MDONYA OLD RIVER- Think wild. We want you to THINK WILD! Ruaha national park is the biggest and wildest national park in Tanzania. And we want you to get lost in it! We want you to feel the real wilderness, far from everybody else, with only wild animals as our companions. Nothing can make you understand you are an animal yourself more then the roar of a lion next to your ear! When we understand we are animals ourselves, we shall surely become aware of the importance of their protection and conservation. In a way, a stay at Mdonya Old River Camp, is a journey to meet our very ancient roots, a time when we were actually part of the bush ourselves, in harmony and equal to all other creatures. You will fly to the heart of Tanzania, in the center of the country, to a plateau located a thousand meters high at the footstep of the Rift valley. That is where the Mdonya Old River is. Even though we are animals, we do like to have all our comforts but be extremely light footed.

MDONYA OLD RIVER- Think wild. We want you to THINK WILD! Ruaha national park is the biggest and wildest national park in Tanzania. And we want you to get lost in it! We want you to feel the real wilderness, far from everybody else, with only wild animals as our companions. Nothing can make you understand you are an animal yourself more then the roar of a lion next to your ear! When we understand we are animals ourselves, we shall surely become aware of the importance of their protection and conservation. In a way, a stay at Mdonya Old River Camp, is a journey to meet our very ancient roots, a time when we were actually part of the bush ourselves, in harmony and equal to all other creatures. You will fly to the heart of Tanzania, in the center of the country, to a plateau located a thousand meters high at the footstep of the Rift valley. That is where the Mdonya Old River is. Even though we are animals, we do like to have all our comforts but be extremely light footed.

Flying with a drone over Mdonya Old River in the peak of the dry season. The essence of the wilderness!

Mdonya Old River Camp is only seasonally visited by elephants. Bulls are almost daily visitors, while females and babies are seldom in camp and normally only passing. You will have them feeding at the tree next to your tent, walking in front the dining tent or resting under the shade of one of the camp’s acacias, particularly during the dry season. Occasionally somebody like Charlie, Sikio Mbovu or Louis will stay with us longer, not in a hurry to follow the call of the first rain. In the dry season, the Mdonya Area offers them what they are looking for. Food: Umbrella trees, Acacia Tortilis, and Winter Thorn, Faidherbia Albida, are the two main tree species of Mdonya’s woodland and they produce fruits during the dry season. Their legume-like seeds enrich the poor dry-season diet of the elephants. Very often you will see Charlie shaking one of the many umbrella trees of the camp and staying for an endless time collecting one by one all pods the tree just released. As soon as the fruit season is over, only one other reason will make elephants stay in the area: water. Water: In the dry season, Mdonya River provides the only water source available in 20 km range. At the very end of the dry season Mdonya’s sand river will show only few superficial ponds of water dirtied by all possible animals living in the area. But elephants can access the lower level of water by digging up to a meter in the sand, guaranteeing to themselves and to all other species, clean sand-filtered water. In November Mdonya’s sand river can be occupied by 50-60 elephants at a time, breeding groups and male bulls. The sand river will have the look of a treasure field where every square meter has been investigated in search of the loot.