Reviews of Tafika
Wildlife sightings and reviews
340 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
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"Relaxed atmosphere at Tafika"
Our guide, Mukupa, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We had a lot of fun together and saw many special things (the highlight must have been the wild dogs - third sighting at Tafika this season).
Also, seeing the Luangwa from the air in a microlight was very special. Doing so with someone who knows the area as well as John is a great privilege." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
Only one disappointment. The food was really average and we were expecting less chicken, minced meat, vegetables in jelly, lasagnas and stews and more "real meat"." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
The expertise of the guides was everything we'd hoped for; we enjoyed every single drive and walk and they contrived to make each one a different experience by rotating the guides and spotters and taking us to different areas. Because of the length of the drives, and perhaps because our stay was a bit longer than average, we really felt we got to know several of the guides well and to understand a bit about the lives of the local people from what they told us.
The accommodation was very comfortable and most attractive, the food was excellent, but most importantly the staff were uniformly friendly and helpful. Everyone was genuinely concerned when Alice was unwell for a couple of days (she had picked up a flu-type bug, probably on the plane) and found us appropriate medication, re-organised transfers to the bush-camp etc." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
"Tafika - Wow!"
Tafika rewarded us with the best game sightings of the holiday and also the longest drives.
The "house" staff also are great and we enjoyed our tour of the kitchen garden with Isaac!
A number of nice touches: purpose built steps to aid access to the jeeps - taken on trips when those less agile were aboard; light on in the bedroom on return from evening drives; Good electricity; super showers that really made one wet and warm.
The open grassy area gives such a wonderful feeling of space - one is instantly relaxed.
We loved the visit to the village and school - very moving." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
"Return to Tafika"
The rooms are well-designed, comfortable and well-equipped with excellent showers and large mosquito nets which enclosed the whole sleeping area so there was no feeling of claustrophobia. The laundry service was superb, with clothes collected in the morning returned the same day.
The guides and spotters were all excellent. We particularly enjoyed the enthusiasm of Alex and Stephen. It was good to see Brighton again and enjoy his fire-lighting skills! It was great to be able to do guided walks, especially after crossing the river by canoe which added to the experience.
We appreciated being able to send emails and having Brian on hand to help with technical problems!
It was particularly good to have a closed vehicle to go to the airport - we saw others who didn't and they were very wet having come through a thunderstorm!
Unfortunately we were unable to take advantage of the microlight flights due to the cost of insurance investigated before we left home.
Thankyou to everyone for a memorable visit to Tafika and for the great care you took of us." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
"Tafika"
There is a small hide behind the camp (away from the river) overlooking a small waterhole, although we didn't see very much there while we visited. John and Carol were most welcoming, and Heather as camp manager seemed omniprescent. Irrepressible guide Alex, and superb spotter MCooper (?spelling), although we did manage to stump Alex on one question - how many kg of insects does an aardvark eat in a day (thank you John for that one), and Alex, if you read this, an aardvark grows to 50-80kg (rather than the 10-15kg we estimated), so on reflection we feel the 50g diet guessed would leave him a little on the hungry side!
The leopard sightings were awesome - multiple sightings on every drive (thanks to both Alex and Bryan for these and for locating the Land Cruisers for some superb photographs), but the real highlight must be the microlight flight - one of those 101 things to do before you die. One of us even managed to get to see two wild dog chasing a puku - not something you'd be able to do from the ground - a real David Attenborough moment.
And John, I'll be grateful to you forever for the second microlight flight to find the lions. I just wished we'd been able to stay aloft all day. We trust you've been able to sort out what was going on with the lions. The company at the camp was excellent - two other couples and a lady travelling on her own, made for an a magic mix which just heightened the pleasure of our stay. The food was outstanding, varied and beautifully presented. Excellent just seems too inadequate to describe this awesome camp." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
The camp is excellent given its location. As it's more remote than others, it is not as luxurious. For example, there is electricity available in the central area, but not in your hut.
Overall, the food is excellent, but we did feel rather overwhelmed in the evening with yet another meal. The favourite meal of the day for us was lunch and we really didn't feel that we needed much more food that day after that." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
A very nice camp, the room was spacious, very confortable and I loved the bathroom area with just the sky as a roof. Excellent game drives with great guides,.some of the best sighting ever seen.
A very relaxed and friendly atmosphere also during meals with John, Carol and the rest of the staff. The food was simply delicious." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
"Leopards at Tafika"
The game drives we went on were guided by either Brian or Alex and were superb, Brians twenty plus years of experience of guiding plus his knowledge of photography were certainly enhanced our game drives, that is not to take it away from Alex who also gave great drives.
In the last two days we saw 22 different lions and five different leopards on numerous occasions. The food was fantastic, service was excellent as was the administration, the camp that we look forward going back to in the future. The micro-light flight was one highlight in many during our stay at this camp.
The only thing missing was the leopard in the tree in day light, we did however have three in the tree at night, need to go back to get the day light shot." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
"Tafica - saved the best till last!"
Difficult to separate them on most criteria, but perhaps Tafica just has the edge given:-
- The personnal touch of the owners - John and Carol et al!
- Outstanding guiding - particularly Brian.
- The option to take the microlight flight.
We had a superb time at Tafica - the Leopards "falling" out of the trees." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
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