Chikoko Trails Camps

Chikoko Tree Camp is situated about 8km upstream from the hub at Tafika. Three chalets can be found here, raised above the ground to ensure that they sit, rather romantically, inside the surrounding tree canopies. The ground floor has a bathroom area, and the stairs alongside the chalet lead up to the bedroom area on the raised platform.

The Chikoko Tree Camp’s raised en-suite chalets enhance the already spectacular views of the surrounding acacia grove, the variety of wildlife that frequents it and the associated activity that unfolds throughout the day.

Crocodile River Camp also offers three chalets, but instead of being up high, these all rest beneath a grove of stunning Muchenja (Ebony) trees. The camp overlooks a dried dambo and small waterhole, placing it perfectly to enable guests to observe the daily wildlife action.

The chalets themselves are a wonderful combination of natural building materials and inventive architecture. The end result is an authentic, comfortable and personal experience for guests.

Enjoy special, local cuisine delicately cooked over a wood fire, warm homemade bread baked with coals in the ground and indulge in the fresh produce of the Tafika vegetable garden. The camps pay special attention to all dietary needs and requirements, please do inform them of any you may have ahead of your stay.

Chikoko’s iconic walks follow well-worn elephant and hippo trails, bringing you closer to nature than ever before. These are also the original footsteps of David Livingstone, who explored the Luangwa Valley in great detail. Guests follow those footsteps, treading through the African bush alongside the wildlife in the accompany of an experienced guide, an armed National Park scout and a tea bearer. The experience is both liberating and unforgettable.

Morning walks are four hours long, starting early to avoid the oft-intense heat of the day and pausing frequently so the guide can share the secrets of the bush. Midway, the tea-bearer will conjure up a welcome cup of fresh tea or coffee, complete with a sweet treat. Afternoon walks are shorter, leaving camp after tea at 15:30 and returning to camp before dusk. The landscape is generally flat, however, the paths can be uneven, so lightweight and comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Natural-coloured clothing – dark greens, light browns etc. – is also necessary for blending into the bush.

The South Luangwa is home to an incredible 469 recorded bird species, with the North Luangwa having 416 recorded species of its own (according to Birdwatch 2019).

This makes the area a bird-lover’s paradise, with sightings including Bat Hawks and Pel’s Fishing Owls, great flocks of Crowned Cranes, a breeding colony of Yellow Billed Storks and Carmine bee-eaters, and frequent visits from the White Winged Babbling Starling and Yellow-Throated Long Claw.

Boasting a variety of birds that ranges from the plain Little Brown Jobs to the truly stunning Lilac Breasted Rollers, the Luangwa Valley has converted many a non-birder to the delights of birding. All Remote Africa Safaris guides are knowledgeable and enthusiastic birders, meaning that any new birders have the perfect starting place here.

Remote Africa strives to operate all of their camps with a focus on three pillars which constitute sustainable tourism:

• A sustainable business model
• The environment
• The local communities

RA is a business run by a family who loves the bush and loves the camps. Although RA has to remain economically viable, the core focus is the well-being of the ecosystem – the trees and plants that grow in it, the rivers that flow in it, the wildlife and local people, and their rich cultures, that thrive in it. To this end, they support a number of initiatives that protect Luangwa’s wild creatures and have founded their own fund, The Tafika Fund, to support local communities.

The Tafika Fund is Remote Africa Safaris’ own fund, helping to sustainably uplift the surrounding communities and the Mwanya area. The Tafika Fund was founded by John and Carol Coppinger in 1998 and has been managed by Carol ever since. Through donations from generous guests and tour operators (as well as substantial financial support from Remote Africa), The Tafika Fund has succeeded in implementing and maintaining a number long-term initiatives over the years, including:

• Mkasanga School
• Mkasanga Clinic
• Scholarship Programme
• University Scholarships and Skills Training
• Football for Wildlife

The North Luangwa Conservation Programme (NLCP) is part of the Frankfurt Zoological Society and leads conservation efforts in the North Luangwa National Park. In 1986, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, the Frankfurt Zoological Society started this programme to help save the park’s wildlife from heavy poaching.

Thirty years later, this initiative has greatly reduced poaching and brought much of the wildlife back from the brink of local extinction, including the critically-endangered black rhino. Black rhinos were reintroduced to the park in 2003, with the goal of re-establishing a viable, breeding population of the species.

The programme supports the overall management of the North Luangwa ecosystem, including law enforcement and anti-poaching, park operations and infrastructure development, ranger training, management planning, and community engagement through technical and financial support to their resource boards, and youth through the conservation education programme.

The Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to conserving Zambia’s population of large carnivores and the ecosystems they live in, through a combination of science, actions, and a comprehensive education and capacity-building effort.

ZCP works in close collaboration with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to:

• Safeguard large carnivores, their prey and habitat through research, conservation and education
• Utilise large carnivores and their prey as flagship species for large landscape conservation
• Provide information and recommendations to the DNPW and support efforts to conserve wildlife and ecosystems
• Increase knowledge and understanding of large carnivore and large herbivore dynamics and contribute to conservation of these species as a whole
• To build capacity with Zambian organisations and governmental agencies for conservation of large carnivores and herbivores, their ecological functions and habitats

The ZCP follows a three-pronged approach to fulfill its goals. The success of this work fundamentally rests on diverse and effective collaboration with local, national and international partners, agencies, organisations and institutions that collectively provide the expertise, resources and energy to address the myriad of conservation challenges facing Zambia and the region.

Conservation South Luangwa (CSL) is a local NGO, created in 2003. The goal of CSL is to see Zambian-led conservation through the employment, training and empowerment of local communities. The organisation mainly supports community scouts from the surrounding Chiefdoms and is one of the biggest employers in all of Mambwe.

Under the management of Rachel McRobb and Benson Kanyembo, and hand-in-hand with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), CSL has grown into an award-winning conservation organisation. CSL focusses on three key areas of action

• Broad scale anti-poaching support to DNPW (employing and equipping 65 community-based scouts, providing equipment, training, rations and transport for DNPW patrols, providing aerial support for anti-poaching and monitoring, running a K9 sniffer dog unit)
• Wildlife Veterinary Work
• Community Development

CSL also co-ordinates the annual Conservation Fun Run, a community sports event that attracts close to 5000 participants every year.