Walking. It’s all so simple to do. We take it for granted. But physiologists tell us it is actually a complex and unique series of movements taken one after the other that enables us to take just one small step. And Africa is of course where it all began when millions of years ago some of our ancient primate ancestors left their forest habitat to roam the savannah and found that standing upright gave them a better view when looking out for predators. And from there they took the first steps.

The concept of a walking safari for travellers wanting to view African wildlife from a ground level vantage point was pioneered in Zambia over 40 years ago and remains hugely popular to this day. Now Africa is home to an amazing array of on-foot experiences of different degrees, of numerous types in many areas. Here are five ideas to get you going.

How about spending a week in Botswana training to be a bush guide - not as a tourist but as a real trainee experiencing just what is being taught that week. You could be wading waist deep through the water to cross over to an island to view elephants close up or following the tracks of a male leopard as he negotiates the terrain to catch an antelope unawares. And much else.

In the stunning Drakensberg mountains of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal there are walking and hiking trails offering views and vistas rivalling anywhere in the world, with a more than comfortable lodge offering a hot bath and bubbles to relax in before dinner and more bubbles of a different kind.

Gorilla trekking is high on many’s people’s bucket list and the experience of sharing a glance with a gorilla will often change the viewer’s life. Rwanda offers the very best opportunity to come face to face with an habituated troop after a sometimes strenuous trek through the rainforest - but the resulting feelings are beyond words.

Tanzania has two great walking experiences that are poles apart – climbing majestic Mt Kilimanjaro and tracking chimpanzees in their natural habitat in the west of the country. Two very different walks but both rewarding in the extreme and related by putting one foot in front of another.

Rhinos are suffering from poaching but in Namibia, mainly because of its isolation, rhinos roam free and they can be tracked, followed and hopefully found. Damaraland in the north-west of the country is home to the rhinos and an on-foot safari from Desert Rhino Camp searching for these amazing animals is incredible.