6-Day Walking Safari with Richard Bonham

Day 1

Arrive in the Selous, and spend the night in Richard's Sand Rivers camp on the banks of the Rufiji river.

Day 2

On leaving Base Camp we follow the Rufiji River upstream through Brachystegia woodland on to a series of floodwater pans to where we meet the boats which have positioned the fly camp on a shady sand bank. The hot midday hours are spent relaxing in the camp and at about 4.30 pm we cross the river onto a sand bank and walk to Lake Utunge where there is tremendous fishing to be had and interesting bird life. We then return to the fly camp at last light for a shower, drinks and supper round a fire. Rufiji Camp.

Day 3

We continue to follow the Rufiji upstream until 11 am when we stop and have a picnic lunch on a sand bank by the river. In the afternoon the crew will collect us in boats and we continue upstream into Steigler's Gorge where we will camp on a sand bank by the rapids. Steigler's Gorge Camp.

Day 4

Rising early we float downstream with the current - the engines switched off. We will arrive at the Kidai Ranger's Post at about 10 am where the vehicles will meet us. We will then drive for about half an hour to our next fly camp at the base of Mtundusi Hill. In the afternoon we walk into the Hills where there is a chance of coming across some the last wild black Rhino in Africa. Mtundusi Camp.

Day 5

This is one of the longest days when we walk east to the Sumbene Channel, an old course of the Rufiji which is now a sand river that holds small pools of water that attract a lot of wildlife. In the afternoon we can take a walk along the sand river returning to our fly camp in the evening. Makubi Camp.

Day 6

We continue walking east past three small lakes to Lake Tagalala which holds the highest concentration of crocodiles anywhere in Africa. Boats will be waiting for us on the Lake to take us across the Lake to our fly camp in a palm grove on the Lake's edge. In the evening we walk inland and back to the camp along the lake shore. Tagalala Camp.

Day 7

As we walk from Lake Tagalala the country changes dramatically, opening up into plains country with pockets of Doum Palm forest. At midday we will arrive at our camp which has been set up on the banks of the Beho Beho River which in the dry season does not flow. The evening walk is along the banks of the river, which has a good concentration of elephant. Beho Beho Camp.

Day 8

We leave the crew and drive back to Sand Rivers Base Camp which will take most of the morning, game viewing en-route. For those departing, the flight leaves Kiba airstrip in the afternoon. For those that wish to spend a last night at Base Camp, we will arrange for a boat trip on the Rufiji in the evening.

Walking usually begins at 7 am and normally ends at about 11 am when the sun begins to get very hot. The evening walk begins at 4.30 pm returning to camp at dusk with the pace being slower than the morning walk. Wildlife that we can expect to see on the walk include Elephant, Wild Dog, Lion, Leopard (not always), Giraffe, Buffalo, Eland, Zebra, Impala, Wildebeest, Bushbuck, Hippo, Crocodile, Hartebeest, Hyena, Jackal, Reedbuck.