DINING DONE DIFFERENT

It’s safe to say we have had some interesting dining experiences over the years. At Legends Late Nite Restaurant in Musgrave, we were instrumental in getting the bylaws changed for Terrace dining
Gringos Cantina (a bean guzzling, tequila swilling, cactus bashing, cantina) was just one crazy dining experience and at Legends Playhouse it was awfully posh!
Then at Buds on the Bay, a great place to get away from it all, we went one step further – Dining in the bay, great for romantics, smokers and claustrophobes.
If  it’s a spring high tide – you needed gumboots!

At the Marula Shak in Mozambique we had tables and chairs hanging from the trees and –

In Eshowe, at the SHUGA SHAK, there was a formal Gazebo, an outside casual bar, a bonfire in an old shopping trolly and a chill spot with swings, days beds, braai’s, and of course, some hammocks! All in all, great for a chill day, a get together with friends, a corporate event or just a great party!

But things have moved on –  The stint in Eshowe was relatively brief, while recovering from a motorbike accident!, and now its Picnics and Braai’s, with a difference of course, in the stunning surrounds at Maweni Farm, an ‘Óld Fashioned Farm Stay Experience’ near Harrismith in the OFS.

And so the show goes on!

Last time we had Mexican Nite

The welcoming cactus and innoculation shots:

Our table Dancers:

Relaxing around the fire ( roasted marshmellows dipped in tequila, Optional)

Roadside Cuisine – Motorbike trip – Coast to Coast – USA, Aug 2010 – Story by Bill Budd

A lot of wine was drunk on the Buds deck early this year and the suggestion was made to visit ‘Sturgis’, in the Black Hills of South Dakota USA,  the biggest bike rally in the world. A few more bottles and this grew to doing back roads and small town America, and eventually to doing it ‘Coast to Coast’.

Mike Gaines and Patritzia, Al and Geraldine Gaines, Logan Surgeson and myself were the intrepid explorers  and we set off from L.A  on hired Beemers, which was good for safe reliable riding, but bad at a rally with 800,000 bikes of which 99% were Harleys!.

First stop was Vegas to do the tourist bit and see the Grand Canyon etc, but relieved to be out of there we headed for Death Valley and temperature highs of 53 degrees. Starting early we beat the worst of the heat, but were made to understand how it got its name. Stunning riding in vast wilderness areas until we hit Manhatten, gold mining town, Pop 50. Two pubs, two churches 150m apart and our host in the 1st pub hadn’t visited the north side of town in 4 years so couldn’t  give us much info on the happenings there. I swear I could hear dueling banjos in the background!

In Goldfields, another old defunct mining town, I watched a grizzled old prospector giving directions to a really cool looking [red] Indian dude. After listening patiently for a while, he finally rummages in his pocket and says “GPS”.

At another stop, an old lady looks at me all dressed up in riding gear and asked where we were from. “Africa” elicited a blank response and she turns to her husband and, sotto voce, says “he does rather look like a pirate in that striped shirt you know”.

And then there were the Menonites who explained that they were like the Amish, but they did use technology and they followed Jesus, and as an afterthought said “you may have heard of him”

These were the little cameos that added spice to the trip.

Sturgis – the bike rally was mind boggling. Imagine a place the size of KZN, incredibly scenic and with the biggest town the size of Umhlanga. Add 800,000 bikes and fill every road for 200 miles with the rolling thunder of all those Harleys. Add a tribe of people who all dress much the same and where half mill around watching the other half who are parading in the craziest outfits and riding the most amazing customized machines. Ride to the remotest spots up to 200 miles away and you will find masses of people gathered with food booze music and loo’s aplenty. And we thought we did an amazing job with the world cup!