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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"Tafika review"
We did early morning game drives and evening drives and spend the hot part of the day having lunch and relaxing in the camp. We saw lots of animals and enjoyed the fact that we spent time observing the animals rather than being rushed. Tafika has a policy of no more than 4 in a vehicle and we really appreciated this.
The guiding was great - we particularly enjoyed the night drives which enabled us to see lions & wild dogs preparing for their hunt. Pretty magical.
Staff were friendly, and super helpful - special shout out to Val and Levi." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
"A wonderful experience in a magical place"
We did two long game drives each day; early in the morning and in the afternoon/evening, which became a night drive after sundowners. Our guide Macuba was amazing, finding wild dogs, lions, and even a honey badger. We were given plenty of time to take photos and enjoy being with the animals. Jimmy did a great job with the light on the evening drives.
We also did a fantastic walk with Levy who educated us about all the smaller signs of animal behaviour.
A standout experience of the stay was the carmine bee eater hide which we visited on a drive. The other hide is in the camp and visited by elephants and many other animals.
The standard of service in Tafika was outstanding; everyone greeted us by name and every request was answered. Vel managed everything with interest and humour. The Tafika 'family' made us feel truly welcome.
Tafika is simply one of the best places I have evert stayed and the memory will stay with me forever." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 3n in Botswana
"Tafika review"
We were well looked after and the game viewing was magnificent" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia; 4n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
"Lovely location beside the Luangwa River"
One night there was quite a commotion as two male Lions sought to devour a dead Hippo whilst surrounded by Crocs. The camp now has a Carmine Bee-eater hide which was rewarding as these migrant birds had arrived for nesting in the river bank.
A new hide has been created since we last visited and from there we were able to get eye-level views of a herd of Buffalo drinking. The highlight for us was following a female Leopard as she went to quench her thirst. Although she was not really in hunting mode, she was clearly using the vehicle to mask the sound of her footsteps.
Our guide Lloyd has great experience in guiding and has been at the camp for many years. He also found us Wild Dogs." See all these reviews: 21n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
We had some great sightings on our walking safaris, getting very close to 2 male lions. A highlight was the evening sighting of a wild-dog pack with numerous cubs, making strange calls to each other as they rested and played.
You really feel like one of the family at Tafika, we particularly enjoyed seeing 'behind the scenes' including the kitchens, workshop and garden.
They organised a fantastic birthday surprise sundowner on a bluff overlooking the river bed. This was hysterical as our guide performed a great charade of pretending it was all set up for someone else, and Vel and her colleague risked being trampled by a herd of elephants who came to the party while she was hiding behind a tree waiting to surprise us when we drove up!
Switching that very bumpy return minibus ride from Tafika to Mfuwe for a 12 minute flight with Rory in the camp plane was a great decision.
Our only negative comment was that we were with the same guide throughout our stay, and the guides didn't seem to alert each other to sightings by radio the way other camps do. This might be something other guests prefer but we felt we may not have seen as much as in previous trips?" See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi
"Tafika review"
"Tafika review"
Overall still a good to excellent experience.
The number of charging points in the tent was too low (only one USB connector)." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
The chalets were comfortable, large and immaculately designed without being flashily luxurious and the food was varied and delicious. It was also great to meet the charming Jen and Nick once again, now managing the camp, and we were particularly grateful for their help in looking after luggage items which we did not need for the next stage of our trip at the walking camps.
The weather was a bit temperamental during our stay - there were even a few spots of rain on our first night - and this may have explained the slight elusiveness of some of the game, but Lloyd was an excellent guide and we really enjoyed our drives with him." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
"Tafika review"
Yet more good food, knowledgeable guides and staff, an excellent situation on the river and a genuinely lovely place to stay.
As with Mwamba we shared camp with elephants and hippos. We are fond of African birds and were allocated excellent guides who knew their birds well.
Game was quite scarce at times but not disappointing - we saw dog and leopard including one who just dropped out of a tree besides us much to everyone's surprise not having been seen by the guides or us at all." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
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