October last year was a very festive month and I received many invitations from people I had met recently. My only concern was that festivals like Rocking the Daisies were expensive. This local festival, called Elandsbaai Local Feral Festival, was free. So I contacted some people from the Couchsurfing group and decided to join them. These people who were just acquaintances to me at the time have become some of my closest friends and this festival was where the seeds were planted. Elands Bay is a very small town on the west coast of South Africa, about 220 km north of Cape Town. It was renowned as a surfing location and had caves with rock paintings inside. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This is the “festival area.” As you can see, everything is self-funded and amateurishly made, but it's also worth appreciating for how the community really tries to keep it alive. This is camping, so we basically camped. It was R60 per tent per night, which some locals went around collecting during the day. This is the beach. It was so windy that the wind picked up the sand particles and sent them at us at full speed and it hurt! The waves were much higher and more frequent than in Muizenberg, but many people continued to surf during the day because it was very hot. For me the cold was unbearable. Instead of surfing, I spent my mornings exploring the reef. The marine life here is truly fascinating. Anemones, starfish and much more. . . I don't know what it is, but it looks like a fish skeleton of some kind? The photo below represents the sad event of a very exhausted seal that has just stranded. He was shaking and barely moving, perhaps very ill. Many people tried to care for and feed the seal, but it was no use as we discovered the body in the same spot the next morning, partially buried under the sand. He probably got lost in the strong currents and was washed ashore near death. The days were quite cold contrary to what one might think. This was not a commercial festival where many bands lined up one after another. Instead, there were acoustic jam sessions and drum sessions scattered throughout the day and a few amateur bands at night. The improvised musical activities were quite friendly. We also took and tried some tools for some points. The evening bands were mainly Afrikaans and English indie. It was also a dog- and family-friendly area. One person in the group brought her dog while another brought her child, adding to the fun. On Sunday afternoon we visited the cave known for its rock paintings. These paintings belonged to the San people who were among the original inhabitants of southern Africa. The cave paintings depicted the illusions they saw during shamanic trance experiences. Sorcerers usually performed these experiments because they were particularly interested in therapeutic herbs and wanted to experience their effects on themselves. No physical contact is permitted as the paintings will peel off over time. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay It was the first time I shared a valuable conversation with some of these people. That's why this local festival that even Capetown residents probably don't know about will always have a special place in my heart. Besides my friends, I also met many people., &.