Mata-Mata

Twee Rivieren – “Two Rivers”. It is the largest campsite in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. as well as the park headquarters.

About Mata-Mata Rest Camp

Mata-Mata – Rest Camp on the border with Nambia. Remote, loved by many and stars like you have never seen before.

Mata-Mata is the smallest of the main rest camps in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It is very close to the Namibian border and also serves as a border post. To cross the border, however, immigration formalities need to be completed at Twee Rivieren and at least two nights need to be spent in the park. This campsite is well known for its giraffe sightings and cute resident ground squirrels, suricate, yellow mongoose and crimson-breasted shrike.

Why visit Mata-Mata?

Mata-Mata is either the end of the road on the Auob river bed, or an exit to Nambia from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the South African side – A great camp for game drives, as it is situated in the red dunes at the western entrance of the park and allows for long drives through the western part of park.
Birding can be very productive in the area.
Use it as a refuge to wind down from our modern living and get into the desert feeling – beware, it may grip you so hard, that it may make you return again-and-again.
The camp abounds with wildlife, of the smaller kind – keep an eye open for ground squirrels, yellow mongoose and at night, there are spotted genet, scorpions and Cape Fox around.

Tips:

A camp that allows you to feel that desert peace and quiet.
Walk around the camp site for close up birding possibilities.
Visit the three nearby waterholes – it often produces very good game viewing.
In the camp, be sure to keep an eye and ear open for owls – Pearl Spotted owlets are frequent visitors.
Please make sure to wear shoes at all times. Make sure to shake your shoes out first, before putting them on, as the desert does provide an ideal home for scorpions.

Biome(animal and plant habitat)

Semi-arid thorny Kalahari Duneveld

Animals you may encounter in the area:

Blue Wildebeest
Chacma Baboon
Eland
Gemsbok
Giraffe
Grey Duiker
Kudu
Red Hartebeest
Springbok
Steenbok
Vervet Monkey
Warthog
As well as several rodents including:
Bats
Gerbel
Ground Squirrel
Hares
Hedgehog
Mice
Moles
Porcupine
Rats and Shrew that feed a multitude of Predators and Raptors that prey on them and the multitude of insects.

Predators include:

African Wild Cat
African Wild Dog
Bat-Eared Fox
Black-Backed Jackal
Brown Hyena
Caracal
Cheetah
Honey Badger
Leopard
Lion
Pangolin
Silver (Cape) Fox
Small Spotted Cat
Small-Spotted Genet
Spotted Hyena
Striped Polecat
Suricate(Meerkat)
Yellow Mongoose

Birds to look out for in the area:

African Darter
African Fish Eagles
African Spoonbill
Black-bellied Bustard
Black-winged Stilt
Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark
Collared (Red-winged) Pratincole
Cormorant Reed
Cormorant White-breasted
Crowned Lapwing
Egrets
Kingfishers
Red-crested Korhaan
Storks
Swallow Mosque
Swallow Wire-tailed
White-winged Tern

Not to miss routes in the area:

Long Circular Routes:
Nossob (7 hours one direction) South down the Auob – across the Long Dune Road at Kamqua up the Nossob from Dikbaardskolk towards Nossob Campsite 170 km 7 hours one direction! Start your return from wherever you are, by noon – good game viewing may take up much time and the distances are deceptive!
Shorter Return Routes:
Waterholes to 13th Waterhole(Ideal Short route): 85 km 4 hours – You could shorten the trip by turning at either 14th or Dalkeith waterhole.