Zambia and Zimbabwe, July 2006
 

My husband and I were originally planning to book Kafunta River Lodge and Bush Camp and do a canoe safari on the lower Zambezi. After considering information provided by this forum (thank you all very much), we ended up booking Vundu (Mana Pools) and Tafika (South Luangwa). This will follow two weeks of building with Habitat in another part of Zambia and 2 days R and R at Victoria falls with our Habitat team. Does anyone have any experience with or information about either Vundu or Tafika?

You have a great combination!

Tafika experience, also from July: Wonderful small camp in a beautiful setting along the Luangwa River with great personal attention. I've stayed at 3 South Luangwa camps and though all were excellent, Tafika was my favorite.

Right from camp there were good views of water monitors, a hyena visit, and some of the ensuite showers had their own resident chameleon. At sunrise the elephants crossed the river just downstream from camp and their sloshing served as the alarm. There were great night sounds from animals and the door of my hut/tent was the marked every night by a hippo, so it was a bit messy some mornings. I took it as an honor.

Saw elephants on foot and walked with a large herd of buffalo, at the edge of the herd. The staff was very accommodating in combining walking and driving activities all in one outing. Had good night drives that produced leopard, a variety of mongoose, porcupine, several hyenas attacking a zebra, and a very relaxed serval.

Never been to Vundu, but did a mobile trip in Mana Pools (July) and enjoyed the area least as much as South Luangwa, with closer elephant encounters on foot. The environment is beautiful. Do take advantage of a canoe or boat outing in Mana Pools.

These two locations will provide exciting activities and good game viewing for you.

And good luck with your building.

Yes, Katt - what a great project you've got going there. Good luck with it. Stay tuned to this board right before you trip. I return from Zambia mid-June and Tafika is my last stop! I'll try to be good and get some sort of a report posted....
Sharon

A big thank you to atravelynn for the description. Although we have traveled to quite a few countries and lived on an island in the Pacific and in Argentina , this is our first trip to Africa. We chose Tafika because of its location, the fact that John and Carol Coppinger live there, and because of John's response to our inquiry. The travel agent we booked through seconded the information regarding Mana Pools and Vundu that we got from this site. She referred to Vundu as a "first class operation with great guides." We chose it because of the opportunity for canoeing without spending several days in one. Of course friends and family have questioned our decision to book anything in Zimbabwe. We are also looking forward to a report from cooncat in June. Thanks again.

I spent 3 nights,4 days at Vundu, and the mobile locations that Bushlife has along Mana, in October 05. The guiding was fantastic, canoeing was a lot of fun, the wildlife was just incredible. While driving from the airstrip, we met up with on if the wild dog packs in the area ( the alpha female has a broken-healed front leg from a year or so ago. They had pups, it was just beautiful!! The walking was great, and the birds nesting in October on the sides of the river were beautiful. I am sure that you will enjoy it!!!! Vundu is wonderfully situated, and the camps are the most comfortable that we experienced ( mobile camping- not lodges)! I wish I were going with you!!!

suzi,

I am considering breaking up four nights with two nights at Vundu and two nights at Ruckomechi, assuming that Wilderness Safaris has Ruckomechi up and running by my mid-November visit.

What did you think about the food at Vundu, and were game drives as readily available as canoeing and walking safaris?

If Wilderness does not have Ruckomechi up and running later this year, do you think that Vundu would be fine for all four of my nights in Mana Pools?

Thanks.

katt58-

I am considering doing a trip similar to yours next year.
Can you tell me a bit about the logisitics of your trip? How are you getting from Vic Falls to Vundu? Also are you using a charter to go from Vundu to South Luangwa in the same day?

Thanks for sharing and have a great trip