Travel reviews by Ms M from USA

"I recently spend 6 nights at Mdonya and was impressed by its beauty and wildlife, including visits to our camp of elephant, hyena, giraffe, impala and baboons. The terrain is very varied and beautiful, with lots of baobob trees in bloom (early November). Rebecca and Andrea, who manage the camp, kept me very comfortable, and my guide Emanuely and driver Chelestino, made sure we saw and learned about a lot.

It's quite hot here during the day in November, but is cooler and more comfortable at night. You will also be dealing with tsetse flies in some areas, but it's all worthwhile.

I've done a lot of African safaris (since '91), but though we had all the comforts, this felt very remote, and that's a nice thing.

The food was delicious and they took excellent care of this vegetarian.

My only suggestion would be for Expert Africa to revise the tipping suggestions. It's $10 each for the guide, the driver, and the camp staff. This amounts to $30/day. It's not an unreasonable sum and wouldn't be an issue but for the fact that I couldn't use a credit card. Especially as I was on an 11 night safari, it makes for a lot of cash to have on hand."

"This place has honeymoon-style pampering - eucalyptus-scented wash cloths precede meals in the bush, there's a turndown service for your bed, and the very friendly staff arrives at your tent in the morning with a tray with cookies and coffee just the way you like it. The views from my tent overlooked the Rufiji river, with birds flying past and hippoes calling.

You can do boat safaris, which allow you up-close and personal encounters with many species of river birds - egrets, jacanas, weavers, herons, kingfishers and many, many beautiful bee eaters.

My expert guide was Gerard for the drives - very pleasant company, and someone very knowledgable about the bush. Very nice to be out there with someone who loves this as much as I do. I've been doing safaris for decades now, but I learn new things each time.

The food was delicious and they took great care of this vegetarian."

"Of the three camps I stayed at, Lake Manze had the best view right from the camp, with a stream of elephants sauntering by our dinner table the first night. This was the one place where I decided to take an afternoon off from game drives, and just sit and watch.

The hosts, Shawn and Milly, were warm and friendly and enthusiastic about life in the bush, and always there to see us off on a game drive, or greet us upon return. The food was excellent and they were very good about catering to the vegetarian while I was in camp.

I would have the same advice for Expert Africa here as for Mdonya - give a clearer idea about the tipping as the guide, the driver and the general staff each expect $10 per day. Also, in each camp, I was directed to a small store and encouraged to by local handicrafts. I would have not had a problem doing this, had I not been squeezed for cash. Thanks!"