Travels with my Bronzo

Marlon du Toit is the kind of guy who was born prepared. Growing up on the SA Lowveld, with the Kruger National Park as his training ground, he spent his early years honing his survival instincts alongside his father, who inspired his passion for photography. Today, as the founder of Tanda Afrika, Du Toit leads transformative luxury and photographic safaris, guiding adventurers to the wildest places on Earth while documenting nature’s most elusive creatures.

Preparation is vital to every expedition Du Toit embarks on. From braving freezing winds in Patagonia to navigating the humid rainforests of Costa Rica, his gear — whether it’s his camera, clothing or watch — must rise to the challenge.

He proudly sports what he calls “the perfect safari watch” on his wrist — the Panerai PAM968 Bronzo Submersible. His newest timepiece has already accompanied him across continents since early 2024 — surviving lakes in the Serengeti, the Atlantic, the forests of Costa Rica and the wilds of Patagonia. Its boldness matches the intensity of the environments he explores — whether capturing the vastness of African plains or enduring freezing temperatures in the mountains.

Much like Du Toit’s photography gear, the Panerai is a carefully chosen tool — reliable, durable and always prepared for the unexpected. “It’s more than just a watch; it’s becoming my storytelling companion,” he says. “The patina is starting to show already — the story of where I’ve been with the watch. It’s a fitting, functional piece for a safari.”

Other plusses are that it’s strong, big and bold — much like the Paneristis (fans of Panerai) who wear it and the members of the Italian Navy for which it was initially made. While Du Toit doesn’t often take the watch to the depths for which it’s designed, he trusts it to endure his rugged lifestyle; an essential tool in the wild.

Selecting his watch is all part of his prep, relevant to the destination and climate he’s headed for. Let’s not forget that while Du Toit can be as patient as necessary to get the shots he needs, he loves action so his gear must enable him to run, walk, hike, crouch or bum shuffle in the bush as required. “I enjoy being very technical and always ensuring I’m as best prepared as possible. So, when I go to a cold destination, like Patagonia or the Himalayas, I’ll source purpose-designed clothing that can keep me warm and comfortable in -15°C to -20°C. It’s all about smart layering,” he says.

You’ll get the concept if you consider how animals cope in winter. “If you look carefully at antelopes like impala or even your dogs, you’ll notice how they raise their hair to trap a layer of warm air between the skin and the fur. It’s a barrier against the cold. When I will be in cold temperatures, I’ll size up so that there is space to trap that body heat. The same goes for shoes. I’ll pack a size or two bigger for cold-weather places — you want a little space for your feet to breathe and trap that layer of warm air within your shoes.”

The intensity of this discussion was inspired by the bitterly cold temperatures we experienced on a recent visit to Lalibela Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. It was June, and even though we were dressed for winter, we were lacking when dealing with wind chill out on the open game drive vehicle at sunrise and sunset.

For tropical climes like Costa Rica, Du Toit favours clothing made from fabric that breathes and dries quickly. “In that humidity, clothes can stay wet for days. If you really want to enjoy yourself in these conditions, you must have technical gear. Otherwise, it’s pointless. Take the shirt I’m wearing now, for example. Insects will struggle to bite through it, and it has an antibacterial coating as a barrier against the fungus that you might pick up in forests and jungles. It has ventilation inserts so air from the front is guided out the back. These cool things are very technical but make the experience better and the travel fun. Part of the joy is the preparation.”

Du Toit invests the same amount of effort into his photographic planning and activities. He never travels with the same gear. Preparing for the Serengeti differs from Lalibela because he needs different kits and lenses to prepare for the experience. “At Lalibela, you can off-road, which means you can get closer to animals, so my fixed telephoto lenses do the job. One is a 400mm lens, the other is 600mm and that’s what I’d use in Tanzania or Kenya where you need to shoot at longer distances and can’t off-road.”

Moreover, the image quality is better with a fixed lens, so he opts for teleconverters that can extend the reach of his chosen lens by 1.4 times rather than a zoom lens. “So, my 400mm becomes a 560mm. The quality of the image is really good with a telephoto, fixed lens; a nonzoom lens. I also have a 70mm-200mm f2.8, which is like the holy grail of lenses, great for shooting everything from weddings and fashion to wildlife and landscape photography. Then I have a wide angle 16mm-35mm lens for landscape photography specifically.”

Du Toit travels with two camera bodies — a Sony Alpha 1 and a Sony A9 Mark 3, which he says is an excellent wildlife and sports camera. “It’s quick and has an incredible AI autofocus on the eye of the subject.”

The thinking behind doubling up is that if one camera body fails, he has a backup, and it is good to not have to change lenses all the time. “The moment you change lenses, you’re letting dust in on your sensor. It’s just a good idea to have two camera bodies mounted to two of your lenses,” he adds.

Reflecting on his technical gear, Du Toit comments again on his expanding watch collection. “What I love about watches, especially watches like this, are that they are still mechanical. So much of our world today is digital. I live in that with my cameras and so much of what I do online; a lot of it is intangible. It’s so nice to have something on your wrist that is the opposite; it moves with mechanisms and wheels and it’s powered differently.

“My oldest Panerai is the Luminor Submersible 1305, a titanium model I’ve had for about six years, and it’s got the scars and abrasions to show I’ve really put it to the test. I’m a big guy. For me, on safari, it’s nice to have a watch that’s equally bold and big and strong. I think a Panerai watch is made to be worn, to be used, taken into the field, on adventures.”

For Du Toit, a watch like Panerai is more than a timepiece — it’s a testament to the enduring connection between humans and the wild, where resilience, adaptability, and purpose are crucial to survival.