Reviews of Mdonya Old River Camp

"We absolutely loved Mdonya - it was exactly what we were after when we booked. I spoke at length to Penny Hooper at Expert Africa who recommended this camp, based on our conversation.

We had the end tent, so the animals came right past; we were blockaded in the tent one morning by 4 water buffalo, we heard lions roaring nearby at night, and had a hyena hunting an Impala run straight towards us at dusk, whilst we were sitting outside with a beer!

The round the campfire bar was amazing and it was great to chat to the other guests about the days exploits. I wasn't sure at first whether communal dining would be our cup of tea (we were on honeymoon!), but in the end it proved to be one of the best aspects of the camp. We met some great people who we've stayed in touch with.

Malcolm who runs Adventurecamps was a great host and it was fascinating to hear his stories of life in the bush. (So fascinating in fact that we stayed up til 4am drinking whiskey with him round the fire listening to hyenas nearby - truly magical!). I absolutely couldn't find fault with this camp, though it's definitely for people who want to be close to nature.

During our stay in Ruaha we saw so many animals - including leopard which was a real highlight. The guides / drivers were fantastic - we're convinced they've all got super-human powers of sight. We can't wait to go back - especially if the camps plans to do trekking and fly-camping come to fruition." See all these reviews: 9n in Mozambique; 7n in Tanzania

"Mdonya Old River was a 'real' safari experience, comfortable but basic accommodation, dining by candlelight under the stars, being visited by Buffalo and Elephant over dinner - all amounts to a fabulous experience. There was no false pretence, the camp was designed for people wanting to experience Africa, and was visited by people with the same philosophy.

Nick, our host, was relaxed, informative, and very personable, quietly ensuring everyone was getting the best out of the camp and the game drives.

As a family of 4 we were delighted to have had the personal touch of a vehicle to ourselves, and accompanied by the same driver and guide (Bakari and Geovanni) throughout our stay. They were excellent and informative guides, going out of their way to show us the magnificent variety of landscape and wildlife in the Ruaha.

We had several close encounters with lion and elephant, most memorably with one young bull who suggested we should move the landrover hastily away from his family and their calves. Certainly got the heart beating !

There was a fabulous variety of bird and animal life in the Ruaha, that we experienced without the interuption of any other vehicle crowding the scene, and on some days rarely seeing another vehicle at all.

We believe there is 'an unwritten rule' that there should never be more than one vehicle viewing at a time - this really does enhance the experience. No leopards, sadly, however with lion, jackal, hyena, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, hippo, crocs, impala, kudu, warthog, dik dik, ....... and many more, we thoroughly enjoyed Mdonya.

One final footnote - another close encounter ! With the camp being a regular site for visiting animals, we were rudely awoken in the early hours by an elephant trumpeting right outside our tent. With his shadow passing by tent no more than 10ft away, he proceeded to strip the tree of bark next to the corner of the tent. Everything was silent except for his munching and my wife's heart beating ! A great experience for those wanting to really appreciate Tanzania." See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania