EL LANCE POR ENCIMA DE TODO / THE HUNT IS WHAT MATTERS

                       EL LANCE POR ENCIMA DE TODO




Quiero contaros el lance de un impala que tuve en Sudáfrica junto a mi gran amigo luis.

Era mi cuarta visita a Berta, finca a la que le tengo un cariño especial ya que es donde he dado mis primeros pasos en África, en lo referente a la caza.

Ya había cazado anteriormente un impala pero le dije a luis que este año quería cazar otro, ya que es un animal que me gusta mucho.

Luis estaba de vacaciones por lo tanto podía estar conmigo durante mi safari. Estábamos solos en la finca, no había clientes en esa semana y luis padre estaba en la otra finca que tienen, así que teníamos toda la finca para nosotros solos ¡ que peligro!

Salimos por la mañana temprano, con Eliphas un magnifico pistero, y con una condición física extraordinaria, luis y yo íbamos dentro del coche al principio de la mañana ya que hacia bastante frío, y no pensábamos empezar a cazar hasta una zona bastante alejada del campamento, pero a los 10 minutos de salir del campamento , Eliphas grito BUSHPIG! BUSHPIG!, luís me dijo corre bájate y tírale, dicho y hecho, me baje y cargue tan rápido como pude y le dispare mientras corría entre el monte, estos cochinos no saben lo que corren los nuestros entre jara y jara, callo al instante. Era mi primer bushpig, estaba muy contento. El bushpig es un animal nocturno, y es muy difícil verlo durante el día.

 La jornada de caza no podía comenzar mejor, después de las correspondientes fotos, seguimos nuestro camino en busca del impala.

Pero nuestra oportunidad no iba a llegar hasta por la tarde, estábamos en la zona de malapchani, cerca del río , y habíamos visto varios impalas pero ninguno nos convencía.

Quedaba poco tiempo de luz y de pronto vimos el cuerpo de un impala detrás de unas acacias, a unos 200 metros, no podíamos ver su cabeza, solo su cuerpo que permanecía inmóvil sin hacer el mas mínimo movimiento.

Nos acercamos hasta unos 150 metros, era imposible acercarse mas ya que el impala estaba atento, aunque seguíamos sin ver la cabeza, por la dirección en la que estaba colocada su cuerpo podíamos adivinar que el impala estaba mirando hacia donde estábamos nosotros.

Nos sentamos, y miramos a través de los prismáticos intentando ver los cuernos del impala, pero no había forma, solo veíamos la base de estos, por la base parecía un impala bueno, eran bastantes gordas y era de un impala ya maduro. Luis me dijo que había visto por esa zona no hace mucho un impala bastante bueno y que alomejor era ese.

Permanecimos allí mas de 10 largos minutos, esperando que el impala se moviera, pero nada ni el ni nosotros nos movimos como vigilándonos el uno al otro, luís y yo comentamos que había que decidirse ya, en 5 minutos no se vería apenas nada. Luis me dijo que no podía asegurarme que fuera un impala grande, y yo le dije que no quería jugármela, pero entonces tanto a el como a mi nos entro como una extraña decepción, como que después de la entrada y de estar un buen rato observándolo nos íbamos a ir sin el, entonces comprendí que tenia que cazar ese impala, que ese era mi impala, que lo importante no era el trofeo, si no el lance y poder cazarlo junto a mi amigo.

 le dije a luís, ábreme el trípode que lo voy a tirar, a el le cambio la cara. Con, mucho cuidado me levante despacio, y apoye el rifle en el trípode, meti al impala en la cruz y apreté suavemente el gatillo, el impala acuso el tiro, anduvo unos 20 metros y cayo. Nuestra felicidad era extrema, nos acercamos hasta el impala, y pudimos comprobar que no era todo lo grande que esperábamos, pero no me importaba, estaba contento, había podido cazar un impala junto a mi amigo, en Sudáfrica, y los 2 solos sin ayuda de nadie mas, la entrada fue preciosa en definitiva es uno de esos lances que no se olvidan, y en los que al final el trofeo es lo de menos.

THE HUNT IS WHAT MATTERS

I want to tell you the story of an Impala hunt in South Africa with my good friend Luís.

It was my fourth visit to Berta, a farm I hold very dear because it is where I took my first steps in hunting in Africa.

I had previously hunted an Impala but I told Luís that this year I wanted to hunt another one, since it is an animal I really like. Luis was on vacation so he could be with me during the hunt. We were alone on the farm as there were no clients that week and Luís´ father was at the other property they have, so we had the whole farm to ourselves!

We left early in the morning with Eliphas, a brilliant tracker with an extraordinary physique. Luis and I were inside the car in the beginning of the morning as it was quite cold, and did not think to start hunting until we reached an area further from the Lodge. 10 minutes after leaving camp Eliphas banged on the roof of the car and yelled: “Bushpig! Bushpig!” Luis told me to get out of the car as fast as possible and try to get a shot. I got out and loaded the gun as fast as possible and managed to pull off a shot at the trotting bushpig. Our wildboar in Spain run much faster in the bush, which made the shot easier for me. At the shot the bushpig dropped in its tracks, I was ecstatic! The bushpig is a nocturnal animal and it is very rare to see one during the day.

 Our hunting day could not have started better! After taking some photos, we carried on in search of the Impala.

 Our chance would not come until later in the afternoon, we were hunting the area known as Malapchani, which is very close to the Mutamba River. We saw several Impala but none that really caught our eye.

Shooting light was running out when we suddenly saw the body of an impala standing behind some acacias, about 200 meters away. We could not see his horns, he stood motionless, blending into the bush perfectly.
We cautiously approached to within 150 meters, but could not get closer because the Impala was very wary. We still could not see his horns, but we could see that he was facing us.

We sat and looked through the binoculars trying to see the Impala’s horns, but to no avail. We could only see the bases, which were very thick and we could see it was an old animal. Luis told me he had seen a pretty good Impala in this area not too long ago, and that maybe this was the same one because they are very territorial.

We sat there for over 10 minutes, waiting for the Impala to move, but he wouldn’t give us a glimpse of his horns. Luís and I whispered to each other that we had to make a decision now because in 5 minutes it would be pitch dark. Luis told me that he could not be sure if it was a big impala, and I told him I did not want to take the chance.
All of a sudden a strange sense of disappointment swept over us, the stalk had been beautiful and we had sat there for a long while watching the impala only to turn around and go back home empty handed.
It was then that I realized that I had to hunt this Impala, this was my Impala, no matter the horn length, the actual hunt was what mattered. The important thing was to be able to share this hunt with my friend. I told Luis to set up the shooting sticks because I wanted to shoot this Impala. His face changed and he rapidly set up the sticks. I gently placed the rifle on the sticks and looked through the scope, the Impala appeared in the scope and I placed the crosshairs where the neck joined the body because he was quartering towards us. I squeezed the trigger and we heard the impact of the bullet, the Impala managed only 20 steps before collapsing. Excitedly we walked up to the Impala, he was very old, with worn down tips and thick bases. He was not enormous but he had loads of character and that was enough for me.
I was happy that I could hunt this Impala, in South Africa, with my friend and no one else’s help. It was one of those stalks that will never be forgotten, and this goes to show that the hunt itself is more important than the horn length.