DAY 8 OF A TRIP TO TANZANIA - Feb-March 2010

Day 8 - Mdonya Old River camp, Ruaha National Park

I slept very soundly till about 6.00am when I was woken by hyenas whooping nearby, followed by a loud dawn chorus which included the beautiful cadence of a Pearl-spotted Owlet.

We had a very nice mix of pleasant guests in camp; a family of Danes had just left and there were three parties of British folks and a delightful Italian couple who were visiting the camp for the third time.

Cheetah mother with cubs, Mdonya area, in the dry season previously

They went out on a game drive straight after breakfast, and immediately encountered two male lions lying in the road. They then headed on to the Mwagusi sand river and were lucky enough to see cheetah – shy and retiring immediately into the bushes.

I stayed in the office and around the camp, taking photos of the tents and the staff, for our website.

I was struck by the difference in the guides, from those of Selous. Adventure Camps have a policy of recruiting their staff locally where possible, and training them. This helps engender support in the surrounding communities. It is really important to ensure that they see the animal Reserves and Parks as a positive thing, which can provide them with jobs and income.

Most of the staff at Mdonya come from the WaHehe tribe, local to the Iringa area. They are known to be extremely brave, they fought the German occupation under their chief Mkwawa and very nearly won in spite of having inferior weapons. They are quiet and serious and attentive and perceptive. If you can tickle their sense of humour, you may be rewarded with a rare smile from them.

 

 
Photos by Micol Farina

Mdonya seems to melt into its surroundings is a haven for wildlife lovers in the rainy season. The dry bush erupts into a green paradise full of flowers, butterflies, insects and birds, and the grass seems to grow a foot a day! Micol is a Zoologist and is very knowledgeable about the environment. She will always take time to research a name of a species for you. She has also made some beautiful paintings of Ruaha butterflies. I think Mdonya is perfect for nature lovers, birders adore it as it has over 550 species of birds. In the rainy season as now, the grass grows very high, so it is more difficult to see the larger, exciting animals such as cheetah, lion and leopard, but this is more than made up for with the plethora of butterflies, insects, flowers, trees, birds and even chameleons that can be seen on game drives and in the camp.

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We sat around the campfire from about 7.30 pm, exchanging news and even showing photos on digital cameras.
Dinner was Swahili style – this is done about once a week at Manze and Mdonya, to enable the guests to sample Tanzanian fare. We had ugali (cornmeal porridge, the staple diet of large parts of Tanzania) beans, vegetable stew and some Tilapiya fish.

We heard lions roaring far away and jackals much closer. I lowered the canvas flaps over my tent entrance and windows, as it was really cool. I slipped into a sound sleep, lulled by crickets singing, punctuated by the odd bird chirrup.

.....forward to Day 9