Pretoria - The Mata-Mata Rest Camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) was officially re-opened yesterday after an upgrade of its facilities.
The rest camp, on the South African side of the Namibian border of the KTP, now boasts eight brand new thatched chalets, along with the refurbished older chalets.
Mata-Mata is the smallest of the traditional camps in the KTP, the others being Nossob and Twee Rivieren. The Kgalagadi Park is situated approximately 250km from Upington in the far Northern Cape and is about 904 km from Johannesburg. It also comprises an area of over 3.6 million hectares which is one of very few conservation areas of this magnitude left in the world.
The design and fittings of all of the accommodation sites maximises energy efficiency for the sometimes harsh climatic conditions of the Kalahari.
Chief Executive of the South African National Parks, Dr David Mabunda, said that the new-look camp fits in better with the landscape of the park and is an excellent investment for SANParks considering that the KTP runs on a 90-95% occupancy through the year.
"As SANParks, we strive to provide sustainable facilities that afford the necessary comforts to our visitors who require such, because we understand the crucial role played by tourism to our parks, in helping us achieve our conservation mandate.
"We are certain that the visitors to Mata-Mata will enjoy the new ambience of the camp and feel more at one with nature for many years to come," said Mabunda.
