Reviews of Mdonya Old River Camp

"The lack of electricity gave the camp a special atmosphere and we didn't miss it at all.
We appreciated the matching of a guide to our interests (birdwatching, in particular) which meant that we learnt more and enjoyed our activities without boring other guests who weren't interested in birds.
The staff were helpful and reactive when asked, but there was a slight lack of quality control around the rooms (toilet paper not being replenished over three days) which could have been improved upon.

Overall it was a friendly camp and the open site, with animals walking through, made it one that we would recommend." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"We found the whole stay outstanding.

The layout of the camp was excellent - wonderfull to have the animals wandering around the camp. The management was excellent - Alex was outstanding and the staff generally were a great team. Our guide, Kahimba, was superb, very knowledgable and gave us a very good understanding of the environment, as well as taking us to animals with his exceptional tracking skills.

The whole atmosphere in the camp was very good - other guests were relaxed and easy and we enjoyed to social bits of the camp, particularly eating as a group. The tents were well appointed and equipped, and very comfortable." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

"would like to congratulate mdonya on providing an excellent safari experience, every detail was to the highest standard and the camp had a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere" See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

"Superb location and food. However we were let down by the organisation and guiding.

The standard of our guide was poor to say the least and on one drive spent 4 hours talking to the driver and we were doing all our own spotting." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania

"Mdonya was the first stop on our very first safari holiday and it completley exceeded our expectations.

The staff were very welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable, the camp was comfortable and the attention to detail really made it.

Even our fellow guests were all very friendly and we really enjoyed sitting round the camp fire in the evening discussing the days tales." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania

"For our first safari this camp was ideal, and was a nice balance between luxury and simplicity, and really gave us an outdoors experience. The tents look amazing inside, beautifully clean, well kept and decorated. As the camp was at full capacity and one vehicle down, we had to share game drives, but luckily we all got on well! The food was of a good standard, but the portions a little on the small side. As it was our honeymoon, the manager Alex arranged for us to have dinner on our veranda on one evening with 'champagne' on the house which was a lovely touch.

Our safari driver and guide were incredibly knowledgeable and clearly experienced, and great fun at the same time. Alex was very welcoming and attentive, and gave us the end tent which afforded us great views down the old riverbed of plenty of animals which often wandered within several feet of the tent.

As it was a honeymoon, we would have preferred not to have communal meals, although this not a problem, and was enjoyable to share stories of which animals we had all seen that day." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"biggest disappointment was that we had to share a land rover with 5 others!
also no leopard/wild dogs/cheetah were sighted which given the information
the camp itself met expectations
the other wildlife especially lions/elephant & giraffe sightings were excellent" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"After a detour to watch lions & jackal feeding on a giraffe carcass on the way from the airstrip, we were welcomed by Alex, our host who was really friendly & made us feel at home instantly. We were impressed at the standard of the tents which were very comfortable & we loved the bush-bathroom (good hot shower but I kept dropping the soap through the wooden floor slats!!) We both agreed that this was our favourite camp due to the intimacy created by gathering together to share stories with a drink around the fire before moving to dine together under the stars - amazing.

The food was plentiful & very homely & tasty, served by quietly efficient staff who were always on hand to topup an empty glass!The lounge tent area was comfortable,shaded & well stocked with books & photo albums (not that we seemed to have any spare time to relax in there!) The guides were extremely knowledgeable on animals & their behaviour, birds, vegetation & habitat as well as tracking etc. We felt safe, having the Masai as our eyes & ears, but excitingly close to nature, waking up in the night to see an elephant next to our tent on one side & a pair of dik-dik on the other!

The whole set up was flexable to any requests (eg if we were late arriving back or needed an earlier breakfast, & Alex managed to produce a toothbrush as David had forgotton his!) & we felt we learned such a lot & became 'part of the family' even though we were only there for 3 nights (sadly!). We loved the vastness of the area around & the fact that we only once encountered a group of vehicles (at a cheetah sighting!) We covered huge areas in the jeep, stopping for a tasty bush lunch by the river - very well appointed table & cool box to boot!

Our driver was very competent & that meant that we had the sole attention of our guide, Khahimba(?) who impressed us so much with his knowledge & also his passion for the principles of educating the local people who had been moved to outside the National Park area & did not always accept that poaching should not be permitted. Would highly recommend this camp to those with a love of nature, away from hustle & bustle & can honestly not think of any negative points. Just remembered the lovely home-made breakfast muffins!mmmm!" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"This is an exceptional camp and we had a wonderful time here.

Alex, the manager is outstanding and sensitive, thoughtful, warm and friendly, we were very, very well looked after and as in Lake Manze camp loved the 50s feel of the camp, the simplicity of the facilities and thoughtful service made for an excellent safari experience, with all the comforts of being a colonial." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"Wonderful country, green with lots of trees, and a very remote camp (2 hours drive from the airstrip).

One had to drive further to see game than in Selous, but we really felt we were in the wild. The only minus was the tse tse flies in some areas. Burning elephant dung proved effective! Great hospitality from Nicole and Giles and very good food, especially considering how remote it was. Spaciously laid out camp and very comfortable, clean bug free tents.

Plenty of wildlife (elephant, lion, leopard, and again our guide and driver (Chombo and Nite) were very good company and excellent at spotting game. We agree with your advice not to take a walking tour here: we would not have felt safe with the Park's guides and it is much more remote." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar