Northern Pantanal Iconic Wildlife 2022 - ESCORTED GROUP SEPTEMBER 2022 - NOW ONLY 2 SPACES LEFT

Day notes

Connecting from Sao Paulo, we arrive at Cuiaba airport in the morning to meet our guide and have lunch in the city before we head off on our safari.  

Driving to our first lodge will take around 4.5 hours.  The first 2.5 hours on a paved road and then on for another 2 hours on unpaved roads.  We will stop along the way to photograph the wildlife with stunning bird species such as Hyacinth Macaws, Red-and-Green Macaws, Parakeets....

Settle into Hotel Baiazinha which will be our home for our first 2 nights in the Pantanal.  On the banks of the Paraguay River and close to the Taiama Ecological Reserve, its location makes this a fantastic base for us to explore the waterways for jaguar and other wildlife.

The Taiama Reserve is a large river island of 11,000 hectares and has a real variety of aquatic environments from grass fields, riparian forests (woodland adjacent to water), streams and lagoons; all influenced by the seasonality of the Paraguay River.  This is an "off the beaten tracks" location, and we can enjoy the wonderful landscape in tranquility.

After early morning breakfast, we will spend Day 2 on a speedboat safari in the Paraguay River, exploring a large area situated around the lodge searching for Jaguars, Giant Otters and other wildlife.  Breaking for lunch at the lodge, we will go back out on the boat in the afternoon until sunset.

On Day 3 we will be back out on the boat to explore the Taiama Reserve.  This will be a full day safari so we'll take a packed lunch with us and find a good place to rest and eat and view the surroundings.

Day notes

Today we have a change of scenery from the river as we drive to the Pantanal of Poconé making stops for wildlife photography as we go. We will take lunch at Poconé and enter into the Pantanal along the Transpantaneira road, where we can stop to photograph caimans and birds in the water ponds.

Once we have settled into our rooms at Pouso Alegre lodge, we will head out on a safari car to explore the area until 8pm.  We'll be looking out for a great variety of birds and mammals and as it gets dark, we'll try to spot Crab-eating Fox, Giant Anteater, Tapir and Ocelot.  Ocelots are mainly nocturnal and the last hour of daylight is the prime time to see one. 

If you wish, get up early the next morning to walk around the lodge and see the sunrise.  Today we have the use of the safari car for the whole day but we'll also take advantage of being able to walk in the grounds to ponds to observe the concentrations of storks, herons, spoonbill and kingfishers, along with caiman, capybaras and monkeys.  

Day notes

After breakfast at 7am we will we head out on our journey to Porto Jofre.  This is a 3 hour drive but with plenty of opportunities to stop along the way as and when we spot wildlife.  We'll have lunch at a lodge en route.

On arrival at Porto Jofre we will board a speedboat to take us to our base in the heart of the world's prime jaguar territory.  The journey to the Transpantanal Flotel takes about 20 minutes.

The Flotel is simple and comfortable with 24-hour electricity, air-conditioning. private bathrooms with hot showers.  Please note there are two Flotels and which one we will be allocated depends on the final number in the group.

Our time here for 4 nights will give us the best chance of wild jaguar sightings.  We will take morning and afternoon boat safaris each day and we can also arrange a full day's outing taking a picnic lunch with us.  Jaguar sightings can be anything from a brief encounter to several hours as the jaguars here are accustomed to people.  If we are lucky we will get the chance to spend a prolonged period of time for viewing and photography.

The Cuiaba River is also our best bet for Giant River Otter sightings, one of South America's "Big Five".  Watching a family group in the water or on the banks would undoubtedly be a trip highlight.

Day notes

Today we head back to Cuiaba.

On the way to the Transpantaneira Highway, we will stop for an hour to visit Fazenda Jofre Velho owned by Panthera, an NGO recognised worldwide for its work on feline research and conservation. The fazenda is an area of 10,000 hectares dedicated to research, and is used to demonstrate how jaguar conservation can benefit ranchers, promote eco-tourism and help local people.  We will have a chance to listen to the researchers telling us about their work and the school that they run for both children and adults.  There is no charge for the visit and Busanga Safaris will make a donation to Panthera on behalf of the group - of course you should feel free to add your own donation if you wish.

Stops for wildlife photography will punctuate our return trip along the Transpantaneira Highway as it we have done throughout our trip.  We won't miss an opportunity for a last look at the incredible wildlife.

Tomorrow morning we will be catching a flight back to Sao Paulo. We will stay at the Gran Odara and enjoy dinner together in a typical churrascaria, reminiscing on our Pantanal adventure for our last night.

Day notes

Our optional 3 night extension starts today with a night near the airport in Sao Paulo to rest and get ready to travel to the world-famous Iguazu Falls.  The falls are made up of over 275 individual cascades. The combined flow of these individual falls is the largest of any waterfall in the world. It is much taller than Niagara Falls and is twice as wide.

We will be transferred from the airport to the Hampton by Hilton. There are no fixed arrangements for dinner so we can decide whether to eat as a group or if anyone wants some downtime, room service is available.

Day notes

After breakfast we will return to the airport to take a scheduled flight to Foz do Iguaçu Airport.  We will be met by our guide and taken to the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, the only hotel situated in the Brazilian Iguazu National Park.

The lush vegetation surrounding the falls is full or orchids and wildlife abounds with Capuchin Monkeys, coatis, butterflies and brightly-coloured toucans.

 This afternoon we will have a guided walk on the Brazilian side of the falls.  

On our second day, our guide will take us across to the Argentine side and we will walk on the upper and lower circuits and take the trail to Devil's Throat, the tallest of the cascades at more than 80 metres.

Back to our hotel on the Brazilian side for dinner.

Day notes

After breakfast, we will be taken to the airport to check in for our internal flight to Sao Paulo and then onwards home.