But, due to extremely dusty conditions and a 1:1000 shower ratio, going to Oppikoppi can get tricky for a girl.

You can survive Oppikoppi and look great (for a prawns) with a few simple and easy hacks.

Here are some clever tricks that I’ve learned through experience that will get you through Oppikoppi, so that you can have the best time without worrying that you look like World War III has arrived.

• Looking your best at Oppikoppi

1. Dry Shampoo:

Washing your hair at Oppi can be hard – there’s always a queue at the showers and your hair will turn into mud the moment it comes into contact with water.

Dry shampoo is an amazing solution to washing your hair – your hair looks clean and smells like a fresh little flower.

I recommend Batiste Dry Shampoo, it’s the best brand I’ve used by far.

2. Hair Bands:

After the second day, dry shampoo might not be enough to hide that do of yours. You can easily draw attention away from your hair with a hair band.

3. Make Up:

Many girls think wearing make up at Oppikoppi is unnecessary, but it is nice to have something to slap onto your face if things get a bit rough.

I usually take minimal make up to Koppi – a nice foundation, some powder, mascara and eye liner.

The make up I’m taking with me this year is Charlie’s Foundation – it has an SPF in which comes in handy, Essence anti-bacterial powder – it prevents pimples which is good since your face will have a layer of dust on it, Revlon Lash Potion and Maybelline’s Colossal Kajal eye liner.

4. WIPES:

Written in CAPS because these are crucial to surviving. You might have heard rumours that wet wipes replace showers at Oppikoppi. I can confirm that these rumours are true. I recommend taking two tipes of wipes: Dettol anti-bacterial wipes, and wipes that are soothing enough to use on your face.

Trust me, do not go to Oppikoppi without wet wipes. Under any circumstances.

5. Bandana / Scarf:

Dust. Oppikoppi = Dust. After Oppikoppi your snot will be brown for two weeks. This might sound harsh but it’s true. Thousands of people smoshing through dust means that the air you breath is basically dust.

Pack in a bandana or a scarf to cover your mouth and your nose when the dust gets too much.

6. Warm clothes and summer clothes:

Because Oppi is in August and in Limpopo, the days start warming up and it can actually get quite hot during the daytime. But do not let this fool you. It gets really, REALLY cold at night. Like you wake up and you can’t feel your feet cold.

So take warm clothes for the night and lighter clothes for the day.

Remember to pack in loads of socks to keep your feet warm at night.

Also, grab a beanie, it keeps your head warm and it hides your hair at the same time.

7. SUNGLASSES:

Almost as important as wipes. Sunglasses serve various purposes at Oppikoppi. Firstly, it hides the dark circles under your eyes after going to sleep at 4 am the previous morning. This will happen, whether you like it or not.

Secondly, you can look at weirdly-fantastically-oddly-whacky-dressed people without them noticing. This will also come in handy.

Thirdly, it keeps the glaring sun out of your face, especially if you had a little too much Mexican wine the previous evening.

• Life hacks to make your Oppikoppi experience the best – don’t just survive, thrive!

1. Water:

Be sure to take a lot of bottled water with you, and remind yourself to drink enough of it. It’s easy to dehydrate if you’re walking around in the sun the whole day. It will also just make you feel better in general.

2. Eating:

Try eating something healthy once a day. There are loads of food stalls at Oppikoppi and usually there’s something nutritious in the mix. Personally I prefer buying food at Oppikoppi – it takes up less space in your car and it’s way less PT.

3. PACE YOURSELF:

Try not drinking yourself to a point where you start making out with trees and then proceed to fall asleep next to one. A lot of people miss out on their favourite acts because they were a tad too thirsty.

4. Enjoy the experience:

Take pictures and make memories. I recommend watching the sunset from the top of the Koppi. It’s a serene and mythical experience.

Life might get hard for you at Oppikoppi, but the atmosphere and the people will make it all worthwhile.

If you want to get nostalgic or excited about Oppi, read My first time – When I broke my Oppikoppi virginity.

Traffic, hooting taxis, people everywhere, no parking signs and mountains of noise instead of real mountains.

Most people wouldn’t go to the city centre to relax on a lazy Saturday morning.

But in the middle of this hustling and bustling is a little gem.

When taking a walk down Helen Joseph street you will come across a sign saying “012 Central”.

Take a walk over the walkway and enter a place that will definitely entice your senses.

According to their Facebook page, Market on Mains goal is “to encourage inner city lifestyle, and provide a relaxed and creative space for makers to trade, and for locals and visitors to spend their weekend leisure time.“

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Entering the market you will faced by a mixture of aroma. About 20 gourmet food stalls with the yummiest food. I recommend going hungry so that you can try more than one dish on the same day.

My favourites are Balkan Burgers and Abrah Kebabrah’s kebab buns.

Balkan Burgers make a fold-over burger – a patty made with real meat, topped with raw cabbage, tomatoes, onions and a special sauce. The cabbage sounds weird but it works really well with the other flavours.

You can check them out at Balkan Burger.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Abrah Kebabrah sells ‘kebab buns’, which, like the name implies, are buns topped with a free range chicken kebab and some yummy sauces, fresh rocket and grilled onions. The staff are also really friendly and offer you free organic iced tea, how can you resist?

Check them out at Abrah Kebabrah.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Apart from these stalls, you can eat almost anything that comes to mind, from real Mexican tacos to Mozambican prawns to fresh oysters to Indian lamb curry. The choices are really endless.

After looking at all the food and possibly having had made a food baby, you might need something to gulp it all down with. What better choice than Pretoria’s own Capital Craft Beer Academy?

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

The atmosphere at Market on Main is really great. The decor is hipstery and modern. But don’t think that only hipsters are allowed here, young and old can have a great time.

There’s a little sitting and dining area with tables made out of rough wooden planks as well as a little lounge area with couches made out of cool drink crates.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

To add to the atmosphere there is a live band entertaining the masses. This week’s edition of Market on Main featured ‘Von Beck’, an indie chill out band.

On their Facebook page they describe their music as “rustic, free and nuances of emotional experiences underline each and every song.”

You can check them out at Von Beck.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

To feed your (possible) shopping addiction, there are also a few pop-up shops where you can buy new and second hand clothing, sunglasses, hats, jewellery and lots more. I saw a really cool Pierre Cardin  jacket there if anyone is interested.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

They have really cool bathrooms too.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

The location for the market, 012 Central, has interesting scenes and small details that make the overall look of the place really cool. There’s an outside parking lot with beautiful graffiti.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Have a look at what it looks like outside:

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Market on Main takes place every Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

If you liked this post, you might also like My first time – When I broke my Oppikoppi virginity.

The world opens up to you, you experience it in all its wonder, you see all of the magnificent things in life, you see all of the less magnificent and slightly awkward things in life.

The world tips its hat to you and says “Hello, dear. Look at all these things you’ve been missing out on. Look at all of these people being free. Look at all of these people losing themselves in things they love.”

My first time of seeing the light was at Oppikoppi. And it was a dim, dusty light from a fire burning in a campsite consisting of thousands of people who have one common goal: floating from stage to stage and having as much fun as possible in one weekend. No T’s and C’s. Like in, look how many times you can write the word “Oppi” on your body with a permanent marker-No T’s and C’s.

I was quite the rebel, dreamer, “poet” and adventurer in high school. I dreamed of going to Oppikoppi since I was fifteen. I was always jealous of people going to festivals and concerts, while I had to sit at home, doing a maths project that I’d fail anyway.

I felt I had a bigger cause. I needed to get out and write poems for the people of the world. I had to go out and lose myself in some kind of artistic madness.

In matric I entered a competition where you had to write a poem in order to win yourself Oppikoppi tickets.

I won.

A week before Oppikoppi I managed to organise tickets for three of my friends and we were off to the Koppi in a overloaded Fiesta.

My legs were numb from the mini fridge that was on my lap all the way from Pretoria, but when we drew close to the dusty gates all my pain went out the door.

Driving through Mordor for the first time could be quite intimidating and scary for most people. For me it was like the new world. People everywhere, but each one of them enjoying themselves like they wanted to. No rules, no curfew, no suburban walls and no city lights.

Oppikoppi was the first time I was exposed to more than Afrikaans tannies who flinch everytime you say ‘flip’. It was the first time I could really let go and realise how much fun you really can have in one weekend. It was the first time I could break away from pretending to be a well-mannered, well-spoken meisie who does not know what Die Antwoord is or what they want from you.

Not that being well-mannered is a bad thing, but I learned that it’s good to let yourself go from time to time.

I downed my first Black Label that night and I never had a full bottle of beer again.

I saw my now-boyfriend there for the first time.

There were fairy lights illuminating the floating dust between the thorns of the acacias against the clear night sky.

There were drunk people bumping into me singing loudly to some Fokof song.

The smell of ten different food stalls hung in the air.

And everything seemed all right. More than all right, it was the real world.

And that night the world tipped its hat to me and said, “Welcome, dear. And goodnight.”

Look at some of the photos from my first Oppikoppi in 2010 – Sexy Crooked Teeth.

PS: I also learned that not showering for a weekend is also okay. People will still accept you and maybe love you.

https://grapevinetuks.wordpress.com/2014/07/23/review-verafrikaans-sing-musiekreis-spog-met-fyn-afronding/

Die resensie was deel van die Grapevine koerant, van die Universiteit van Pretoria se 2014 Joernalistiek klas. Die koerant was die media-vennoot van die UP Tuks Drama Departement se jaarlikse Krekvars Kunstefees.