Hello Journeyers!
WOW what a hectic weeks it's been! We went to Matamba Bush Campsite a few weeks back for one night. But hopefully we will be visiting them again very soon! Let's just hope they don't get TOO popular so that we can at least still get a spot. Kidding. This place is a gem in the making! We absolutely fell in love with this place and are almost counting down the days till our next visit.
About
Matamba offers a unique camping experience. Inspired by a lifetime
of travelling in Africa, Sue and Alan Jarman have built two exclusive
upmarket bush campsites, for the discerning bush lover.
Tau Camp spread over four hectares has three individual
campsites. Drongo, Hornbill and Francolin. these sites are about 200
meters apart. Set in a beautiful open woodland this is a very tranquil,
peaceful camp..
Mara's Camp situated in the middle of the farm is a private camp
for one party only. This is an amazing camp in a thick woodland with huge
wild Syringa trees, very reminiscent of Zimbabwe or Zambia.
Both camps have rustic, but superb facilities, they
are unfenced allowing the game to wander freely through, Wake up to find a herd
of Eland or Gemsbok grazing between your tent and the bathroom, or watch
the Giraffe amble past while sipping sundowners.
It is quite a drive, you are looking at about a 3hour drive if you drive from Johannesburg, but it is perfect for a stop over if you are on your way to Botswana. The owner actually thought we were on our way to Botswana. (I wish) I love camping, but like I've mentioned before, I don't really like those campsites where you stay almost on top of each other. And that is what triggered our fancies with this place, you don't even know someone is camping next to you. As you saw in the About paragraph, there are only 3 campsites and they are about 200m apart from each other. This campsite really spoils you, firstly, you don't know you have a camping neighbour, and secondly, each campsite is at least 4 times the size of a normal campsite. Absolute bliss!
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| This camp is named after their dog - Tau! |
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| I love how they marked the taps for hot and cold. Hot = Coca Cola cap and Cold = Sprite cap |
We arrived and were met by the lovely Sue who took us to our campsite. She told us a bit about the area and what there is to do. She also gave us a map of a few wonderful hiking trails and shared a few stories of about the animals that they have there. We were situated at the campsite closest to the ablution block. Boy were we impressed with that. There is one ablution block which has 2 rooms. One room has a toilet and basin and the other is much bigger which has another toilet, basin and beautiful shower. After Cedric had a shower his response was "It felt like I was showering in a river". He loved it!
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| Attention to detail. It's the small things that count. |
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| The view you have from the toilet. haha. |
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| Communal "kitchen" area |
After setting up camp we decided that it's time to go for a little hike. And we were lucky enough to find the giraffes the lady told us about. The one giraffe gave birth a few months ago and I had to really stop myself from running to it and just cuddling it. They are so cute! I love a giraffe!
There are quite a few hiking trails and I must admit we did get a bit lost. Probably because I'm horrible with reading maps and as always Cedric trusted me when I told him where to go. Sucker! haha
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| Look how cute the baby giraffe is! |
I was very relaxed, until I saw all the animals staring at us, then my nerves started kicking in a bit and I was almost ready to run. I kept on asking Cedric. "Are you sure they won't come for us?" And he would just laugh and try and assure me that they won't. That is until the mother giraffe grunted at us. I was ready to run. So we just slowly ran walked away. We come in peace mama giraffe, promise! We also saw some Oryx by the airstrip and Elands eyeing us from behind some trees. They also have 4 waterholes, 3 man made and one a natural spring. Apparently the bird viewing is very impressive, next time I would love to just sit and wait. I still want a photo of the beautiful Woodland Kingfisher in action. Patience!
Things to do
Hiking,
Birding,
Mountain Biking,
Game viewing
Lots of shade at the campsites which is perfect because it gets really very hot
You get unlimited wood
The property is beautiful
It is extremely neat and clean, you can see that this place is the owners pride and joy.
Things that made us sad
In the warmer months it would have been nice if there was a nice splash pool just to cool off.
So yes if your idea of the perfect camping weekend is sitting next to the camp fire while a giraffe passes you then this is the place for you. Oh and this actually happened to us that evening. Absolutely spectacular. I'm just glad it wasn't the Brown Hyena = Johlet on the car as fast as 1,2,3!
Prices are - Tau Camp is R175 pppn and R85 for children under 12. Mara's Camp is R400 per campsite and first 2 people are free, thereafter R175 pppn and R85 for children under 12. Public Holiday long weekends a min of 3 nights stay is required.
You can find them HERE:
Please share with me what you think of the place if you decide to go visit.
My OJTE Star Rating is.....drum roll please!!!
Have a blessed weekend Journeyers and I cannot wait to read your comments! Stay safe! And let's hope the rain gives us a bit of a break this weekend!
Disclaimer: All
expenses were paid for by us for our trip to Matamba Bush Campsite. As always all comments
and opinions are my own. All of the content and images
posted are my own unless otherwise specified / linked to the original source.
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