Reviews of Mdonya Old River Camp

"I can't say enough good things about Mdonya.

Arriving at the Ruaha air strip we were greeted by Prosper and Emmanuel who would be our guide and driver for our entire trip. They drove us just a short way to a nice covered area by the Ruaha river and set up the first of what would be steady stream of delicious meals. After lunch they took us on a short game drive as we made our way to the camp. It became apparently right away that having a separate guide and drive was a huge advantage as it let Emmanuel do his expert work of keeping the truck pointing forward, while Prosper was able to use his seemingly endless knowledge of the wildlife and vegetation to explain nearly everything we set our eyes on.

Before I go too much further, I just want to say that Prosper and Emmanuel were absolutely terrific over our entire trip. They took our endless questions with knowledge and good humor, and were just excellent companions for our trip. Having our bush breakfasts and lunches with their company was a joy. On our first full day out, the truck we were in broke down just about as far out from camp as we could have been. Once they realized we'd be stuck for a bit, they went out a bit and found a lovely shade tree, set up a table, chairs, and lunch, and made what could have been rough outing into a charming little adventure. Again, I can't say enough about how great they both were.

Once we got to camp, we were greeted at the gate (as we were each time we returned) by managers Rebecca and Andrea. The trend in service started with Prosper and Emmanuel was continued here and both Rebecca and Andrea were outstanding hosts. We knew we were arriving early, but it turned out we were the first visitors of the season and would be the only guests for a few days. Given this, it might have been reasonable to expect the camp to hold back a bit until they had more guests, but the opposite was true: we spent our first two days in camp having amazing breakfasts and dinners with Rebecca and Andrea - just the 4 of of us sitting out under the stars with great food and great conversation. Both of them are clearly passionate about the camp, the animals, and the land - and it's something that comes through and makes for a special experience.

Speaking of meals - the food was amazing. Both my finance and I are vegetarian and the camp was not only accommodating, they seemed to go out their way to come up with dishes that novel and delicious.

As for the camp itself, it's terrific. Luxurious in all the ways one might want, but nothing that makes you feel disconnected from nature. As others have mentioned, all the animals make their way through the camp, and while were there we were lucky enough to have a couple elephants, a few gazelle, and even a couple hyena visit. We've heard it's not uncommon to see even more! We were a little worried going into this that it might be a little nerve racking to have so much wildlife wandering about the camp as we slept, but the opposite turned out to be true: it's a really magical experience and left us feeling really connected to wilderness around us. We toyed with the idea of staying a lodge, but are so glad we picked Mdonya instead. If you're goal with your safari is experience something that is perhaps close to what it might have been like to visit this area 100 years ago - the sounds, the animals, but also the style and the comfort of a top flight camp - this is your place.

If it sounds like I'm gushing - I am. I love this place, I may have gained about 10 pounds with all the great food, but I can't wait to come back." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Weather different here - cooler (21) at night but still up to 35 C daytime as less humid. Unfortunately the area has tsetse flies and its almost impossible to avoid getting bitten in some areas (both geographically and physically !!)

Landscape very different with rolling countryside and big hills. Camp is more rustic but still attractive and food is adequate.

Highlights -- leopard with small kudu kill up a tree, mating pair of lions, getting hit by a torrential thunderstorm, massive herd of elephants - about 100, cheetah with impala kill, Jumanne's guiding and Edmond's driving." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"Brilliant wildlife viewing, including leopard amongst the 30 odd different species. The guide Emmanuel, and driver Daniel did everything they could to find the wildlife that I really wanted to see, including Oribi and Klipspringer.

Problem with something in the tent biting both myself and my wife at night making a bit of a mess of both of us." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania

"Many special thanks to Mary, Emannuel and Thomas. Mary is the Camp Manager, Emannuel is a guide and Thomas is a driver. They made my stay very special.

The Camp is beautiful, I LOVED the wild feel of it, having my tent surrounded by wildlife at night. The Masaai were great, all the staff were very helpful and polite. Mary's attention to detail is great.

Emannuel is a very knowledgeable guide, he kept testing my own knowledge too which I appreciated :-). I was lucky enough again to have a car, a guide and a driver to myself. Thomas drove probably around 150kms a day for us as we went out on these all-day safaris. Lots of lion, leopard, elephant sightings, I have some great leopard photos. We explored the Park thoughout because I was so curious and wanted to see different habitats. It just looked and felt so different from anything I have seen before. Beautiful wilderness.

I had a great time, the guys worked so hard. Loved my stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"Nicole was filling in for the normal manager, but did a brilliant job of making sure we got to do what we wanted-full or part day safari. Very anxious to be as helpful as possible. For various reasons we ended up having 3 different guides and drivers-not their fault at all, but didn't lead to good continuity. Good sighting and all of them very ken to show us as much as possible." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"An excellent bush camp - clean, comfortable, and friendly staff to tend for your needs. It had a real feeling of being right in the bush with elephants and other wildlife coming right up to your tent night and day.

As our stay at Mdonya Old River Camp was 6 nights it was good to have the same guide for the duration of our stay as he knew where we had been and what we had seen. We enjoyed the flexibility of the game drives, being able to choose how long we were out and where we should go. Many thanks to our guide Emmanuel for our constant requests for full day drives!" See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania

"Very much like its sister camp - Lake Manze - is a very comfortable and well ran camp. All the activities at the camp are well organised with very good drivers and guides. Where there is a slight difference between the two camps is in the animals at the two parks.

At Mdonya, the animals are much more likely to come in / near the camp and on the drives are much less likely to be spoked by the Jeeps due to the nature of this being a national park rather than a game reserve." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"The camp manager Mary was an excellent host making sure all our needs were met,and a big thankyou to Kahimba our guide and Emmanuel our driver." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania

"We stayed 3 nights in Mdonya in July 14.

Whilst we were there a rep from a tour company (not Expert Africa) was there assessing the place. One of the criteria she had to give it a good rating was whether they provided free cotton earbuds. Mdonya don't. But seriously - if you want to see animals and have free cotton earbuds, book in to a hotel in Park Lane and go to London zoo. Alternatively, if you want to see African wildlife in as natural surroundings as you are ever likley to find in Africa now then go to Mdonya.

The rooms are fine - its actually fun to shower with no roof over your head! The beds were large and comfortable. The food was exceptionally good with a wide variety of choice- we had the best vegetable curry we have ever tasted there.

The game viewing was good and guides knowledgeable - it was all done by safari vehicle - there were no walking trips available - but we had been warned in advance that was likely to be the case because of anti-poaching measures in Ruaha." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"Mdonya provided a perfect start to our holiday, by way of a very authentic feeling safari experience. There was tonnes of game around the camp - and sometimes in the camp - with elephants, giraffe and impala all making an appearance around our tent during our stay. The standard of guiding was very good, so we got to see and experience a lot in our three days here.

The food and service was also very good and the tented accommodation comfortable. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would recommend Mdonya to anyone looking for a very real safari experience with lots of animal sightings." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar