Back in 2007 I went on an epic matric trip to the KKNK in Oudtshoorn. Recently I joined my dad and headed back to the town/fest for the first time in 8 years. Even though we were there at the tail-end of the festival (the last few days) I was surprised at how quiet things were…and at how little some of the things/places I remember from last time around had changed.

It was a long drive and the actual time we spent in Oudtshoorn was quite stressful unfortunately, so I didn’t really get to explore or shoot a lot. I did take a few touristy snapshots though…

We’d missed a lot of the festivities at the nearby sportsgrounds etc. but the main street market area was still relatively busy on Friday night…mostly with food stands (kudu burgers seemed to be a favourite) but also with the free RSG stage where Francois van Coke was launching his new album.

On Saturday I did some very brief exploring. Being pretty much the last day of the fest, things were very much winding down but there were still quite a lot of people milling around and eager vendors trying to peddle their wares to the dwindling crowds.

(Not where we stayed, but I took the identical photo of the yellow sign 8 years ago so had to do it again…the white sign was a new addition…)

The public market area was pretty much like any you’d find in Cape Town – an uninspired mix of Chinese clothes, the usual assortment of African tourist fare and then the occasional weird ones, like the classy ‘unisex g-string’ and scatter cushions stand…

For a R20 ticket I got to wander around the fancier market, one I remember from my last trip to the KKNK. It was also pretty strange though in that it stocked everything from biltong to incongruous Verimark-style products (the amazing non-tangling hose, wonder vegetable peelers etc.). I did manage to find my cheap and cheerful Oudtshoorn souvenir though – a lumo teal ostrich feather keyring. Score.

We left town straight after the band’s gig ended round 4pm and motored back to Cape Town with no time for sightseeing. I couldn’t resist a rear-view shot of the infamous Ronnies Sex Shop though.

Being back was odd and had me in a weird nostalgic headspace for a while…it’s scary how fast time really can fly.