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Kalahari capitalism

18/10/2010

12 Comments

 
Capitalism is alive and well in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park; it even went and moved the waterhole at Mata-Mata!

Of all the traditional old camps at Kgalagadi, Mata-Mata was always the most basic. And we loved it that way. Just five chalets and a campsite on the dry Auob riverbed in the west of the park, and a teeny-tiny shop that sold little more than cold drinks, a few packets of dried-out biscuits and a rudimentary choice of tinned food. 

When we first went there, you even had to go on a small hike to get to the bathrooms and kitchens at the back of the chalets, while a trip to the outhouse long-drop was an adventure that took you in the torchlight to the edge of the fence, along the border with Namibia.

As for the campsite, its unique charm was that you could sit comfortably in your sagging camp chair watching a herd of gemsbok or wildebeest drinking at the waterhole only 15 or 20 metres away. Meerkat and ground squirrels might be centre stage for a while, scrabbling for food in the dry riverbed just in front of your nose. 

While you were braaing your lamb chops in the late afternoon a spotted hyena might come sniffing along the fence, eager to discover the source of the fascinating aroma. 

A little later, his cousin the shaggy brown hyena might visit the waterhole for a drink and you’d be able to pick him out with your spotlight from the comfort of your tent. A stopover from one of the bigger cats was also sure to draw a crowd.

But all this is in the past, a victim of a management philosophy that appears to think visitors booking at the eight larney new chalets overlooking the riverbed have more right to a view of the waterhole than scruffy old campers. 

So they simply moved it. 

From the campsite, you’d now need a pair of binoculars and a fat crick in your neck to watch the goings on at the relocated waterhole. 

It’s discrimination of the most callous kind. Yes, I know campers are paying just R150 for a campsite whereas the new chalets cream a whopping R1450. But why should that make a difference? On the four nights we were recently at Mata-Mata, the fancy new villas were almost exclusively the province of foreigners on tours, with the odd local driving a top-end 4x4 costing about a million bucks. 

There’s a perfectly good hide right in front of the old waterhole, which now rather pointlessly looks out on nothing but a pile of rocks. 

Would it have been too much to ask the posh chalet visitors to toddle along to the hide to view the old waterhole? 

I don’t think so. 

But as things are in the new order, they’re the only ones who have access to the new waterhole and no one has thought to build the rest of us plebs a hide to share in its bounty. 

My argument is a simple one. Since the chalets boast microwave ovens and air-conditioners and DSTV with plasma screens, why not let their occupants play with their gadgets and leave us poor campers, who have nothing else to do, to watch the animals at the old waterhole? 

At least we remember why we came here in the first place.

(If you strongly agree or disagree, please leave a comment below and let’s hear your opinions!)

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
12 Comments
Cheryl
18/10/2010 03:34:12 pm

I am sure even the animals themselves would agree with that. The Kgalagadi is a tough ,hardy, special place, not to be changed to accomodate spoilt pampered visitors .

Reply
carol
19/10/2010 05:40:18 am

Sadly money talks - sounds like KTP or SANPARKS are going the way of Botswana -Unless you have mega bucks they dont want you in the parks - catering exclusively to the foreign tourist who pay in foreign exchange. Next thing will be concessions and us ordinary South Africans will be excluded from our natural heritage.

Reply
Garth Main
28/10/2010 06:52:57 am

As long time and active supporter of SANParks I do not criticise lightly. I too, however, believe strongly that the decision to cater for certain visitors (at the expense of the majority of them) by relaocating the water hole is poor decision by the Parks Management. There are undoubtedly solutions to this and a rethink must happen. I have some ideas which I will share with them when I visit again in December. This constitutes marginalisation of important stakeholders and will be source of continual discontment unless addressed holistically.

Reply
Roxanne
28/10/2010 07:24:08 am

It's great to see someone engaging constructively so here's wishing you success with finding a welcoming ear for your ideas.

Reply
Michele Nel
28/10/2010 03:58:03 pm

I am not entirely sure why this thread irks me so..but it irks me in a big way and it has nothing to do with the moving of the waterhole at Mata Mata.

I think it has more to do with statements such as....

"scruffy old campers.".....I camp but class myself as neither scruffy nor old !!!!

"Would it have been too much to ask the posh chalet visitors to toddle along to the hide to view the old waterhole? I don’t think so"...I intend to stay in these chalets at some stage or other but I do not class myself as posh...but obviously you do !!!

" rest of us plebs " preferring to camp does not make one a "pleb"

"Since the chalets boast microwave ovens and air-conditioners and DSTV with plasma screens, why not let their occupants play with their gadgets and leave us poor campers, who have nothing else to do, to watch the animals at the old waterhole?"...if we choose to stay in these chalets all those gadgets would remain unused.....you presume too much....we are also there to enjoy the animals and the surrounds.

I am wondering whether this has more to do with whether you can or cannot afford to stay in a chalet. I have visited the park 18 times ..sometimes we camp...sometimes we stay in chalets...AND because I choose to stay in a chalet sometimes I am classed as being posh !!!! Your comments are offensive to say the least.
To quote you..."It’s discrimination of the most callous kind"
I am afraid you are no better !!!!!

Reply
Roxanne
29/10/2010 12:52:52 am

Oh Michelle, I'm sorry you were so irked when in fact my intention was simply to exaggerate for effect and, hopefully, to amuse at the same time. For the record, we have also stayed in chalets on our more than 20 visits to the park (tho I have to admit we can't really afford the high prices of the new thatched ones at Mata-Mata), nor do we consider ourselves scruffy old plebs when we choose to camp!

Reply
alain
29/10/2010 03:15:48 am

Well, we don't camp (coming from overseas with all the stuff is not really easy) , but i still am disappointed by the option taken here. Not precisely this waterhole thing in particular , but the way things seem to evolve in the park. This magical place is about to be spoiled , I'm afraid...

Reply
Sara F
3/11/2010 12:19:58 pm

I kind of have to agree, it doesn't seem fair to move the waterhole for the exclusive "use" of some visitors.

But the comments about the gadgets...have you seen what some campers take with them? The cliché "including the kitchen sink" does not do them justice. Kitchen sink, portable fans, carpets, portable satellite dishes, I even saw a portable air conditioner once. Scruffy old campers? Hmm...

Reply
Roxanne
3/11/2010 02:30:11 pm

Yes, Sara F, you're right. There are campers and then there are campers. As I said in my blog post called 'Humans are strange animals' I've even seen ice-making machines taken camping! See http://roxannereid.weebly.com/1/post/2010/09/humans-are-strange-animals.html

Reply
Michiel link
10/11/2010 05:34:14 am

And so we are booked into one of these notorious chalets for mid '11... I WAS surprised at the price but initially blamed the compound effect of inflation. Glad to see we will be getting some peace and relaxation away from both the scruffy and the ice-maker variety of "campers" (tongue firmly in cheek)

Reply
Roxanne
10/11/2010 10:30:59 am

Enjoy your personal waterhole, Michiel. Perhaps one of the campers will bring a bread-making machine and the tempting aroma of yeasty bread will encourage you to offer sundowners on your viewing deck in exchange for a fresh loaf! Win-win.

Reply
Michiel link
1/8/2011 07:26:18 am

Reporting back...old news by now I'm sure, but the waterhole is (sort of) back where it was previously. PS both the campsite and chalets were occupied to near full capacity.
http://outofdoors.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/kgalagadi-transfrontier-park-june11/

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    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
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