Rocking the Daisies has become Cape Town’s biggest outdoor gathering, and one of the highlights of the festival calendar. The event takes place on Cloof Wine Estate, just outside Darling, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town. The festival hosts over 25,000 people, has different camping options and food and drinks for every taste. I had first heard about ‘Daisies’, as it is affectionately called by locals who’ve experienced the festival more than once, throughout high school and it seemed to become almost a rite of passage for many once they turned 18. I got the opportunity to go to Daisies this year because once the 1975 announced that they were going to be part of the lineup, one of my best friends, Lauren, immediately made it her mission to get tickets. Without her, I never would’ve gotten to experience Daisies and I thank her so much for inviting me along. Due to Lauren and I both having personal commitments on the Saturday that we couldn’t afford to miss, we couldn’t stay the entire weekend. That being said, I can still report on how the events were.
Image from Joburg
The location
Cloof Wine Estate has some of the most beautiful photo opportunities especially when the sun sets over the hills of the country side. Daisies had become a hotspot for Instagram accounts to get flooded with photos of people posing in front of the stage, the festival make-up worn or in swimming costumes in the dam. The area was huge with dry grass crunching under our shoes, the hot sun beating down on our heads but the gentle breeze also providing relief. The one problem I faced was when the sun set, it got really cold and after trying to tough it out for an hour, we decided to go back to the BnB and get changed into warmer clothes.
Image by Rocking The Daisies
The lineup
Tickets are released in phases and are sold out in minutes with people eagerly wanting to see their favourite acts live and have the ‘Daisies Experience’. I was excited for the festival but because I wasn’t a raving fan of any of the lineups so I was happy to be there and stay neutral. One of my goals for Daisies was to like a new artist and I really ended up enjoying Sho Madjozi. Her entire performance was amazing as she danced and sang simultaneously. Tash Sultana also provided an amazing performance and their passion for music was incredible to witness as they record and loop the song as they produce songs. The 1975 were, expectedly, the most popular act of the night and they truly delivered.
The food
The food at Daisies was supplied through food trucks and there was a range for every palate. My only main annoyance about Daisies was how expensive the food was. A whole margarita pizza cost R90 and a normal sized hot chocolate from Seattle Coffee was R36. It’s clear that Daisies gets most of its money from the food sold because festival go-ers aren’t allowed to bring in any food or alcohol. The drinks were definitely cheaper and were served in cans (yay for being eco-friendly!) but the food prices were way too high.
Image from IDM Mag
The people
I wasn’t surprised to bump into old friends and temporarily make new ones while there. People are all there for the vibe and to have three days of fun. While waiting for the 1975, I was standing alone quite far in front behind a group of Germans. I’m quite short and one of the girls turned around, looked directly at me, and said, ‘You can stand in front of me’. When she said that, the rest of her friends automatically let me stand in front of them. They were incredibly sweet and I stayed with them for the rest of the concert. Even after the concert, when I couldn’t find my friend, they offered to stay with me after she gave me a call and told me where we could meet up.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Daisies even though there were a few bumps with the weather and food. I’m not too keen on the portable toilets but if that’s what I needed to go through for the experience then I would do it over again in a heartbeat.