White Rhino
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 3,931
- Reaction score
- 7
- Location
- Johannesburg *South Africa*
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
Schweet :thumleft:
Pics of our bikes with different backgrounds - Zimbabwe version
- Thread starter GSLaaitie
- Start date
GIDEON
Race Dog
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2006
- Messages
- 4,856
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Gauteng, Pretoria Tuine
- Bike
- Triumph 800 XC
DIS very NICE :thumleft: :drif:
GSLaaitie
Race Dog
Day 4
Chimanimani to a lodge in the tea plantations in the Eastern highlands
238.9 kms
8:00 – 17:00
The best part of waking up today was the electric kettle in the hotel room where we used a bathroom. That meant instant coffee, instead of the usual 20 mins wait for water to boil.
We packed fairly quickly and were ready to leave at our usual 8:00. The hotel staff looked especially neat today as they told us that the hotel is awaiting the arrival of the minister of health. We headed north on what turned out to be my favourite day of the entire trip.
Directly out of the town, we found our first gravel for the day. The tar pass of yesterday continued, but without the gravel covered tar now and that meant: playtime! The first part was covered in very deep and incredibly fine sand, which flowed almost like water. Once we had gotten used to that, we could start appreciating the spectacular views this 60 km mountain pass had to offer…
Yes, that’s the road we came along, winding from here around the mountain, and the next, and the next…
After this mountainous playground the road started to disappear into smaller tracks. (I know – awesome, right!) We had our first “water crossing” and suddenly were faced with some technical sections, from boulders to much more sand than we had planned for!
Covered in smiles and sweat, we were not really on the track that Dawie had planned so meticulously back home. Exhausted from wrestling the BOFs, we stopped under a baobab to rest and have our lunch, before looking for a road again.
Our search led us to this, which I believed to be our only way to a road, as we could find no bridges. Disappointment ruled when I saw this photo, as it does the crossing no justice! The bedding was covered in loose boulders and the opposite bank was obviously very loose sand wherein I did a spectacular job of digging myself in. My prize of which was having to listen to Dawie explain why his TKC’s are just that much a better tyre for the job than my scouts!
Having to help each other balance through the water resulted in some very wet boots and socks for the rest of the day.
The clock stood at 14:00 now and we had only done 120 kms so far, so we decided to take the next tar road and see how far up it goes. The minute we got on the black top, police armed with some remarkably intimidating machine rifles stopped us at a road block. “Please show me your license” “Thank you” “Have a great journey” was all we heard and 2 mins later broad smiles were waving us off. About a km later we had to stop again. This time at a toll “gate” which in essence was just a makeshift boom and a plastic chair in the middle of the road. This time the official in charge looked like he might be in the mood to cause some trouble. Luckily a truck pulled in behind us and they let us go. Interestingly enough, motorbikes pay no toll in Zim. I took this picture of the sign, which did not please the official all that much. He tried to pull me over, but I pretended not to understand what all the shouting was about and just rode off.
Random point: There were a lot of cattle roaming around and I have no idea how they know what belongs to who, but I couldn’t help but notice in what good condition they were. The could pass as decent commercial cattle here!
Anyways, our tar road quickly evolved into a proper pass of its own! This turned out to be a day where we never really just rode straight! Stopping for a photo of the view (which we never took) we met a local, Richard. He explained the collaboration between commercial farmers and locals here. It seems that companies now buy or rent land and then offer a type of community service where they give training, seeds and irrigation to locals so they can plant mainly bananas. The locals then pay them back once their harvest has been sold.
Passing through Mutare, our road went gravel again. Suddenly we were surrounded by bananas and tea. This is one of the largest food companies in Africa’s area, called Tanganda Tea and these were their tea fields. Again, we were offered an awesome gravel pass with breath taking views.
As I went around the last corner, I couldn’t believe my eyes. In front of me lay a 9 hole golf course, green as the tea fields themselves!
Exhausted, we reached the lodge where we were to camp. And what a spectacular place did this turn out to be. We were the only guests (again) but there were so many things to do here: Squash, tennis, golf, table tennis, snooker, croquet and a swimming pool. There even was a huge HD tv where we could witness Amla beating another record out of the English. We went straight for the bar ignoring the task of setting up a place to sleep later. We had a great dinner and some good stories from our barman and chef.
Happy and full, we set up our camps for a well-deserved rest just before midnight.
Chimanimani to a lodge in the tea plantations in the Eastern highlands
238.9 kms
8:00 – 17:00
The best part of waking up today was the electric kettle in the hotel room where we used a bathroom. That meant instant coffee, instead of the usual 20 mins wait for water to boil.
We packed fairly quickly and were ready to leave at our usual 8:00. The hotel staff looked especially neat today as they told us that the hotel is awaiting the arrival of the minister of health. We headed north on what turned out to be my favourite day of the entire trip.
Directly out of the town, we found our first gravel for the day. The tar pass of yesterday continued, but without the gravel covered tar now and that meant: playtime! The first part was covered in very deep and incredibly fine sand, which flowed almost like water. Once we had gotten used to that, we could start appreciating the spectacular views this 60 km mountain pass had to offer…
Yes, that’s the road we came along, winding from here around the mountain, and the next, and the next…
After this mountainous playground the road started to disappear into smaller tracks. (I know – awesome, right!) We had our first “water crossing” and suddenly were faced with some technical sections, from boulders to much more sand than we had planned for!
Covered in smiles and sweat, we were not really on the track that Dawie had planned so meticulously back home. Exhausted from wrestling the BOFs, we stopped under a baobab to rest and have our lunch, before looking for a road again.
Our search led us to this, which I believed to be our only way to a road, as we could find no bridges. Disappointment ruled when I saw this photo, as it does the crossing no justice! The bedding was covered in loose boulders and the opposite bank was obviously very loose sand wherein I did a spectacular job of digging myself in. My prize of which was having to listen to Dawie explain why his TKC’s are just that much a better tyre for the job than my scouts!
Having to help each other balance through the water resulted in some very wet boots and socks for the rest of the day.
The clock stood at 14:00 now and we had only done 120 kms so far, so we decided to take the next tar road and see how far up it goes. The minute we got on the black top, police armed with some remarkably intimidating machine rifles stopped us at a road block. “Please show me your license” “Thank you” “Have a great journey” was all we heard and 2 mins later broad smiles were waving us off. About a km later we had to stop again. This time at a toll “gate” which in essence was just a makeshift boom and a plastic chair in the middle of the road. This time the official in charge looked like he might be in the mood to cause some trouble. Luckily a truck pulled in behind us and they let us go. Interestingly enough, motorbikes pay no toll in Zim. I took this picture of the sign, which did not please the official all that much. He tried to pull me over, but I pretended not to understand what all the shouting was about and just rode off.
Random point: There were a lot of cattle roaming around and I have no idea how they know what belongs to who, but I couldn’t help but notice in what good condition they were. The could pass as decent commercial cattle here!
Anyways, our tar road quickly evolved into a proper pass of its own! This turned out to be a day where we never really just rode straight! Stopping for a photo of the view (which we never took) we met a local, Richard. He explained the collaboration between commercial farmers and locals here. It seems that companies now buy or rent land and then offer a type of community service where they give training, seeds and irrigation to locals so they can plant mainly bananas. The locals then pay them back once their harvest has been sold.
Passing through Mutare, our road went gravel again. Suddenly we were surrounded by bananas and tea. This is one of the largest food companies in Africa’s area, called Tanganda Tea and these were their tea fields. Again, we were offered an awesome gravel pass with breath taking views.
As I went around the last corner, I couldn’t believe my eyes. In front of me lay a 9 hole golf course, green as the tea fields themselves!
Exhausted, we reached the lodge where we were to camp. And what a spectacular place did this turn out to be. We were the only guests (again) but there were so many things to do here: Squash, tennis, golf, table tennis, snooker, croquet and a swimming pool. There even was a huge HD tv where we could witness Amla beating another record out of the English. We went straight for the bar ignoring the task of setting up a place to sleep later. We had a great dinner and some good stories from our barman and chef.
Happy and full, we set up our camps for a well-deserved rest just before midnight.
MINZI
Race Dog
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Messages
- 1,651
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Krugersdorp
- Bike
- Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer
I am glad to see that at least ZIM does not charge for bikes at the tollgates. I wish SA will do the same.
goingnowherequickly
Pack Dog
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2010
- Messages
- 395
- Reaction score
- 0
- Bike
- KTM 640 Adventure
Really enjoying this report...
I have mostly viewed Zim as a transit only country these days, despite having spent a couple of great fishing holidays there about 20
years ago... ( Mlibizi etc..)
The riding looks fantastic, and the places you stayed at so far seemed to go out of their way to help....
Looking forward to the rest.... :thumleft:
I have mostly viewed Zim as a transit only country these days, despite having spent a couple of great fishing holidays there about 20
years ago... ( Mlibizi etc..)
The riding looks fantastic, and the places you stayed at so far seemed to go out of their way to help....
Looking forward to the rest.... :thumleft:
G
Geotraveller
Guest
Great RR, sudscibed!
GPW
Puppy
Starting to go coldturky here
Mark Hardy
Grey Hound
I'm in for the rest of the ride...great so far. :thumleft:
do you have gps tracks that you can share. Those gravel tracks and roads look very inviting.
do you have gps tracks that you can share. Those gravel tracks and roads look very inviting.
Mark Hardy
Grey Hound
GSLaaitie said:Thanks. :thumleft:Mark Hardy said:
Sadly, the GPS is dead. Probably from all the shaking? So we have no digital track
bummers, was hoping you had the tracks, I'll try follow your route on google earth that you posted in the first post.
GSLaaitie
Race Dog
BTW, are you the Mark on the plastic that Alwyn and I met at that shebeen in de Wildt on Saturday?Mark Hardy said:GSLaaitie said:Thanks. :thumleft:Mark Hardy said:
Sadly, the GPS is dead. Probably from all the shaking? So we have no digital track
bummers, was hoping you had the tracks, I'll try follow your route on google earth that you posted in the first post.
GPW
Puppy
I just don't feel like workingGSLaaitie said:Everybody, calm the hell down. I've got this!GPW said:
Sorry, I'm a bit busy between studies and work, but more is comming!
GSLaaitie
Race Dog
Day 5
Day off in Eastern Highlands
31.9 kms
It was always part of the plan to have day 5 off, and after the long day in the saddle preceding it, it was a very welcome decision. We woke at about 7 so we could wash our sweaty, previously white, now beige clothes and have it dry before the next day. Our bikes also got some attention, like having all the nuts tightened and checked.
At about 10 we headed off in search of some petrol for the next day, as we did not really plan to pass through a town. I was excited to get on the bike for a while, just to have all those views of the tea plantations and the valleys again.
We found some fuel at the Easter Highlands Plantations Ltd’s workshops. They were willing to sell to us at $1.41 / l, but getting it took a lot of time, as they had so many forms to fill out. Still, we did leave with our tanks full. While waiting, many of the staff (most of them probably mechanics) came to talk about the bikes. Their questions were obviously far more technical than the rest of the locals, asking about the dry clutch, the shaft and the ESA.
We returned to our camp at about 12 and relaxed for the remainder of the day, reading next to the pool, wishing we were allowed on the golf course with the bikes and playing table tennis.
We spent the night at the bar again, but went to bed early. The next day we headed for Mount Darwin and had no place to sleep there yet, so we wanted to leave early, so we could still look for one.
Day off in Eastern Highlands
31.9 kms
It was always part of the plan to have day 5 off, and after the long day in the saddle preceding it, it was a very welcome decision. We woke at about 7 so we could wash our sweaty, previously white, now beige clothes and have it dry before the next day. Our bikes also got some attention, like having all the nuts tightened and checked.
At about 10 we headed off in search of some petrol for the next day, as we did not really plan to pass through a town. I was excited to get on the bike for a while, just to have all those views of the tea plantations and the valleys again.
We found some fuel at the Easter Highlands Plantations Ltd’s workshops. They were willing to sell to us at $1.41 / l, but getting it took a lot of time, as they had so many forms to fill out. Still, we did leave with our tanks full. While waiting, many of the staff (most of them probably mechanics) came to talk about the bikes. Their questions were obviously far more technical than the rest of the locals, asking about the dry clutch, the shaft and the ESA.
We returned to our camp at about 12 and relaxed for the remainder of the day, reading next to the pool, wishing we were allowed on the golf course with the bikes and playing table tennis.
The rooms available for rent.
Staff carving birds from wood.
We spent the night at the bar again, but went to bed early. The next day we headed for Mount Darwin and had no place to sleep there yet, so we wanted to leave early, so we could still look for one.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
- Messages
- 15,150
- Reaction score
- 3,230
- Location
- Overberg
- Bike
- Triumph (all models)
Kom julle moet nou gooi. Jy vat so lank dat ek elke keer die hele ding moet lees om te onthou wat in die begin gebeur het :lol8:
GSLaaitie
Race Dog
Day 6
Eastern highlands to Harare
478.7 kms
7:00 – 19:00
Lots of riding. Few pictures. We woke early and were packed and ready to leave at 7. Heading north, we immediately found ourselves in the mountains again with lovely views and gravel twisties. The first 100 kms or so were still mountainous, but thereafter it got a bit flatter again and we found ourselves in a type of bushveld surrounded by baobabs.
It was some day of the working week again and we saw many children. All dressed for school in orange uniforms, mostly (compared to the Green uniforms we saw further south). I wondered where they all got the uniforms from. Very few of the children were inside a school however. A thing I noticed of this country early on was the amount of schools we came across. Every 10 kms, we saw a very neat sign, giving the schools name and a painted picture, with a shield and slogan. Our barman from the night before claimed that Zimbabwe still has the highest adult literacy rate in Africa at 92% !
We arrived at a bridge and crossed into the Mashonaland East province. The road now was now much more rocky and we felt as though we were caught in a tumble dryer! Later it turned to proper sand and we had to give all our concentration in the 28 degree heat.
The roads granted us only a low average speed and as we stopped for lunch at 14:00, we have not even yet crossed the A2 highway from Mozambique. Our planned route was some very hard riding, to get to Kariba and down to the Vic falls from there, over the next 3 days and our chances of making it in a realistic time were dwindling. We made the call to skip Mount Darwin to avoid having to ride and look for a place to set up camp in the dark. Camping before Mount Darwin was also not an option, as that would result in a too long route for the next day! The roads caught us out a bit and we had overestimated our expected average speed on it.
So we headed for Harare on the highway. We sent a sms to one of my friends back home to find us a camping site in Harare and headed west on the A2 passing through 4 roadblocks on our way. Three let us pass immediately and the fourth only asked for Dawie’s licence. I was expecting to see barren land and destroyed farms all the way to Harare, but didn’t. There were planted maize, cabbage, soy beans and teff, most under irrigation. The land I saw was being used, but nearly all the buildings were abandoned. Now I’m not saying that there are no destroyed unused farms, I just didn’t see many. They might be right behind the ones I saw?
We stopped at a town halfway to inflate our tyres. (They charged us $1 for the privilege of using their compressor) and again the locals were very interested in the bikes.
Entering Harare, I was quite surprised. I was expecting a true dodgy run down slum. We entered from the north-east and there were lots of people. I saw many luxury cars like S-classes and 7-serieses. And to be honest, there were a lot more white people than I expected. We passed a few construction sites, which makes me think that there is some confidence in the country if people are willing to invest in long term assets like that. Traffic was fine, many traffic lights not working though. Dawie’s phone vibrated excitedly with the sms from my friend back home: “Hey dude. Bly julle lewe nog. Daar is ‘n plek by die adres wat ek jou stuur. Lyk soos kamp plek. Lyk na decent bar” His coordinates led us through the CBD at 17:00.
The address we were sent was in the south of the city passing through the industrial area. This changed my opinion of the city a lot. It was very dodgy looking buildings and traffic was a lot crazier. People didn’t seem to notice the traffic light at all and did whatever they please. (Made me feel quite at home ) Everywhere we stopped people were still staring at the bikes and shouting comments. When we arrived at the “campsite” I realised the value of student friends – they can find a drinking spot anywhere, even from a 1000 kms away. But they do get distracted… A very decent looking bar with small groups of big mafia looking guys in shiny suits mumbling among themselves. The campsite area has been closed for over 10 years!
We were frustrated by now, having to deviate from our planned route and pass through town for an hour. It was dark and we didn’t have a place to stay yet. Everyone we asked told us to go to Cresta lodge back north, so we gave it a try. This turned out to be a very smart (very out of our budget) hotel. Luckily Dawie convinced the manager there to give us some sort of two for one special. They too were impressed with the bikes and made us park them right next to the front door for the night.
Not camping was a nice change though, so our bodies got some rest on a nice thick mattress and we went to sleep feeling very spoilt.
Eastern highlands to Harare
478.7 kms
7:00 – 19:00
Lots of riding. Few pictures. We woke early and were packed and ready to leave at 7. Heading north, we immediately found ourselves in the mountains again with lovely views and gravel twisties. The first 100 kms or so were still mountainous, but thereafter it got a bit flatter again and we found ourselves in a type of bushveld surrounded by baobabs.
It was some day of the working week again and we saw many children. All dressed for school in orange uniforms, mostly (compared to the Green uniforms we saw further south). I wondered where they all got the uniforms from. Very few of the children were inside a school however. A thing I noticed of this country early on was the amount of schools we came across. Every 10 kms, we saw a very neat sign, giving the schools name and a painted picture, with a shield and slogan. Our barman from the night before claimed that Zimbabwe still has the highest adult literacy rate in Africa at 92% !
We arrived at a bridge and crossed into the Mashonaland East province. The road now was now much more rocky and we felt as though we were caught in a tumble dryer! Later it turned to proper sand and we had to give all our concentration in the 28 degree heat.
The roads granted us only a low average speed and as we stopped for lunch at 14:00, we have not even yet crossed the A2 highway from Mozambique. Our planned route was some very hard riding, to get to Kariba and down to the Vic falls from there, over the next 3 days and our chances of making it in a realistic time were dwindling. We made the call to skip Mount Darwin to avoid having to ride and look for a place to set up camp in the dark. Camping before Mount Darwin was also not an option, as that would result in a too long route for the next day! The roads caught us out a bit and we had overestimated our expected average speed on it.
So we headed for Harare on the highway. We sent a sms to one of my friends back home to find us a camping site in Harare and headed west on the A2 passing through 4 roadblocks on our way. Three let us pass immediately and the fourth only asked for Dawie’s licence. I was expecting to see barren land and destroyed farms all the way to Harare, but didn’t. There were planted maize, cabbage, soy beans and teff, most under irrigation. The land I saw was being used, but nearly all the buildings were abandoned. Now I’m not saying that there are no destroyed unused farms, I just didn’t see many. They might be right behind the ones I saw?
We stopped at a town halfway to inflate our tyres. (They charged us $1 for the privilege of using their compressor) and again the locals were very interested in the bikes.
Entering Harare, I was quite surprised. I was expecting a true dodgy run down slum. We entered from the north-east and there were lots of people. I saw many luxury cars like S-classes and 7-serieses. And to be honest, there were a lot more white people than I expected. We passed a few construction sites, which makes me think that there is some confidence in the country if people are willing to invest in long term assets like that. Traffic was fine, many traffic lights not working though. Dawie’s phone vibrated excitedly with the sms from my friend back home: “Hey dude. Bly julle lewe nog. Daar is ‘n plek by die adres wat ek jou stuur. Lyk soos kamp plek. Lyk na decent bar” His coordinates led us through the CBD at 17:00.
The address we were sent was in the south of the city passing through the industrial area. This changed my opinion of the city a lot. It was very dodgy looking buildings and traffic was a lot crazier. People didn’t seem to notice the traffic light at all and did whatever they please. (Made me feel quite at home
) Everywhere we stopped people were still staring at the bikes and shouting comments. When we arrived at the “campsite” I realised the value of student friends – they can find a drinking spot anywhere, even from a 1000 kms away. But they do get distracted… A very decent looking bar with small groups of big mafia looking guys in shiny suits mumbling among themselves. The campsite area has been closed for over 10 years!We were frustrated by now, having to deviate from our planned route and pass through town for an hour. It was dark and we didn’t have a place to stay yet. Everyone we asked told us to go to Cresta lodge back north, so we gave it a try. This turned out to be a very smart (very out of our budget) hotel. Luckily Dawie convinced the manager there to give us some sort of two for one special. They too were impressed with the bikes and made us park them right next to the front door for the night.
Not camping was a nice change though, so our bodies got some rest on a nice thick mattress and we went to sleep feeling very spoilt.
Stry7
Pack Dog
Very nice Hendrik. Excellent gravel travel and scenery! Keep it coming.
Just Blip It!
Race Dog
Awesome! We leave for Zim on the 14th! Can't wait!
GSLaaitie
Race Dog
Day 7
Harare to Kariba
396.4 kms
7:15 – 14:00
We left just after seven to try and avoid the city traffic.
It took about an hour to get out of the city, but then we headed west on the highway and it was plain sailing from there. After having to change our route the day before, we now had to take the tar almost all the way to Kariba, but we were fine with that as it would give us the chance to explore the town and the dam wall.
The highway had three toll gates (all free, yay) each, followed by a road block one km further on (all of them let us pass with big smiles). A lot of the land next to the road was burnt or burning, but it did not seem to bother anyone and no one seemed to try and stop it. More than half of the traffic on the highway were big trucks transporting goods from Mozambique to Zambia.
After probably 300 kms, we took a left to Kariba. We were very close to the Mana pools, which are a must for anyone touring Zim, but were told that no bikes are allowed in. In retrospect, this might be the thing I regret most – not going and trying anyways. Our new road passed through a national park. In fact most of the rest of our trip did. There were no gates or fences, just a sign reading that you are now in a national park with dangerous animals, so don’t do stupid things.
We were surprised with a nice quiet twisty road. I saw a lot of these signs in the Eastern highlands too, but never stopped to take a pic. This one was repeated every 4-5 kms for about 100kms. Bliss!
Pulled off from the tar and found a nice lunch spot.
When we eventually got on the gravel, we adopted a slow speed so we could look for some game. We had to stop for 20 minutes or so to wait for a herd of elephants to get out of the way. Just passing through with noisy bikes that might piss them off seemed like a bad idea?
We arrived at Kariba at about 14:00 and that left us with ample time for sightseeing. The dam wall especially impressive with great views of Zambia and the Zambezi river. There were a lot more tourists and it didn’t have the desolate feel of the eastern part at all. It felt like a different country here. Different, but nice still.
You are allowed to go onto the dam wall, just hand in your passport at the border control. There was no charge and you get some good views.
We filled the bikes for $1.41 / l and camped just outside the town for $5 each and met some interesting travellers there. And at $1.60 (compared to $3 at some places) we spent a long night chatting to all of them!
Harare to Kariba
396.4 kms
7:15 – 14:00
We left just after seven to try and avoid the city traffic.
It took about an hour to get out of the city, but then we headed west on the highway and it was plain sailing from there. After having to change our route the day before, we now had to take the tar almost all the way to Kariba, but we were fine with that as it would give us the chance to explore the town and the dam wall.
The highway had three toll gates (all free, yay) each, followed by a road block one km further on (all of them let us pass with big smiles). A lot of the land next to the road was burnt or burning, but it did not seem to bother anyone and no one seemed to try and stop it. More than half of the traffic on the highway were big trucks transporting goods from Mozambique to Zambia.
After probably 300 kms, we took a left to Kariba. We were very close to the Mana pools, which are a must for anyone touring Zim, but were told that no bikes are allowed in. In retrospect, this might be the thing I regret most – not going and trying anyways. Our new road passed through a national park. In fact most of the rest of our trip did. There were no gates or fences, just a sign reading that you are now in a national park with dangerous animals, so don’t do stupid things.
We were surprised with a nice quiet twisty road. I saw a lot of these signs in the Eastern highlands too, but never stopped to take a pic. This one was repeated every 4-5 kms for about 100kms. Bliss!
Pulled off from the tar and found a nice lunch spot.
When we eventually got on the gravel, we adopted a slow speed so we could look for some game. We had to stop for 20 minutes or so to wait for a herd of elephants to get out of the way. Just passing through with noisy bikes that might piss them off seemed like a bad idea?
We arrived at Kariba at about 14:00 and that left us with ample time for sightseeing. The dam wall especially impressive with great views of Zambia and the Zambezi river. There were a lot more tourists and it didn’t have the desolate feel of the eastern part at all. It felt like a different country here. Different, but nice still.
You are allowed to go onto the dam wall, just hand in your passport at the border control. There was no charge and you get some good views.
We filled the bikes for $1.41 / l and camped just outside the town for $5 each and met some interesting travellers there. And at $1.60 (compared to $3 at some places) we spent a long night chatting to all of them!
