THE PANTANAL - BRAZIL

It was pretty hard to leave Itai after the fun and adventures I had enjoyed there, but after playing with a few possible itineraries which would have allowed me to return for more ´weekend of chaos´ I eventually decided to stick with my original plan and head to the Pantanal.

Probably the biggest thing in my favour before going to the Pantanal was the fact that I went there with no real expectaions. Whilst other people had seemingly travelled half way accross the world to see the wildlife the region had to offer, I merely viewed the 3 day trip as a chance to get out of the cities and enjoy a change of scenery. (Possibly this mindsight was brought on because in Australia we are somewhat spoiled for an abbundance of wildlife). Anyway, as a result of me not really bothering too much with what exactly I saw in the Pantanal, I found that I enjoyed the experience a great deal more than others perhaps did.


After arriving in the regional hub, Campo Grande I booked myself on a 4 night and 3 day tour almost imediately and spent the remainder of the day making my way to the campsite with a number of British backpackers and one crazy, eccentric and altogether irritated Israeli. Despite a breakdown in communication between the base camp and capsite meaning that there was no food (as had been promised) waiting for us on the first night, our arrival was fairly smooth, if a little late (due to our bus being involved in an accident on the first corner outside the bus terminal ! This pissed off our ´Israeli companion´ no end !).

Our first day in the Pantanal was spent canoeing around one of the many waterways in the morning (quite hot and tiring work and the canoes certainly didn´t seem to ever go where we wanted them to) and then horseriding around more of the property in the afternoon, once again I found that my horse had a very poor sense of direction and so ended up walking into and through trees and bushes, much to my frustration. Apart from these continual navigational difficulties, the day was quite enjoyable and we were treated to a wide range of wildlife including numerous Tucans, Jabirou Stalks and many other forms of birdlife. The highlights of the trip were probably having the horses wade through water up to their necks (I had somewhat of a ´Clydesdale´ and so fared better than most), watching an amazing sunset and seeing the Israeli come flying off the front of his horse, which had decided to just stop, mid-canter. That night we went on a short walk and managed to catch a glimpse of some Capibarras (massive guinea pig like creatures, the largest rodents in the world) and also a Caiman (small aligator) which our guide Carlos had no trouble in catching.


Day two commenced with some pirahna fishing, which was probably the most frustrating activity I have ever engaged in. The stupid fish were apparently not so stupid and by attacking the bait in hordes, each fish taking only a small bite, they were collectively able to devour half a cow and only suffer 4 or so losses in numbers. Needless to say after a few hours in the hot sun enduring this, I decided to call it quits although the others demonstrated considerable more patience than I. That afternoon it rained in a way that is only possible in places such as the Pantanal and so our activities were cancelled and instead we played some volleyball, foreigners against the Brazillians, in which the Brazillians were shown up, big time !

The last day involved alot of walking but I found this was probably the best way to remain unoticed and as such our group was treated to the biggest range of wildlife on these trips. Amongst some of the animals we saw were Armadillos, Wild Pigs, various types of Monkeys and a tonne of other birds and animals. That afternoon we took a truck along the ´road´ to Corumbá and saw a tonne more Capibarras and some quite large Caimans but unfortunately no Sloths, Giant Otters, Jaguars or Cougars, all of which we were hoping to get a glimpse of.

The trip was very enjoyable, but definately not mind blowing. A surprising point of note was the fact that I was barely touched by a mosquito and instead found the ants to be far more troublesome. Also, I discovered that sleeping in a hammock is entirely possible (if hung correctly) and enjoyed 3 blisful nights sleep, much to my surprise. Having spoken with other travellers I learned that the tour company that I had chosen fared quite well in terms of the services, meals and acommodation offered, which was pleasing to hear. Definately not amazing, but well worth the time would probably be my overal assessment of a trip to the Pantanal.

Photos 1-3: Canoeing on the first day.
Photo 4: Pirahna fishing, day 2.
Photos 5-7: Horseback shots from the afternoon ride on day 1.
Photos 8-10: Flora and Fauna conjured up by Carlos the magician (his ability to catch and know where wildlife existed, even without being able to see it, continually astounded me!)
Photos 11-14: Magnificent sunsets captured during the trip.