Giraffe Safari: Day-by-day

Unique, owner-run and with genuinely warm hospitality, Tafika combines some of Zambia's best guiding with great food and strong community connections. Tafika is rustic luxury at its best: rooms constructed with golden reeds, an elevated riverside setting, excellent cuisine and top-notch guiding.

Spread out on the banks of the Luangwa River, it's a captivating camp. Most guests are return visitors and it's easy to see why they come back time and time again. Owners John and Carol Coppinger have lived here for over 20 years, bringing up their children here, and welcoming guests to their corner of the Luangwa. Their daughter Jennifer, herself a qualified guide, and her husband Nick now skillfully manage the lodge alongside them, bringing new ideas to this experienced team, yet retaining same calm efficiency and authenticity that have long given Tafika its down-to-earth, family feel.

The camp itself is lovely. Only 6 chalets, spread across lush lawns, are ingenious. Crafted from reeds and thatch, they're rebuilt every year after the rains, and filled with home comforts amid the rustic ambience – huge beds with colourful linen from local business Tribal Textiles, USB charging ports, flushing toilets and hot showers under the stars.

From delicious meals, shared with the super team, to a productive wildlife hide at the centre of camp; fresh coffee round the campfire at dawn to the excellent safari activities – it’s a treat to stay here.

"a fabulous location... the game viewing is superb"

Mrs WfromUK

Arrived 14 Oct 2023, 3 nights

Guiding is second to none: by bicycle, 4x4 or on foot. And consider walking to Tafika’s sister camps along the Chikoko Trails to get a real sense of Luangwa’s wilderness, with people who know the wildlife and landscape here like the back of their hands. See our full report on Tafika

Few places offer a greater opportunity to escape from the outside world than the remote and intimate Takwela. At the confluence of the Luangwa and Mwaleshi rivers, it feels at one with its wilderness setting.

Sit on the riverbank in front of your chalet and watch the hippos wallowing below – or listen from your comfortable bed to their grunts echoing across the water.

By all means roll down the canvas flap at the front of your chalet at night, but to keep it open is to feel more in tune with the environment. Open-air showers with reed walls accentuate that feel, while simple kikois can be used to temper the extremes of heat.

The natural world is key to the chitenge too: a U-shaped central area where mature trees help to support the high thatched roof. Settle down with a drink or a book, enjoy lunch in the shade, or take time spotting wildlife that’s drawn to the lagoon behind camp.

"The guiding by Moffat was excellent. All the staff were friendly and helpful. "

MAHfromSt Albans

Arrived 6 Sep 2023, 2 nights

To explore the North Luangwa, where visitors are something of a rarity, is to marvel at the park’s remoteness. Whether viewed from the air on an incoming flight, or from an open-topped 4WD, or on foot, it instils a sense of wonder – a world interpreted by guides who are passionate about this near-untouched corner of Zambia. See our full report on Takwela Camp

Mwaleshi is a great little walking camp with excellent guides in one of the remotest areas of Zambia One of only three camps in North Luangwa, Mwaleshi is a remote, rustic place that specialises in walking safaris.

"The best walking camp in North park! "

Mr. CfromNew Forest

Arrived 16 Oct 2023, 3 nights

If you love walking in a vast, unspoilt wilderness with simple but comfortable accommodation and good food, then Mwaleshi is the place for you. North Luangwa is one of the least commercialised national parks in Africa. Thanks to the commitment and dedication of conservation organisation Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife, it’s now thriving and offers excellent wildlife sightings. Sister camp to Tafika, Mwaleshi is part of Remote Africa Safaris, hence its guides are superb. They bring the best out of your walking experiences, often tracking big game, getting (safely) close to lions or herds of buffalo. Back at camp, enjoy the slow, relaxing pace, maybe wallowing in the Mwaleshi River or just dozing on a day bed outside the reed rooms, which are built afresh every year. The main building with a small lounge, bar and dining area, is just as relaxing and not a single nail has been used in its construction. Brightwell the chef is a genius, creating fabulous meals on an old cast-iron stove, an open fire and an earth oven. See our full report on Mwaleshi Camp