After some time doing a research, I got in touch with the fly fishing guides of Tourette Fishing. The reason was simple; they had the best reputation on fly fishing in Africa and they have the concession to fly fish the Mnyera River and the Ruhudji River. It is in this 2 great rivers that nowadays prolific fly fisherman can get over 10 to 15 pounds fish almost every day.

The Fish in a Remote Paradise

To get to the fish is not easy, but we all know that, to get to a paradise, you\\\\\\\'ll have to pay a price. It took me 5 different flights: 3 international flights and 2 small planes to the remote area close to Ruaha national Park in Mboro, Tanzania. A total of 20 hours in the air and 12,5 hours in different airports.

On my way to Africa, my final destination was Tanzania, and there is not an embassy in my country that could tell me a bit about what we would need to travel there, so our good friend google had helped me to get a glimpse of an idea of what to expect. Passport, photos 4x4, yellow fever international vaccine card, and I thought maybe an insurance. 

Ok. let me tell you.

The Julius Nyerere international airport is small and, in a certain way, reminded me of Cuba. Upon arrival, while we were leaving the airplane, we were packed in a very rustic office in which we were supposed to do the visa application. A person dressed up with a white turban asked me “tourist?”, the answer was “Yes”, and he pointed out with his finger. Then, a young police officer stood up between the other tourist and recollected passports, yellow fever cards and 50 USD. So when he had like 30 different people passports, he gave them to another officer that was behind a desk, who had to give those passports to another 3 or 5 people to make the passport visa happen. 

One foreign was not very happy with the idea of giving his passport to this young police in Tanzania, so he was hoping his passport will be back. He was European, and the world system is different. For me, being Argentine, and after travelling around South America, Central America, and Africa, I had decided to have hope and just be patience.There was not air conditioning on that airport and it was really hot even with just a shirt and light pants. I would not like to be there between December and March. It must be scorching hot ! LOL

Just for the record, all this has been said just in order to help you understand that, when you get to these countries in South Africa, you should expect disorganization, but in their own way, they make things happen.

The driver was waiting for us outside the airport, standing between a hundred of black people with letters and names. I laugh and I just started pointing out to some of them and saying “not you buddy”, “Not you”, “neither you”…. And finally... Eureka! My name was there! 

I just hope Mark Coubis and Jill will be able to make it happen with no problem. The 4 of us will be fishing together that week.

Good Luck

I met my driver and, after a few minutes, we were on our way to the Hotel. It took us like an hour to get there. There was a terrible traffic jam in Dar es Salaam, so I hope you guys have luck and arrive there during the night since it’s the best time to drive around Dar es Salaam. I have asked my driver his name: “Good Luck” he said. Are you kidding me!?. No. Good Luck. My name is Good Luck, Sir. Ok. That was funny. We had been stacked in traffic, nothing really terrible though. The fishing time was closer. It was a day and a half. I just need to be patience. The rest of the group will meet me at Seacliff Hotel that day, and the following morning we will do the flight to Iringa and Mboro. 

The Seacliff Hotel is a great option. It has amazing rooms and swimming pool. It also has a very good restaurant with high standards and a bar lounge restaurant in front of the ocean over a cliff that is outstanding. Every evening there is a band playing nice music and the place is very popular. You will see people in almost every table and at the bar too, but what it’s funny, is how many people is on their phones, without even checking what is going on around them. We should be able to be with ourselves, without needing to be all time in touch with somebody or checking any social media.

To be continued...

Pablo Aguiló

Owner

Pointer Outfitters