Abstract We conducted a search for $\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$ emission of the gas-rich galaxies in the Vela region (260○ ≤ ℓ ≤ 290○, −2○ ≤ b ≤ 1○) to explore the Vela Supercluster (VSCL) at Vhel ∼ 18000 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$, largely obscured by Galactic dust. Within the mostly RFI-free band (250 < Vhel < 25000 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$) of MeerKAT, the analysis focuses on 157 hexagonally distributed pointings extracted from the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey located in the Vela region (Vela−SMGPS). These were combined into 10 contiguous mosaics, covering a ∼90 deg2 area. Among the 843 $\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$ detected sources, 39 were previously discovered in the Parkes HIZOA survey (Vhel < 12000 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$; rms ∼ 6 $\rm mJy\, beam^{-1}$). With the improved rms level of the Vela−SMGPS, i.e., 0.29 − 0.56 $\rm mJy\, beam^{-1}$, our study unveils nearly 12 times more detections (471 candidates) in that same velocity range. We furthermore could identify 187 galaxy candidates with an $\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$ mass limit reaching $\log (M_{\rm HI}/\rm {\rm M}_{\odot }) = 9.44$ in the VSCL velocity range Vhel ∼ 19500 ± 3500 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$. We find indications of two wall-like overdensities that confirm the original suspicion that these walls intersect at low latitudes around longitudes of ℓ ∼ 272○ − 278○. We also find a strong signature most likely associated with the Hydra/Antlia extension and evidence of a previously unknown narrow filament at Vhel ∼ 12000 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$. This paper demonstrates the efficiency of systematic $\textrm {H}\, \scriptstyle \mathrm{I}$ surveys with the SKA precursor MeerKAT, even in the most obscured part of the Zone of Avoidance (ZOA).