ANGLER'S TRAVEL TO AFRICA

by Brian M. Wiprud

*A side trip to the Aberdares was easily incorporated into an otherwise non-fishing trip to other popular destinations. Contact: Tamu Safari's 800-766-9199/404-591-7119 or Savannah Camps and Lodges PO Box 48019, Nairobi, Kenya

*Camping in Aberdare National Park: There are seven public campsites, but two have shelters/cabins that are right on the stream. Sappers Hut on the Upper Mangura River can be booked through Let's Go Travel [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . Kiandongoro
Fisherman's Lodge (cabins only, no staff) can be booked through the park headquarters PO Box 22, Nyeri Kenya Tel. 0171-55024. 

*Fishing Lake Rutundu: Tropic Air [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> can fly you into the high-altitude lakes for rainbow trout.

*Maps: The only decent, detailed maps of Kenya I could find were in the Lonely Planet guidebooks widely available through bookstores.

*Shots, inoculations and malaria pills: a no brainer - get them.

*Food: Kenya is not a "food" destination, but the meals were better than expected and we didn't have any outright bad meals. Most were comprised of familiar, albeit European, components. We had no gastrointestinal problems, limiting our intake to cooked food and bottled water. Don't eat uncooked fruit or use ice cubes, even if someone else eats them and says they're fine. Let them risk getting sick.

*Stream Water: I was very careful not to have stream water come in contact with my mouth, even indirectly from my hands or fly line.*Bugs: Mild by comparison to Maine. Mosquitoes were small, and in the Aberdares they did not bite for some reason. Tse Tse flies are a problem to the south, but nothing DEET couldn't deter. There are extremely few ticks, though I did find one.

See Trout Fishing in Kenya