One of my favourite moments from the year that was with Aera and Bianca of Ourano Pointers. Aera had just found the biggest covey of Greywing Francolin I have still ever seen, and I managed to take a few birds with my dogs for a change. Hunting the king of Africa’s game birds with class Pointers high up in this untouched wilderness is the ultimate for the man who understands. Doing it with my trusty .410 just makes it that much more special. We were all content after this bird was retrieved. I sat with the two dogs and we just took it all in. There have been huge challenges, but it’s strangely what I’ve learnt to bite down and enjoy now, figuring it all out, in the chaos – there is a strange order within chaos if you slow it down. And sitting in this moment there was a very visceral understanding and moment of clarity in terms of it all. I’ve taken gambles, but always backing my dogs and I, and they’ve always come off, even when I think they haven’t. Human nature is a fickle thing, we want more and more, usually shallowly and materialistically, and almost always selfishly. The mountains and my dogs teach me to look for more, to look deeper, to slow it all down and just be there, wherever you are meant to be, and to just be there fully. I’m a better person in these mountains, but my challenge is to be that person wherever I am. Whether you’re a monk in Mount Athos, with all the peace, love and quiet in the world, or a citizen passing through a bustling city centre, our duty is to be that better person wherever we are. And I’m trying my best to be that.
In the unrelenting pursuit of my passion, time has melted away into the sprinting shadows I leave behind, and it really makes me sit up and reflect, but more importantly, slow life down as best as I can. Sometimes our nightmares are our own makings, and in these cases, we are obligated to remain loyal to said nightmares. Well, that’s what I’ve learned at least. Life is a gift, I’ve really grasped this the last few years, and I hope to keep living that beautiful lesson daily wherever I can.
Something is considered perfect not when you can’t add anything more to it, but when you can’t take anything away, and this was one of those moments.
All the very best to us all for 2025.
Always chasing the horizon.