CampFest 2014: The Good, The Bad, and The Muddy...

With most blogs and websites having done their features on the VW Campfest 2014, we thought we’d provide a different approach, instead of the general overview that many will give.

This was our first year attending the much anticipated and talked-about Vdub Campfest, the show that every car enthusiast in SA knows about, even if they’re not into VW per se. With weather forecasts predicting rain during the weekend of the show, we still decided to take the +-1000KM drive up to Vereeniging for the biggest car show on the African continent. Being one of the first to arrive, we were lucky enough to get a good spot on the corner just as you enter the camping grounds. This provided us with a perfect view to see all the cars coming to the show, and come they did! The constant stream of modified VW’s started with the convoy of FR&R Tuning coming into the resort, I remember; we were still busy lowering my car when we heard turbos spool and looked up to see the most uniform and bad-ass array of golf 5s and 6s, siroccos and polo GTIs, the best of which was a static Mk6 tucking 20inch BBS CH’s. Right then, we knew that this would be a great weekend.

After setting up camp we decided to walk around and mingle with some of our fellow VW enthusiasts, and I don’t know if it was just us but everyone was so friendly, asking if we wanted to join their party for the evening, praising our work (those who have seen it) and offering their help when they saw us lowering the car, even Vic Pardal stopped at our camp and told us “go lower boys, take it to the ground”. It made us feel at home and not like we were in a different city never mind province. 

The atmosphere got even better the following morning when most of the crews and day visitors showed up, I’m talking about an endless buzz of cars driving up and down, music playing all around and the smell of braai meat filling the air. Needless to say, the festival was now in full swing. The various stalls selling and promoting their products added a sense of legitimacy to the event, giving the campers a full spectrum of automotive this and thats, not forgetting the food and beverage stalls conveniently located so you don’t go hungry or thirsty. The Pitbull stand really attracted our attention with their Audi R8 on Vossen CV3’s and not to mention beautiful models perusing around and posing with cars.

Saturday night meant after party and this was as on par as the rest of the festival, with the DJ’s killing it on a deck built into a the front section of an Mk1 body, the ground became so soft and muddy because of the rain but this did not stop the dubbers from stomping their feet, and having Harrison Crump perform was the icing on the cake. Although the after party ended at about 12am, it did not stop everyone from continuing the festivity at the camp site until about 3am, some going straight through until sunrise.

As the sun rose on Sunday morning while copious amounts of energy drinks were being consumed, so the car washing began, everyone getting ready for the show and shine, making their way slowly but surely to the show grounds. All makes and models of Volkswagen came out from the bushes into the light, and when I say all makes, I mean all makes; like Mk2 Polos and Type 3 variants. The sense of “Vdub Family” was felt.

The show and shine was underway with cars struggling to enter the grounds as a result of the thick mud caused by the on and off showers since the Saturday morning. The rain then continued to be a hindrance during the course of the day, having participants continuously drying off their cars for judges’ inspection. The judges then, armed with their umbrellas and tablets/smartphones, went on to inspect the cars and rated them using the E-judging app, and after some time and tense debating, the winners were announced.

That pretty much sums up most of the good of the Campfest, we now unfortunately have to look at the bad, and we apologize if this sounds like a gripe list but we feel it needs to be said in order to move forward harmoniously. First of all, and this was a general consensus based on the amount of people posting it on Facebook; the toilet facilities were horrid after the first night and were never cleaned. This wasn’t really a problem for the guys but for the ladies it’s a huge “no-no”.

Secondly, when you decide to host an event that attracts lowered cars, a venue with decent roads should come to mind. We say this because there were speed bumps all over the resort (those thin high ones that catch you in the middle). This is not an issue for bagged or high cars, but for many of us rolling staticly low, it’s a nightmare, even though it was fun to see the creative ways cars go over these bumps.

This brings us to the final issue; as it goes with show and shine competitions, there are always problems with regard to the judging and sadly even a show of this magnitude is not immune. Issues which range from judges not being independent enough, to cars winning simply because of amount of money spent, or even lack of competitors in its class. But it goes without saying, that no matter the obstacles, it shouldn’t deter anyone, and in fact should only cause one to go harder the following year.

Overall it was an excellent weekend with lots of friendly people and remarkable cars, irrespective of certain issues, and we hope to attend next year when it’s even bigger and better.