Travel reviews by Dr & Mrs C from Henley

"Much larger than we expected and (probably) better. Good place to stay if it is necessary.

We could, in fact have caught the Mfuwe flight."

"Having been to Tafika many times before, everything there just suits us and meeting up with all the staff is like meeting friends.

John and Carol Coppinger have 'got it right'."

"It makes a change to be upstairs looking down on the wildlife.

Great walking."

"Lovely relaxed camp - animals come to the waterhole in front of the chalets - saw wild dogs at breakfast time."

"This camp really brings home that one is in North Luangwa park and much more remote.

It is wonderful for walking and tracking and the guiding was FANTASTIC"

"Some small changes to lights and lodges but remains unpretentious, comfortable, excellent food and great staff.

Walking guides are now more numerous so always a choice to use truck or to walk across the river."

"We love this simple camp and this year we saw large numbers of wildebeest, roan antelope and eland as animals move closer to river as water dries up.

Crossed the river by truck, as water level low enough, and by boat. Food just like Tafika's so excellent. Amon in 2nd year as walking guide was good with wide knowledge and friendly style.

Long talks on his family life in the closed season gave us a good insight into how hard it is. New stairs are solid and an improvement."

"We have been here 7 times and love its remoteness. River dried up opp camp which was a shame as it is normally very pretty and we like crossing it with shoes off. Flowing upstream 2K so we used truck to get there some times, which we would not normally do.

But worth it as lots of lion, buffalo and elephant activity. We were alone for all 5 days which meant we had Brent Harris as a personal guide. He is deeply experienced across the world so fascinating to talk with. His approach to guiding is different from others - he is more interested in how the bush works as an integrated whole and less on listing every tree, bush, animal we see. This is a deeper approach and conservation came the main topic which we liked. So we tracked lions often and close, spent time just watching, took care with elephants (once after swiftest move to behind a tree and lots of shouting), and loved every moment.

Note that a couple from Australia had so much luggage the plane could not take 4 of us and the top-up food supply to Mwaleshi.

They should have been told by their agent, or were just stupid!

We hear the Rhino Sanctuary, with 32 now, will extend in 2016 to include Mwaleshi."

"they continue to make small improvements without changing the bushcamp atmosphere"

"No electricity or mobiles - so what. This is a real bushcamp with no frills but comfortable and friendly. We tracked lions twice."

"Once again, on our 5th visit, this is a wonderful and remote camp. We could sit all day and watch the river action, but it is better to go on a walk of about 4 1/2 hours - upstream or downstream, across the river or down to the Confluence with the Luangwa. But our favourite is through the Winterthorn Forest to the Luangwa Dead Lagoon. Elephants everywhere and consistently beautiful with stacks of mammals. we love this place."

"Shiwa surprised us as the activities on the huge farm are so interesting, and the village children such fun. People are busy all day and everywhere, and so quite unlike the quiet bushcamps in Luangwa Valley. No predators means easy walking around the farm areas and up the hill. There are wild mammals all around which include rare Sable, Sitatunga, Letchwe and Eland readily viewable. They organise swops with other private reserves so as to get a good balance of species. Jo is an excellent bird guide and took us all round the varied parts of their estate.
It has a fascinating history as a House with an English Tradition and the important role played by Gore-Brown towards Zambian Independence in 1964 with Kaunda. The archives are in good shape and photos and original documents abound. It has the original garden layout, trees planted to his design and many cool rooms. It is a lovely spot with hills, lake, lots of space, and a local village with school and hospital. Plenty to see and do and a 3 day visit works well as a minimum.
It was cold in early Oct because of the 1500 metres height, but fires are lit every evening in bedrooms and main areas. A fleece or jacket is essential even then, whereas in Luangwa valley it was 33C at least.
Jo & Charlie could not be more friendly and hospitable, and they really put themselves out to show us how they run a successful farm and wildlife reserve such as Shiwa. Their enthusiasm and energy amazed us. Long may they continue!"

"Paul is an experienced guide taking 2 or 3 guests in the closed Land Cruiser. He was very helpful about Kafue camps. Steady changes to the Camp and the food was much better. The pickups to/from Airport work well and it is only 30 mins away, and the local road may be surfaced next year??"

"Once again the team provided a star stay for drives, walks, food and company.

For this our 6th visit we came in June to see the early season. Less animals as the grass is so high but more birds. We did see a leopard and her 6 month cub at night, but the lions were away chasing buffalo elsewhere.

The night is quite cold and needs a fleece for drives, but the day is glorious - clear, sunny and bright. It was well worth it as it is so different from the dry, hot September trips and the walking across the Luambwa was great."

"We walked in as the first visitor this year. The staff & food were excellent as usual. We have been before but not in the early season.

It was long grass, fewer easy-to-see animals, more raptors and other birds. The grass covers the holes made earlier by elephants & buffalo in the black cotton soil which means walking there requires care. Alex our guide was excellent, and also good company as we were the sole visitors so we were able to talk about life and progress being made in Zambia.

A lovely lodge at this time of the year."

"It was great to meet up with Ernst, from Mwalshi 2 years ago, who is the new Trust Manager. He covers several sites but the work with the Trust is going well and it is very rewarding to visit. It is quite different from Luangwa - lakes and rivers, drive-in visitors and rare animals.

The Lodge is comfortable with good food provided by Brighton. We saw 23 Sitatunga on a morning drive coming out of the mist. It is very cold a night - down to 5 probably, so fleece layers were essential. Days were clear and lovely. Fishing, walking, birding and good guiding made our visit to Kasanka a really good experience.

We decided to add a day trip to Bangweulu as it was so strongly recommended by recent visitors. extremely glad we did so. Fly out at 08.00 and back at 16.00 gives a full day in the Wetlands from Kasanka. What a place! We saw Black Lechwe wall to wall, Tsessebe elusive in long grass and after a bit of a search by boat 3 of the rare Shoebill.

The water trips were outstanding, poled along with birds everywhere, local fishermen and as the name means "where the sky meeets the water" is wonderful scenery."

"We like simple camps and this is another. Placed on the river edge it is lovely. With Brighton the fine cook from Wasa, Webby as an excellent bird guide and Ernst in charge, and an old friend to visit, we had fishing, walking and great company.

The chalets have no electricity but we like candles. My ipod just made the 2 days on its charge at Wasa with care in use. The scouts and guide are good with birds but less experienced with animals which were quite elusive."

"Our comments are on earlier. [Ed: See review below]

We visited the Kasanka Conservation Centre at the park entrance and saw the work the Trust is doing with ecological researchers and school visits. There are several research teams in action and this is very encouraging as the Trust developes its work."

"A cheerful place for 1 night stop before flying back to UK. Our 4th visit and Paul continues to expand the number and comfort of the chalets.

There is now good light and the bathrooms are enormous. Food remains indifferent with little choice, simple quality and breakfast only just provided in time for flight."

"Phil & Babette were in fine form and it was wonderful to meet them and their ever-cheerful staff again. Excellent food as before as there are lots of choices and dishes are inventive. Zac is attentive, knowledgeable and fun. Walking was very good with Isiah in the lead.

We tested the quicksands this year, and watched the thunderstorm move around us with no rain on us. We followed the election of Sata to PM with the staff enthusiatic voters. We love them and this place and hope their trip "Phil's favorite places" goes well.

It is our priviledge to be with them for 3 days."

"This is our 4th visit and we chose to walk every day- across the river by boat and into the park is a fine way to start the day. Stephen found hyena and lion and these we watched, keeping very still as they were within 40 yards.

Fine microlight trip with John when we saw a fledgling giant eagle owl on its nest. Night drives were a bit sparse but Tafika kept it's record for us of always providing a leopard - this time on its kill on 3rd night.

John & Carol make this a camp we will always try to return to as it is unpretentious but offers excellent guides and staff, and choices of what to do."

"This was our 4th visit as we like the layout and no-car style of this little camp. Walking to/from camp with Isaac & Batwell we saw 8 roan antelope, Cookson wildebeest, kudu and eland, plus a nice lion looking the other way until he heard us.

The roan we had missed on 3 previous visits - they are magnificent animals with fine ears and horns appearing like a star on their high head. Isaac patiently retaught us the flora and fauna, and his stories are a joy."

"We dream of this place when we are away. It is so isolated, beautiful and satisfying with lots to see - especially if you look for little things and not just the main mammals. However this year we saw a lot of lions while walking with Greg & Special. A pride eating about 100 yards away; a large male sitting 30 yards away while he watched buffallo, then joining 11 others including 2 cubs.

Then we watched a kill 100 yards away on the river opposite the camp - lioness chased a Cookson (shame!) onto the opposite bank and into the waiting pride, which included 2 cubs. The short drive before walking 1 hour to the Mufa Lagoon is worthwhile as it is stunning - plenty of water and loads of elephants, hippo and other life. A grand place to sit for tea break.

The camp is simple but the food is good and the staff exceptionally friendly. It remains our favorite place in The Luangwa valley."

"Paul meets and greets well and is helpful with the online checkin process. He has extended this to 12 cabins and improved the lighting throughout. A glass in the bedroom would help with pill-taking.

Dinner remains uninspired in choice and standard, and it needs more light sitting outside. Breakfast needs a big push to get it on the table on time."

"The range of activities and the experience of the guides makes this our top choice in S Luangwa.

Facilities are effective and unpretentious, but the food and help is excellent. John & Carol always make us feel very welcome to their home, and we are pleased that the local school is benefitting from their support.

It is a fine centre for walking safaris as each bushcamp has its merits but also has the same high standard of service & food and more than adequate comfort. The number of guides available means that we can always do what we want, without having the tedious business of gaining agreement for one activity which is what happens at some other camps.

After 3 visits we love this place and hope to return."

"We were on our own so had the full attention of Stephen Banda who is a top guide. Sightings from the camp were good all day and the walks were varied and lovely.

The area was full of animals this year. A zebra was killed just outside and the growing noise from Impala, Baboon, Puku and then Zebra was exciting, until finally the hyenas joined in. We tracked the kill down next morning and most had already gone.

Very nice to see the same staff year on year in the kitchen and looking after us. Being a simple bushcamp suits us very well as we do not want tiled floors or baths , but do like a shower and a flush toilet. As it is completely open at the front the atmosphere is great, but safe enough."

"This is our favorite camp of all.

It is so remote and in a wilderness that has very, very few people and trucks so no chance of meeting anyone else while we are there. No chance of habituated animals here either. But it is comfortable and the standards of service and food are as Tafica. The Mwaleshi river has lots of animal activity along it, and the walking across is always fun.

Gerard Fagan had several high tech aids, Ipad and GPS, which were fun to use. As a guide he was superb - very experienced and great fun to chat with. We found the spoor of one of the escaped black rhinos, but couldn't find it.

I dream of this place and after our 3rd visit cannot wait to get back to this bit of paradise."

"The 3 1/2 hour drive from Mfuwe Lodge was tedious in an open vehicule. The camp is one of many Bushcamp Company have set up along the south end of the Luangwa river.

The facilities are very solid and safe but over the top for a bushcamp in our view. Plenty of running water and electricity of course, but everything tiled and elaborate. The tucked in mosquito nets were annoying as they prevented any movement. The food was standard fare with limited choice and lacked fresh fruit. The service was attentive and the manager Amy was always very helpful.

Dealing with 8 guests with only 1 guide means all have to agree what to do. This is tedious. But Fanuell is an excellent guide who made the very best of it on the walking trips. His detailed explanations of tracks was fascinating and entirely the right thing to do with so many in the line.

Animals seemed scarcer than elsewhere. The roof over the 4wd limits the view, day and night, and also traps the tsetse flies. The 2 night drives were hopeless with a poor spotter and nothing found."

"What a priviledge to come to this place and meet up with Phil Berry and Babette Alfieri. The stories written about them are not as striking as meeting them in person. They have turned a Bushcamp Company camp into a home with loads of personal touches.

The chalets are simple enough but the food is excellent with wide choices of special dishes. Babette also is highly imaginative in the way the camp is run e.g. with sundowners and dinner laid out in the bush with candles only. We enjoyed the traditional Nshima dinner, eaten with right hand only, under the instruction of local Zambian Zac.

Phil is of course a superb guide with such bush knowledge and we went out with him x2 a day walking through lovely and varied areas. We feel that 6 is the max number of people for walkiing and hope that they are not pressurised to take 8 as it limits what you can hear and where you can go. Lots of elephants to detour round and we saw many more animals and birds than at Kapamba. It is accesssible in 1 hour from Mfuwe Lodge, but with Phil gamedriving this stretched to 21/2 as we tracked a leopard closely.

This is a very special place with very, very special people and we loved every minute of our 3 day stay."

"Simple and ok for 1 night.

Chalet has been upgraded and now has enough light to read by. Paul is friendly enough but invisible in the morning. Get the Land cruiser not the Hilux for the transfer if possible as the road is awful. Limited food choice and very ordinary quality.

Happy campers making extraordinary trips means interesting chats over a drink."

"lovely to see the team again.

We repeated last year's trip and loved every minute."

"more animals here than at Crocodile. Pelicans wirh storks was a first for us.

Rooms are better without the canvas roof, but still a bit airless at night and so hot. Nice new ladder in room 1."

"not some much animal activity but a lovely spot to walk from"

"the bushcamps have no 240v supply so we came for 1 night to recharge before off again.

Visitors could be reminded as some appeared to be ignorant and so had no spare.

[Ed: This was just a one-night stop; see below for the comments that these travellers made about their first 3 nights at Tafika during this long trip to the Luangwa.]"

"it is simply marvellous here, with Ernst in fine form as a top guide. Miles from any other human contacts.

Could we come back for a 3rd time, I wonder?"

"Simpler than the Jaj in Luzaja this is fine for 1 night. Food OK, but not to Tafica standard.

Room is large and OK, but short on some things - soap, light, water very slow. But who cares at the end of a bushcamp visit."

"John & Carol run a truly professional and very friendly set of camps. Tafica is ideal to start with as you can get all the photos from close up to animals from the vehicules. Later in the bushcamp they are further away and not so easy - but different - to photograph. We felt folk who started in the bush camps took far too long with impossible photo attempts as they did not go to a base camp like Tafica first.

The staff are all excellent and unlike at Kaingo we got introduced to each and could readily chat with them. The microlight flight is a must and John was wonderful to let me fly it - for those with windsurfing experience it is much the same.
The only very slight -ve is that the evening/night drive at 4 hours is a bit long as not much happens from 1600 to 1700 before the sundowner. 3 would be fine.

The lodges and food were excellent, and the menus transferred to the bushcamps work really well.
The guides are all excellent and knowledgable. We much liked the rule that vehicules should not radio to each other so that animals were not tracked by more than 1 vehicule. cf. At Kaingo there were radio contacts all the time and once 5 trucks tracking 1 leopard and cub. We found this upsetting, noisy and totally out of keeping.

Although it was nice to see another safari operator we felt that Coppinger Safaris have it perfectly for base and bush camp combinations. The flights and handovers to Kaingo were organised well .

It is nice being so far North and away from other camps. I would guess Mfuwe camps would be all over each other in the Park, whereas we saw no one else. Now to see if June/July 2009 is possible visit in the "greener" season."

"We were greatly priviledged to be the sole occupants for 2 days here and 2 at Crocodile under the guidance of Isaac Zulu. We ate with him, walked with him and chatted /questioned him all the time. He never batted an eyelid and knew all the answers. We loved being able to talk not only about the animals, plants,droping,birds etc but in between about Zambian life in the villages and towns. His own interest in hiv+ women with families is very sensible and we hope the practical steps he is taking are helpful. He is too able to retire after 34 years guiding!

It feels safe to be walking with him as he sees ahead and takes care. His scout Saisi is first class - chatty and bright and with good eyesight. We loved his stories about his village life, and taled with him about the problems and few opportunities they have at present.
We did not much like the stairs at Chikoko which were a bit narrow at night, and the canvas roof keeps the heat in.
Brighton the tea maker is a character and we still have his laugh ringing in our ears.

I introduced a "high five" hand signal to complement the Zambia handshake when the staff did really well, so I am sorry if this is out of character for them."

"We preferred this site to Chikoko although I can see some folk may like the "upstairs" security of Chikoko for their first camp. The walks were varied and lovely. The coking in open fires and bread from earth ovens was fantastically good. It is essential to take lots of Prolite for temperatures were 36-40 most days peak.

At these 2 bushcamps we saw, sometimes from a distance, occasionally really close ( buffalo and elephant detours), loads of animals esp. 00's of buffalo, elephants in groups and small families, all the other main ones except lion,lepoard giraffe and eland - we did look in all the likely places and saw recent tracks and kills.

The way the scenery changes quickly in these 2 bushcapms is amazing - mopani scrub, lagoons, high grasses, wooded, open plain - it is all there on a single walk. The birds are everywhere. The trees extraordinany in the way 1 will stand out shiny green amongst 00's of similar species apparently dead - but not just yet coming alive again. Such variety so that each walk is a real experience.

We liked the combination of peace and quiet on the walks with occasionall burst of frenzied activity as we spooked an animal or they did it themsleves."

"Unnecessarily smart for us really after the bushcamps, but we did need to recharge camera batteries after 4 days with no facilities. We never got really introduced to the Zambia support staff which seemed a shame. We wnated to use the 3 hides - the hippo hide is pretty useless in midday as they just sleep; the carmine bee eaters is well worth it as they are fascinatiing to watch for 45 -60 minutes from so close; the elephant was not in use; elephant crossing depends on timing it just right. 3 activities a day works quite well actually provided the hides can be used - otherwise it is too hot.

The chalets were well organised but the solid walls retain the heat so they were much hotter at night than the Tafica thatch ones.
We did not like the drums for meals - over organised and noisy. The comfort level is higher than we needed.

The guides and game drives were excellent with lots of sightings really close and revisits to animal kills to see progress of the scavengers. We often met other vehicules from Carr Safaris which means it can get a bit crowded at times. We did meet Derek Shenton briefly at the end, but he is clearly busy at his bushcamp and with new family."

"By now we knew how it all worked but it was exceptionally good fun. Ernst with Gill were wonderfully hospitable and as elsewhere the cooks ( little charles, little puttit(?) and brightwell) were on top form. This is an exceptional place with lovely river walks, some with a bit of a breeze, and always with socks and shoes off for the crossings and chance for a dip.

It was very nice of Rupert to let me fly ( mostly straight and level) the Cessna up to Mwalshi airstrip which was real treat - my first flying was at age 17 51 years ago, so I was a bit rusty despite the odd top up meantime.

Here we saw lion (once 40 and once 70 meters away) but no buffalo at all - although a larg herd was somewhere around. The wlks to the Luangwa river were lovely and the surprise lunch at the confluence a great idea - we were up for the 2 hour return walk at 38C at 1130 of course!
The peace of this place, the birds, the variety and the occasional watchful detour to avoid upsetting a (large) animal were wonderful. I cannot think of a place I would rather be just now - well perhaps Huab Lodge in Nambia is a contender as it stay there throughout the year."

"smart place and very typical international hotel. Indian buffet meal was fun. They need to advise visitors to Luzaka Airport that they will meet them outside the terminal, not inside with other "meet and greet" activities.

1/2 hour trip to airport is fine.

A bit unnecessarily smart for the ex-bushcamp folk who looked rather scruffy compared with the immaculate locals. One nearer and cheaper for the airport would probably do."