This trip was taken with the specific aim of wildlife spotting and photography. We arrived in Sao Paulo in the early morning of the 3rd of July and changed for a direct flight to Cuiaba.
At the airport we were picked up by Eduardo Falcoa the owner of the Jaguar Ecological Reserve our first accommodation on this trip. We were staying there for 5 nights. Just the trip to the Jaguar Ecological reserve is amazing, after about the first 1 ½ hours drive, you reach the Transpantaneira, a dirt track which dissects the Pantanal.
The wildlife viewing on this drive is amazing, every other fence post seems to have a hawk or kite perching on it. Whilst the flooded fields are full of wading birds; Roseate Spoonbills, Jaribu Storks, American Woodstorks, Buffed Necked Ibises, collared Ibises and countless Herons and Egrets. The fields are also full of Caiman and Capybara.
The accommodation itself is 135km down the Transpantaneira and is relatively basic, however suitable enough for our needs. We had air conditioning, a fan and a mosquito net, so we didn’t have issues with mosquito’s in the room, although you will need repellent for the trails and boat rides. The food was buffet style and was really good.
All the activities are included in the price, we went on a lot of walks and managed to see lots of different birds(Trogons, Jacamars, parrots and Macaws among others). We also has night safari drives every night, this is apparently a good way to see Ocelots, Tapirs, Foxes and every now and again a Jaguar. Unfortunately we had timed our arrival to time with the full moon, which meant that most of the night drives were futile, however you always have that excitement of not knowing if you’re going to see something.
Our favourite activity were the boat rides on the river Cuiaba, this is the best way to see Jaguars, normally a package will include a one day boat trip(best to check when you book) as it’s a further 1 hour down the Transpantaneira (teeming with wildlife) and the gasoline is relatively expensive. We initially went for a half days boat trip and the next day went for a full days trip. We unfortunately did not see any Jaguars on these trips, probably due to the full moon, but we did see some giant river otters (as well as the usual Caimans, Capybaras and birdlife).
Eduardo was so willing to find us a Jaguar that we went out on the boat again on our last day. We were very lucky and managed to spot a Jaguar and had enough time to get about 60 photos (unfortunately in a lot of them a branch was in the way of a perfect photo, but I managed to get 2 or 3 good ones). We also saw more Giant River Otters. Unfortunately the next day we had to leave and we both felt quiet sad at the thought as we had such a great time and Eduardo and all his staff were so friendly.
We were driven back to the airport in Cuiaba where we took a domestic flight to Alta Floresta, to go to the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. The Cristalino Jungle lodge is in a preserved part of the Southern Amazon rainforest. When we arrived in the airport we were picked up and taken to the Florestica Amazonica, which is owned by the same person as the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. We got a welcome drink and had to fill in some paperwork, before we left on a 1 hours car journey and a ½ hours boat ride to get to the lodge.
We stayed in a superior room, which was very luxurious and a lot better than we were expecting. This lodge seemed a lot more touristy than the Jaguar Ecological Reserve and it was quite a bit busier. At the lodge we had a Portuguese speaking guide with an English translator, which I would heartily recommend. Both of them were absolutely fantastic. Our guide was brought up by the Indians and knew absolutely everything about the rainforest and the translator was extremely friendly. In fact she is now a friend on Facebook and we will definitely keep in touch.
Although the lodge is busier, the activities are well organized and no 2 parties can use the same trail or be on the river at the same time, so when doing the activities you feel like you’re on your own the whole time. Being set in dense rainforest, the wildlife is harder to spot and especially harder to photograph. I did manage to get some good photos of Saki and Capuchin monkeys and some not so good photos of White Whiskered spider monkeys. I also got some good bird photos, but all in all, the photography was not so good as in the Pantanal, but it was amazing, just to have Macaws regularly flying over your head.
When we left the Cristalino Jungle lodge we made our way to Campo Grande, where we had 1 night in the Brumado Hotel, which was perfectly adequate for a 1 nights stay. The reason we stayed there was as our next destination. The Embiara Lodge was a 5 hours drive from Campo Grande. We were picked up at 7am and started on the drive. The first 2 hours of the drive was along a tarmac road and truth be told was a bit boring. However after 2 hours the tarmac road turns to a dirt road and for the next 3 hours we were driving through farms and it was a good chance to spot wildlife.
The best things we saw were a giant anteater and peccaries. We arrived at the Embiara lodge at about midday and were welcomed with a drink and a wet towel to cool down, before we had a chance to settle into our cabin. Our cabin was absolutely amazing and Paul and Tina (the owners) had made it very welcoming. After we had settled in we had lunch which was very good. In the afternoon we went on a boat trip on the river, which was less than 5 mins walk from the lodge. We saw Giant River otters before we even set foot in the boat.
Over the next 3 days we did various exciting activities. Boat rides, kayaking, Horse riding, Game drives and hiking. Paul is himself a keen photographer and he was very helpful in getting us to some good positions for photography, especially when we saw a giant eater with a baby on its back and thanks to getting us on the right side of it, we were able to get to within about 5 metres of it as it couldn’t smell us. Other highlights on site included peccaries, macaws, parrots, more giant river otters and a Tapir. I think this is probably the best of the places for photography, there are literally opportunities right outside your cabin. Paul and Tina were extremely friendly and there are only 2 cabins on site, which guarantees a quiet environment.
We were very sad to leave, but we hope to go back in future. We were driven back to the airport for our flight to Sao Paulo where we stayed for 1 night at the Ibis hotel near the airport which was great value at only £30 as we had a flight back to London the next day.
This trip was custom made for us by http://www.opendoortur.com.br/
Responsible travel have a photography trip to the pantanal departing in sept 2010 click here for more details
Capybara, Pantanal. Brazil
Jaguar, Pantanal. Brazil
Tags: amazon, Brazil, jaguar anteater, pantanal, rainforest
