Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Twee Rivieren & Mata-Mata

We set up camp at the Twee Rivieren and immediately set out on the Nossop road as far as Kij Kij, returning just before ‘gate close time’ to settle in for the night. We were chuffed to see our first Marico Flycatcher, just to realise that they are as numerous here as the Fiscal Flycatcher is in Addo; there is one perched on every second shrub…

To simplify traveling in the Park we left Suzi and the trailer at Twee Rivieren, parked in the shade of a Camelthorn tree next to the pool.

We had breakfast at the Samevloeiing waterhole before our trip to Mata-Mata. This is where we saw our first Sandgrouse (Namaqua as well as Burchell’s); something we have been anticipating for some time! We spent a long time at the waterhole before setting out again…

It took us over 2 hours to cover the first 16 Km! Not because the road was bad but because we stop for every little thing we see. As the distance between Twee Rivieren and Mata-Mata is 120 Km we realised that we would have to speed up a little if we wanted to get there by nightfall!

We eventually got to Mata-Mata at 17h00.

At Mata-Mata we again enquired about cancellations for the following day, but according to the reception staff the camp was full. Later while we were sitting outside with a glass of wine in hand our neighbours, Johan and Isabel Louw, came over to chat and it was not long before we were exchanging information on sightings, photography, etc. We mentioned that we wanted to stay longer but had only managed to get a site for one night. Without a moment’s hesitation they offered to share their campsite! It was again confirmed how kind people can be; thank you Johan and Isabel. The first thing we did the next morning was to make the necessary changes and payments and thus ended up spending 3 nights at Mata-Mata. After sharing our braai and wine with them the next evening we parted with promises to keep in touch once we are home. They are from Pretoria and left to continue their trip into Namibia.

Our favourite waterhole near Mata-Mata is the Craig Lockheart, where we spent a lot of time. There we saw the Pearl-Spotted Owlet, Red-Necked Falcons, Gabar Goshawk and many, many more.

While watching the passing parade a Gemsbok dominance/take-over dual suddenly erupted. We initially thought it was just a sparring but soon realised that this was for real. The loser limped away, bleeding from a wound above his front right leg and the winner returned to the herd. The herd seemed to be undecided and confused. The ‘loser’ seemed to have been the previous leader and suddenly he just walked away, leaving them standing and staring after him, while the new leader demanded their attention. We felt very sad for the ousted chap; we followed him until he found a shady spot and lay down to rest. He did later seem to attempt a return to the herd but we do not know what eventually became of him.

Again we were upset by the blatant ignorance/disregard of campers that feed the Jackals through the fence at night. Roger tried to stop the guy but he just laughed him off. Say no more…

On our way back to Twee Rivieren near the Urikaruus Waterhole we noticed a number of cars a short distance away. This always means action, usually involving a predator. The herd of Springbok in the river bed were all very tense. A fellow motorist told us that a Cheetah had been seen stalking the herd but had now crossed the road and disappeared over the dunes. We decided to wait and I started preparing lunch while Roger kept vigil. The advantage of traveling in a motorhome! After about 20 minutes the Springbok herd suddenly exploded into full flight in a cloud of dust and the cheetah appeared in hot pursuit! Sadly (for us and the cheetah!) the Springbok had acted quickly enough and the cheetah gave up the chase. The action was over so quickly that we did not manage to capture even one frame!

We spent Thursday 31^st in camp at Twee Rivieren, organising our next week’s bookings, catching up on emails and doing some clothes washing (no Laundromat here!) and general housekeeping. We plan to leave early tomorrow (the gate opens a half hour earlier from 1^st August i.e. 07h00) for Nossop (3 nights) and Polentswa, a camp in Botswana (3 nights).