I am sitting on the stoep of my riverfront bungalow at Mata Mata. I know I said a camping trip, but I wanted to come to Mata Mata to have a look see. Last time in the October 2019 trip we were messed around by SANPARKS with our booking at Mata Mata. Long story, but SANPARKS gave us a credit.
Why the chalet? Well after I fluked the booking for Nossob I looked at Mata Mata and the river front chalet was the only option. Very nice, but by comparison you can soon end up with an expensive time as opposed to good value with camping. If I digress, the chalet is new, on the river (which may flow underground, but not on top) and offers everything you could wish for. The riverbed continues to be full of grass in brilliant green. Tom Jones Green Green Grass of home type. The riverfront chalets occupy prime position. Thatched with a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and kitchen combined. Upmarket Parks Board style.
On to the actual day. The main entrance at Twee Rivieren opens at 07h00 and I was there and so were the friendly staff at that time. Some Covid stuff to complete, get the entrance permit and by 07h20 I had made it through the entrance gate into the park. Twee Rivierien campsite was quiet and I got the impression, maybe incorrectly, that the chalets were quiet as well. Maybe.
The green and the water continued. At Samevloeing some 5km from Twee Rivieren the water was amazing. The pan was full. Periodic large pools of water on the road were the order of the day. The road was nice and compacted flat with very few minor corrugations. And of course, no dust whatsoever. A major change from the usual dust and persistent corrugations. It was like on tar on occasion.
Animals were the usual suspects and the first bird highlight was a huge Marshall Eagle not two minutes from Twee Rivieren. The river bed is incredible. Deep emerald and thick grass with no sand or dust. If the grazers don’t fatten up now they never will.
An interesting contrast is that the plains animals stick out easily as they are brown and the background is green. Ticked off the lion box with a lovely sighting next to the road of two lions lazing in the grass. The Mata Mata Road offers a few options of either following the river bed to take in various waterholes or one can take the upper dune road which periodically loops down on the lower road and the waterholes. I opted to take the upper road in each case saving the lower for the game drive tomorrow. Finally, my strategy was rewarded with a fantastic sighting of an adult and teen cheetah. They were just off the road to my right and walked right in front of my car and then into the bush. I was able to get really close and it was a great reward.
A feature of the drive today was the few other cars I saw and indeed, the lion and cheetah sightings, I had all to myself. At the two picnic spots there were a few other cars, but if the park is full then the people are somewhere else.
Currently the gates close at 19h30 and open at 05h30. As there is only one road out I may delay slightly to let the grand prix mob get ahead before I venture out.
This evening I decided on a leisurely game drive. The main set of waterholes from Mata Mata are about 25 km away. Too far for tonights drive. I was rather just looking for a relaxing time. Notable sightings were a pair of Pearl Spotted Owls in a tree. A car was stopped and we exchanged notes. The driver of the other car pointed one out which I had not seen and I showed him the other which he had not seen. There were quite a few BBJ’s as well. BBJ, for my aviation friends, are not Boeing Business Jets, but rather, Black Backed Jackals. Promising as with jackals are predators. We shall see.
A walk around the camp showed again, in my view, about a 60% occupancy. The campsite was not cramped and there was space for quite a few more people without being on top of each other.
A word about the weather. It has been overcast most of the day with some very mild rain in the morning despite the forecasts giving 90% rain and lots of it. It has been a bit humid, but overall a very pleasant temperature. I was a bit apprehensive about January having read about temps getting to mid-forties, but so far nothing like that.
The pre-cooked supper worked a treat and was very acceptable.
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