife Nadia had set out to create a festival styled birthday party. Around 80 +- people arrived, with children in tow. I loved having such a mix ranging from 7-year-olds all the way up. The atmosphere was fantastic. The entire event was set up exactly like a festival, LOTS of DJ's amazing sound, amazing amazing people. Getting to bed early wasn't an option!
Nick and Nadia, thank you for the most wonderful time!
An adventure
While we were there, it ended up raining. In any ordinary place that would be nothing, but they hadn't seen rain like this for 20-30 years. It was crazy. Tankwa is in the Karoo which is desert. The sudden torrents caused dams to burst and roads were washed away. The canyon at POD also took extensive damage too. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and stuck together, instead of a disaster it was an adventure.
Over 8 hours to get home...
On the way back, we had to take an alternative route through Sutherland, a challenging route indeed. Roads were either damaged or muddy with thick river sand in some places. It's easy to get stuck in this. A decision was made to drive in convoy in case anyone got stuck. 8.5 hours instead of 3.5 hours, it took a while to get home but what an adventure. Only two people got stuck and we all banded together. We even had a campervan, it really impressed me when that made it through as well!
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