Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Walking Safari

There is nothing like tramping, accompanied by rifle-toting guides, through scrub and long grass where big beasts lurk - rhino, elephant, lion, buffalo - to bring you close to nature, red in tooth and claw.

The 30,000 hectare Hluhluwe -imfolozi wilderness lies in beautiful countryside around the White imfolozi river, pullulating with a wide range of game. The last, tiny population of white rhino clung on here, before being saved from extinction. You may watch, from a high crag above the riverside, a lioness training her cubs to stalk antelope, or meet a vast crocodile asleep on a sandbank alarmingly near where you bathed earlier on. Buck of all sorts, mongooses, and a gorgeous array of birds await you.

You will see no roads, buildings, or any other traces of mankind, other than ancient bushman paintings in cliffside hollows, although this was the original homeland of the Zulus, and is rich in their history. Tsetse flies and malaria caused its depopulation, and there are now few traces of the Zulu.

You can walk for a day or longer through this marvellous area, accompanied by rifle-toting guides. The timeless bush engulfs you, busy with birdsong in the morning and evening but heavy and sinister in the mid-day heat.

You would be foolish not to spend an unforgettable night camping out here, when the bush is truly alive as you cower in your flimsy tent: you may hear a distant lion roar or the curious, drawn out yelp of the Hyena.

This is superb but tiring walking in remote, dangerous landscape, on which you will need guides and support. You will camp in the middle of nowhere. Come prepared.