https://www.facebook.com/294215994396139/

Malcolm Sutton Photography

Home
South Africa
Southbroom
Malcolm Sutton Photography

Amateur photographer specialising in birds in action.

01/11/2026

The Flamingos We Nearly Missed
We travelled from Gobabis towards the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy without really knowing what to expect. A Namibian friend had suggested we visit the area for its birdlife, but we were unsure how seasonal the sightings might be.
Using Garmin, we selected Large Baobab Community Camp as our destination and arrived hoping to find birds on the nearby pans. A community guide led us to two of them. The first was completely dry. At the second, the pump that normally maintained water levels had broken down and there was little birdlife to be seen.
When we asked where we might find waterbirds, our guide simply didn't know.
After spending just one night at the camp, we decided to continue towards Khaudum, believing that we were there at the wrong time of year. Before leaving, however, we stopped to refuel at Tsumkwe.
There, while chatting to a local resident, we received a simple piece of advice: follow the track south of the village and keep going. According to him, there was a large pan with plenty of birds.
With nothing to lose, we decided to investigate.
More than an hour later, after driving along sandy tracks rather than roads, we suddenly came upon an extraordinary sight. Thousands of flamingos stretched across the pan, joined by hundreds of Red-billed Teal and numerous other waterbirds.
What had started as a disappointing search turned into one of the most memorable birding experiences of the entire expedition.
There was another benefit to the unexpected stop. Since Gobabis, Elsie had been warning that the fuel filter required attention. Knowing that the deep sands of Khaudum lay ahead, I decided it was prudent to replace it before pushing further into remote country. Fortunately, I had brought a spare filter from Hoedspruit, and the lodge campsite provided an unexpectedly convenient workshop.
Sometimes the best sightings are the ones you nearly miss.

31/10/2026

Into Namibia: Where the Real Adventure Began
After crossing into Namibia at Mata Mata, it felt as though the expedition had entered a new phase.
For the first time we had no fixed bookings and only a rough plan. Our intention was simply to work our way north through eastern Namibia towards Nyae-Nyae and Khaudum and into what was formerly known as the Caprivi Strip.
The roads were long and often deserted. We crossed vast sheep-farming country and discovered that some of the most memorable meals are found in the most unlikely places.
One highlight was 21 Dunes, where our campsite sat high on a red Kalahari dune overlooking seemingly endless countryside. We arrived unannounced, after negotiating countless farm gates, and were fortunate to find a campsite available, but for one night only. Not having bookings provides freedom and flexibility but comes with a caveat. Fortunately, one of the remote chalets was available for the following night, but only for a single night. After several cold nights under canvas, a night in a chalet felt positively luxurious, and early the following morning we set off for Gobabis.
Looking back, this was the point where the safari became an expedition. Behind us were the familiar destinations. Ahead lay remote tracks, deep sand, flamingos, elephants and some of the wildest country we would encounter during the next 70 days.

27/10/2026

The Kalahari Opens Up

We entered the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at Twee Rivieren and completed the South African exit formalities for our planned entrance into Namibia via Mata-Mata. During the process a new challenge appeared. The South African immigration officer kindly informed Malcolm that his British passport now required an e-visa for Namibia. What followed was a frustrating day battling an online application process with very limited connectivity. Fortunately, the e-visa was approved and printed before our booking expired because accommodation in the park is hard to get.
What makes the Kgalagadi special is not only the wildlife, but also the landscape itself - vast red dunes, open grasslands and dry riverbeds. Kate described it in her travel diary as a photographer's delight because there are far fewer annoying twigs and blades of grass than in many of our bushveld reserves. Clearly, she wasn't looking through my viewfinder. They still seem capable of finding precisely the wrong place at exactly the right moment.
The wildlife certainly did not disappoint. We enjoyed excellent sightings of cheetah, and I was fortunate enough to encounter an African Wild Cat, always a special sighting even if it was some distance away. During our drive north through the park towards Mata-Mata, Kate recorded an astonishing 43 Kori Bustards, while one of the photographic highlights was a Martial Eagle that eventually took flight after keeping us waiting for more than an hour.
The only casualty at Mata Mata was Kate's meticulously planned supply of 24 Woolworths long-life milk cartons. Chosen because the small cartons fitted neatly into our fridge, they were promptly confiscated by Namibian Customs. Kate remained unconvinced that long-life milk posed a significant Foot-and-Mouth risk.
The Kalahari had provided a memorable introduction to the next stage of our adventure. Namibia lay ahead.

25/10/2026

The safari had barely started...

Leaving our friends, Melanie and Johan, at Hoedspruit, we turned west towards the Kgalagadi. The route was interrupted by an unexpected stop in Johannesburg to replace a failed laptop battery, followed by a succession of icy mornings when Elsie's heated seats suddenly became one of our favourite luxuries.

A lunch stop at Alzu Petroport near Middelburg produced another surprise. We expected fuel, tea and a sandwich. Instead, we found ourselves looking out over rhino, buffalo, eland and zebra.

It seemed rather ironic. We were on our way to spend almost three months travelling through Southern Africa in search of wildlife and adventure, yet here we were having lunch at a service station with rhinos grazing in the background.

The journey was already reminding us that some of the most memorable moments happen when you are not expecting them.

15/10/2026

Leadwood

After two nights on the road, we reached Leadwood, the first of two key milestones that had shaped the planning of our 87-day journey through Southern Africa. The second lay much further north at Kiambi in Zambia, where family would later gather to celebrate Kate's youngest brother's birthday.

Our reason for being at Leadwood was simple enough: to spend a few days with friends, while enjoying some fabulous wildlife.

On our first afternoon, and early the following morning, we watched a leopard feeding on an impala ram it had hauled high into a tree. Less than an hour later we encountered two impressive, and battle-scarred, male lions. The afternoon game drive produced elephants at a waterhole, and with every sighting it became clearer that the adventure had truly begun.

A few days later, I found myself drawn to a Yellow-billed Oxpecker enjoying an elevated vantage point on a rhino's back. That same afternoon produced one of my favourite buffalo portraits from our stay (the buffalo is Kate's favourite animal).

14/10/2026

87 Days on the Road

On 2 July we left Southbroom with Elsie, a trailer full of equipment and rough plans that would take us through South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana over the next 87 days.

The journey had two important milestones. The first was Leadwood, where we would spend time with friends. The second was Kiambi on the Zambezi River, where family members would gather to celebrate Kate's youngest brother's 70th birthday.

Everything in between would become part of the adventure.

These first photographs were taken on our very first evening in camp. The planning was behind us, the vehicle was packed, and the expedition had finally begun.

The third image is a small glimpse of what lay ahead. Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing some of my favourite photographs and a few stories from the journey, helped along by extracts from Kate's wonderfully entertaining travel diary.

Have any of you undertaken a long overland journey, and what is the one thing you would never leave behind?

Address

22 Francis Street
Southbroom
4277

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Malcolm Sutton Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.