ARE YOU SWEATING SWEETIE ?
- 12/3/2007 <--Prev : Next-->
ARE YOU SWEATING SWEETIE ?
Its official - Kenyan deep sea big game fishermen need help from Zimbabwe Tiger
fishermen !!
They spend hours, days, nay weeks, nay years practising on the paltry TigerFish on Kariba,
and then head for Marlin territory off the Kenyan Coast !!
Breaking all records at Hemingways Resort at Watamu outside Malindi, our intrepid five
caught and released five magical marlin in one single glorious week.
Together with two other no name brand fishermen, this brought to seven Marlin caught in
one week at Hemingways, the previous record being four in one week !!
Rick, Dave, the Two Barrys and Adam along with able assistance of Richard and Boetie
caught a miscellany of large game sea-fish including sailfish and sharks !
My own excursion into sea fishing was not quite that exhilarating ...... as the seas were
fairly fierce, El Capitain suggested we girlie supporters take a seasick tablet and although
no nausea ensued, it just simply and squarely puts an ordinary mortal in a comatose state
the entire day !!
The gentle swell of the waves, the determined movement of the fishermen and gillys as
they go about their baiting, out-rigging and luring, all adds up to a soporific, catatonic
state of doziness that holds one in a vice like grip of sloth !!
But when the rods spin ferociously, when the gillys rush around like crazed madmen
moving vast reels and rods and outriggers, when it has been a second before, ,just too
much to open even an eyelid, suddenly one is wide awake to see the giant proud and
beautiful marlin jump in proud defiance again and again until man triumphs over beast.
It can take hours to land such a mighty creature, muscles groan, limbs scream in torment,
sweat pours in buckets down a giant harness which prevents the fisherman from
disappearing into Davy Jones locker !!
"Are you sweating sweetie" screams a gilly in dazed glee as inch by inch the battle is
fought and won.
Fortunately all big game fishing at Hemingways is "catch and release" , the fish are
carefully tagged so they can be monitored and and gently released as quickly as possible
back to their azure kingdom.
Kenya is amazing, bursting at the seams with tourists, everyone has, not much, but a
whole lot more than out own sad Zimbabweans. The towns are poor but bustling, people
are happy and smiling, there is food a-plenty, wares for sale on every corner.
The airports are inundated with people looking forward to being part of Kenyas thriving
hospitality and tourisy industry.... a stark contrast to our own airports where dust and
people lay heavy and heartsore.
We were like that once, we have as much game to offer the world, as many areas of stark
and raw beauty....one day we all promised ourselves... one day..
One day and soon.... Zimbabwe will once again become the centre of the maize triangle
and the hub of the tourist industry that we were once, before madness overtook our
land......
