Marataba Conservation Camps
Marakele National Park, South Africa
Meet Matt
My rating
Experiential
Price guide
£££££
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Why we love it
Marataba, a 21,000 hectare privately managed section of the Marakele National Park, is uniquely located in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains where the lush bushveld gives way to the Kalahari sands in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. As a contractual national park, Marataba is one of South Africa’s most innovative conservation models. Marataba has now introduced two new conservation camps to protect the area’s diverse flora and fauna through hands-on conservation practices that can be enjoyed by the guests.
Founders Camp, made up of four suites, can be taken on an exclusive use basis and is ideal for families. The camp overlooks the Matlabas River, which attracts a variety of wildlife which can be enjoyed from the large decks belonging to each suite. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas, an interactive kitchen and a swimming pool. A private guide and vehicle is included within each booking to offer maximum flexibility to the guests.
Meanwhile, Explorers Camp can be taken on a semi-exclusive basis accommodating up to twelve adults and two children. The camp is made up of five canvas tents, a family tent and comes with two guides and vehicles. Explorers Camp enjoys spectacular views of the Waterberg mountain range and an active waterhole can be seen from both the tents and the main area. The camp comes with a swimming pool and a large fenced garden so is very family-friendly.
Both camps offer interactive and enriching experiences all centered around various conservation projects. The activities are dynamic and fun and each one can be tailored to you. Activities include day and night game drives, boating, wild walking (16+), family-friendly nature walks, tracking, monitoring & compiling ID kits of key species, camera trap set up, transect walks, game census logging, Park Control Centre technology, tree planting & land rehabilitation, rare species monitoring and identification, visits to the Marataba Research and Rewilding Centre.
Explore Marataba on day and night game drives and boat cruises with your guide and spot the resident wildlife.
Wildlife monitoring and management is a core function of Marataba’s conservation team and we encourage you to get involved where you can.
Join the monitoring team and telemetry track collared cheetah. Walk into the sighting, assess animal behaviour and report back to the conservation team.
Contribute to the camera trap network establishment and purchase a camera trap to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens in the Park during the day and night.
Learn how to identify rhinos through their ear notches. This experience can be done at any stage on a game drive and from just looking at these magnificent animals, you start to understand some of the work and monitoring that takes place.
Participate in monitoring and walking the fence line for a snare patrol check. This activity starts with learning how easily snares are made, how they are set up and the damage and fatalities caused to wildlife.
Start planning your truly bespoke itinerary by contacting one of our destination specialists.
Call +44 (0)203 137 1247
Call +1 (0) 800 635 8124
OR
Missy & Harry
Absolutely amazing holiday. Garonga is heaven! We did everything possible and our guide was brilliant and hilarious. I can definitely recommend True Travel for their excellent advice and professionalism – they clearly are very knowledgeable about where they send their clients and made sure we had a worry-free holiday that perfectly suited us. We were particular grateful for the collection off our flight and help onto our transfer in Johannesburg, which included a very nifty queue jump due to their reputation!
Start planning your truly bespoke itinerary by contacting one of our destination specialists.
Call +44 (0)203 137 1247
Call +1 (0) 800 635 8124
OR