Reviews of Tafika
Wildlife sightings and reviews
318 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Tafika and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
87% success
92% success
45% success
100% success
99% success
99% success
97% success
92% success
91% success
49% success
11% success
3% success
2% success
0% success
0% success
"Traditional Tafika"
Our stay was marred by Judy feeling quite ill for 36 hours and unable to take part in all the activities but on the second day she was able to sit outside by the river and watch the wildlife, including quite remarkably, the birth of a young Puku - something the owners had not seen in the 40 years they'd been in Africa. The game drives were full of wildlife experiences including lions, elephants, leopards and many species of birds - fantastic photographic opportunities.
The owners, Carole and John, were very keen to ensure Judy was taken good care of and did their very best to get appropriate food and drinks for her. In the end, a doctor who was visiting another guest checked her over and assured us that it was nothing serious and that she would recover, which she duly did." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia
"great place, great guiding, great place"
John and Carol Coppinger have 'got it right'." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
"Our favourite lodge"
Thanks (again) for the birthday cake and serenade." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
"Return to Tafika"
I do think that there is some restrictions as to where one can drive to view the game; the Salt Pan route appeared to have problems with mosquitos and tsetse fly and so visits were not frequent.
As usual the river though provided a pleasing focus, for sunsets.
Mona's food was excellent -- particularly lunch." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
"Tafika Review"
The owners, John and Carol Coppinger are very gracious and good hosts, joining their guests for most meals. The staff is attentive and helpful. The guides, led by Brian, are quite good. They don’t use radios in their vehicles (except for emergencies), so if one guide finds something of interest, there’s no way to share that information with the others. However, as Brian pointed out, without radios, the vehicles are quieter, and there’s no chance of the guides’ abusing their use.
The camp is located in the Nsefu sector of the South Luangwa Park, and it seemed to me and my group that the area covered in the game drives is quite a bit less than at other camps (Kaingo and Mwamba, as examples). This led to our retracing our steps in almost every drive. Granted, you still see different things, but sometimes the scenery felt repetitive. That said, we did see a lot of different birds and animals.
Alex was our guide. He was easy to be with and very knowledgeable; however, at times he was unnecessarily aggressive with animals in order to get them to react (e.g., driving fast through a group of buffalo and again through a group of elephants). Also, the guides, as a group, seemed to be competitive toward one another, rather than mutually supportive as we found at other camps." See all these reviews: 17n in Zambia
"Return to Tafika"
It was the first time in Africa for my wife and she immediately felt relaxed with the very high professionalism of the whole team." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
Our lodge looked basic from the outside but when one entered it was quite luxurious.
All the staff were friendly, professional, and always available to help.The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and made our walking safari and game drives fun and educational.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that we probably owe our lives to Steven and Justin, our guides, and Ronaldo our Scout. When we were charged by a very angry bull elephant it was only their quick thinking and training that kept us from harm. We had never run so fast in our lives.
The catering is absolutely incredible with every meal being a delight. How this is achieved in the bush I don't know. You do not lose weight at Tafika.
We enjoyed our time at Tafika and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody visiting South Luangwa." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia
"Too short a time at Tafika"
This was our third visit to Tafika and when we arrived we were greeted like old friends even though it was four years since we last visited. There were many familiar faces. One new face - Tatti - is a real asset to the camp, being friendly, engaging and pro-active.
The rooms, décor and routine were all comfortingly familiar - when something works so well you don't need to change it.
Guiding, as usual, from Bryan and Lloyd was of the highest standard." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
"Too rushed"
"Tafika review"
Enough said!" See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
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