Reviews of Tafika
(98%) From 270 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Tafika review
We were in the family suite which was simply fabulous. Great location and the food and our hosts were superb.
Read more about the whole safariTafika review
We really enjoyed our stay at Tafika.
The location right on the river was fantastic and we found the atmosphere wonderfully relaxed and welcoming, due in no small part to the warm and inclusive hosting of Carol and John and the unfailing patience and empathy of the delightful Michele. It was also great to be assigned the family chalet, which seemed perhaps a bit more secluded than some of the other rooms and had the added amazing bonus of having its own hide.
Although we initially anticipated doing some walking at Tafika we actually ended up focusing on game drives, but felt that this was OK given that our other Remote Africa camps focused on walking. That said, and knowing all too well that nothing on safari can ever be guaranteed, we felt that sightings on game drives could be a little 'stop-start' and that a visit perhaps slightly later in the season might have resulted in the game being a bit more concentrated? The sense of exclusivity was very nice however and we barely encountered another vehicle.
Lovely Tafika
This was our third visit to Tafika and was every bit as good as the previous visits.
Everyone involved in the running of Tafika from the Bosses to the night watchmen are very cheerful and helpful.
A visit to South Luangwa would not be the same with out a visit to Tafika.
A charming institution
The drive in to Tafika, through the Game Reserve and then the National Park, was depressing because of the amount of burnt land, and then the numbers of dead mopane trees standing. But Tafika itself is a vibrant and attractive camp, obviously an institution of long standing. It glories in the fresh food from its gardens and the obvious long-term family care it embodies, and has many very happy repeat visitors, though for us it felt a little large and busy,
Location:
Tafika's gardens are possible because it is not actually in the National Park, but it feels as if it is, with a beautiful site on the bank of the Luangwa River and immediate access to the wildlife world.
Accommodation:
The rooms are solid, beautifully detailed and comfortable, though a little enclosed at night for our taste.
Activities;
The game drives were very good, with plenty of sightings of birds, elephant, bushbuck, hippos, crocodiles, baboons, leopards, big herds of buffalo, giraffes, zebra. Night drives showed us hyenas ( in pairs rather than groups, as they apparently focus on stealing leopard kills rather than hunting in that area), genets, elephant shrews, scrub hares and a chameleon. Lloyd's guiding was excellent.
David went for a bicycle ride with founder John Coppinger and a few others - an interesting variation.
As our next few camps would be walking ones we didn't do walking from here.
Fantastic Tafika
From start to finish our time at Tafika was wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed excellent game drives with Mukupa and were occasionally accompanied by Lloyd, Moffat and Nick. We had fantastic sightings of so many things: too many to list really but a buffalo heard of 600 strong, stands of giraffe and beautiful sightings of leopard, lion and wild dogs certainly stay in our minds eye. The bird life is just amazing and the landscape is breath taking. We also thoroughly enjoyed bush walks led by Amon, Issac and Mukupa and Moffat. Nothing beats being out in the bush environment on foot, in our opinion. Although we did also sample the delights of cycling which was just great!
Having stayed here on other occasions it did not surprise us to find that the Tafika team had pulled out all the stops as usual. The rooms are lovely, well appointed and are kept spotlessly clean. All the meals provided by the catering team led by Rona were just lovely. We especially enjoyed the lunches. Freshly prepared food, much of it grown in the garden and on every occasion always served hot and with a really interesting menu. Rona and team seem totally unfazed by any dietary requirements!
You are always sure of a friendly welcome from John and Carol (the owners) now joined by Jenny and Nick (the next generation) and also Heather who ensures that your stay is the most interesting and well supported as it can possibly be.
We always find it really hard to leave Tafika, no matter how long our stay has been and we just can't wait to return.
Tafika
We could not have asked for more convivial camps! We stayed at Tafika, Chikkoko, Crocodile and Mawleshi camps, and all camps were very comfortable with a friendly, welcoming, and efficient staff. Truly an experience to be repeated!
Read more about the whole safariTafika review
As before excellent place to stay.
[Ed. see below]
Amongst other animals we also saw genet, bushy tailed mongoose and a monitor lizard.
Wonderful camp on the anks of the Luangwa
Beautiful position, wonderful food, great staff. Can't fault anything
Read more about the whole safariTafika review
We were again (our second visit) greeted by owners Carol and John Coppenger and daughter Jen.
This camp is perfect for us... low key, relaxed, professional. Accommodations are comfortable: thatched roof and walls, private baths with private open air showers. Not fancy, but comfortable and very nice. Exactly what we wanted our children and grandchildren to see and experience. As close to open-air camping as possible yet completely safe.
The guides at Tafika are outstanding professionals. A walking tour with Isaac is highly recommended: hippos, a pride of lions, birds, et. al. Cooper and Lloyd are highly knowledgeable, and able to keep everyone aged 11 to 74 engaged and excited.
The common space is large, open and comfortable. We ate most dinners under the stars in perfect weather. The game drives were uniformly excellent.
As far as we are concerned, Tafika is a must.
Tafika
Exactly what we requested - we asked for remote and we got it. On game drives there were no other vehicles other than Tafika vehicles in that part of the National Park. For those spending more time there than we did, there were lots of activities available, microlight flight, walks, bicycle safari as well as game drives.
Food excellent - we really appreciated the home grown vegetables at every meal.
The Coppinger family were always around, making you feel very welcome and it gave it more of a feel of staying in their home and not an impersonal hotel. The staff were always welcoming, drive guides extremely knowledgeable and always ready to pass on information and to personalise it with their own experiences.
Lots of animals and birds, although the leopard eluded us (although others while we were there did see leopard). Not seeing one wasn't for lack of trying by our guide on our last drive!
