Northern Tanzania at its most impressive. The Rift Valley Escarpment crashes down to the flamingo-rimmed lake and Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, cradled in a mhogany forest is host to more diverse species than the Serengeti itself.
Tafika,Luangwa,Safari,Zambia,Lodge,Walking,Microlight
Tafika, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, Africa
Wonderfully established safari lodges in Luangwa’s National Parks, Tafika, Chikoko, Crocodile and Mwaleshi welcome guests with easy, well-practised hospitality and offer some of the most unspoilt safaris - the walking is fantastic - under some of the best guides on the continent.
The Luangwa Valley is one of the most beautiful, untouched wildlife sanctuaries left in Africa and your hosts at Tafika, John and Carol Coppinger, practically invented the Zambian safari business. They have such a wealth of experience (they raised their family in the bush!) in both bushcraft and making their guests supremely comfortable that everyone can get to grips with this wonderful land from the complete beginner to the most demanding, seasoned safari-hand. Here, the true Africa awaits.
If you are unlucky, during delicious suppers in camp, John will share one of his highly amusing anecdotes, delivered in dry and unassuming style, leaving everyone at once crying with laughter whilst looking under beds and into boots back in the privacy of their chalet! Their guides also join in at every meal in a naturally friendly, relaxed atmosphere - one really feels part of the family.
The camps, hand-built each year, are made of local materials using traditional techniques and provide comfort, privacy and panoramic views across the Luangwa, dry river beds or water holes. At Tafika, there are just five thatched chalets with large, comfortable beds and open-air bathrooms, built with reeds and sitting well apart on a distinctly Kenyan-styled lawn. The Luangwa describes a wide sweep just here and elephants use it as a crossing point.
Deeper into the bush are the Chikoko and Crocodile Camps, ideal for an up-close bush experience for a couple of nights and they offer a base camp from which to make walking safaris further into un-trod territory. The guides are highly respected, dedicated conservationists, with a special talent for sharing their love of the bush with others. One can elect to go out by canoe, on foot, open vehicle or micro-light every day, thrice a day for the most wonderful game encounters - there is nothing quite as good as unexpectedly walking up to lion to boost the endorphin levels!
In the North Luangwa where the land and game are really wild, John has Mwaleshi Camp. The game is unhabituated to safaris and behaves naturally - rare in Africa today. This is an experience for the seasoned safari-goer and cannot be recommended too highly.
Perfect hospitality, fantastic fresh honest cuisine and consumate safari skill in great country - we believe John and Carol offer the best safari available in Africa.
Hotels & Lodges Information
PRICE:
On request
The Service
Full board accommodation • All game viewing • Bar • Laundry and National Park entry fees
The Accommodation
Tafika has 5 Double or Twin Chalets (Chikoko Trails and Mwaleshi have 3 rooms each)
General
Game Drives • Guided Walking Safaris • Micro-lighting • Canoeing (during Green Season) • Visit to the local village and school
Note: Children are welcome at Tafika (Children >12 are welcome at Chikoko Trails and Mwaleshi)
Transport
International Airports at Lusaka and Lilongwe • Transfer flight 11/2hrs from Lilongwe, 2hrs from Lusaka to Mfuwe • 2hrs Road transfer
Local Interest
Season: Tafika is open from the 15th May - 30th November and from 10th February - 10th April. Chikoko Trails operates slightly upstream of Tafika on the opposite bank of the Luangwa in a wilderness area of great natural beauty teeming with big game. With two camps Chikoko and Crocodile, Chikoko Trails offers only walking safaris. The area is exceptionally scenic, contains an abundance of wildlife and is unique in being designated a Wilderness Area. This means there are no roads and the scene remains virtually unchanged since 1866 when David Livingstone crossed the Luangwa at ‘Perekani’, just a few hundred metres from Chikoko.
Mwaleshi Camp, situated in the North Luangwa National Park, blends into a scenic bend of the Mwaleshi River, a clear perennial tributary of the Luangwa River. The remoteness of the North Park, an area legendary for its large population of lion, huge herds of buffalo and endemic Cookson’s Wildebeest, is enhanced by the lack of roads.
Source of the Luangwa Safari Combining the Nyika Plateau and the Luangwa Valley • Walking Safari: The only true walking safari in the South Luangwa
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