Here a translated version of the website.
The original link can be found here: WETRAVEL.DK
African safari style and rafting in the Costa Rican jungle
Rafiki Safari Lodge is a very positive experience and surprise. A bit of a mecca for nature lovers and active families: Rafting, hiking through the jungle to beautiful waterfalls, a trip further up into the mountains with lunch with a local family. And we absolutely love that the foundation of the lodge’s existence is the preservation of nature and local communities.
A family dream that cawme true
Rafiki Safari Lodge is the result of the Boshoff family’s dream of creating a natural paradise in collaboration with the local community. With tents and activities like on a safari, but with the jungle-covered Savegre Valley in Costa Rica as the setting.
I’ve never been on safari, but I’ve been in the jungle a lot. The owner bought the tents in South Africa, so they’re authentic enough. And it’s simply amazing to fall asleep in a tent and wake up to the sounds and smells of the jungle.
Karin, We Travel’s expert on Costa Rica
Today, the second generation runs Rafiki. Lautjie and his wife Maureen are the welcoming hosts – and the driving force behind the local commitment and the designation of the area as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Lautjie, with her background as a biologist, has fought for the conservation of nature in the Savegre Valley. This has happened in close collaboration with the local community in Santo Domingo with the shared mission of making sustainable tourism a long-term source of income. For the benefit of both nature, wildlife and local communities.
Most of the employees come from Santo Domingo. Rafiki is actually the largest employer in the area. Many have been part of the project from the very beginning and are deeply involved in running the place.
The pride and ownership you will experience from the staff would be hard to find from employees who came from afar. And Rafiki’s impact on the small local community is truly enormous – because it has brought jobs and education to a place where there were not many opportunities otherwise. Rafiki trains its own nature and rafting guides, who thus have the opportunity to service guests in their own backyard.
Rafting, horse riding and jungle treks
One of the highlights of Rafiki is rafting through the jungle on the clear Savegre River. It’s not wild rafting, but a child-friendly version, where the clean and clear river, the surroundings and the beautiful waterfall you stop at are just as important as the speed in the rubber boat.
The area also offers plenty of jungle trails that can be explored both with and without a guide, and both on foot and on horseback.
Rafiki Safari Camp, Savegre, Costa Rica
Natural pool and restaurant with a view
The open restaurant is the heart of the camp. The food can best be described as local and honest, but don’t expect great gourmet experiences. On the other hand, the restaurant provides the perfect setting for a sun-downer with direct views of the river, jungle and valley.
The kids will quickly find their way to the water slide that snakes from the restaurant down to the natural pool.
Do you have more time? Take the kayak to Rafiki Beach Camp
On Matapalo Beach on the coast, Rafiki has set up 4 safari tents and created a small beach camp. You can actually kayak through the jungle and mangrove all the way from Rafiki Safari Camp to the beach – and replace the song of cicadas with the sound of the waves.
Matapalo is by no means a fancy beach destination. There are only locals, a few restaurants and a supermarket. But it is a fun stop on the road and a pleasant alternative to the overcrowded beaches further north.
