Pantanal Expedition!

Holy smoke the Pantanal is HOT HOT HOT!!!! We had an overnite bus to a place called Campo Grande (15 hours) and then had a 4 hour break before getting in the van that transported us to our lodge in the Pantanal (another 4 hours). We had the option of paying a bit extra to stay in the lodge or we could stay in the camp site down the road from the lodge......both Avi and I paid the extra cost and man we were stoked we did!!!!!!!!!! It was so hot every day and at the lodge we had a swimming pool to cool us down after our excursions during the day (the camp people couldnt use the pool). It was minimm 40 degrees every day out there!

Our guide´s name for the 3 days was Carlos. He was fantastic. He used to be a gaucho (cowboy) but gave it up to be a tour guide. He was born and breed in the Pantanal. I bumped into another Kiwi for the first time so far. He was in my tour group - an aucklander (i will let that slide lol).......actually a very cool guy as I guess all travelling kiwis are!!!!!

Santa Clara lodge was awesome. A really tranquil place with loads of birds chattering all day long. But very peaceful and relaxing. We had the swimming pool and also hammocks to laze around in when we had down time from activities. I met a very cool English couple who are on their honeymoon and it turned out his brother lives in NZ (married to a kiwi) and they live just down the road from my sister in Aucks! So Nick and Nic you might have a random english couple called Clive and Claire turn up on your doorstep around Xmas time! The first night was a laugh - it was a case of spot the newbies.....Avi, Clive, Claire and I sat at a dinner table and thru our whole meal we were bombarded with insects, bugs and whatever else! It was horrible and we were thinking how we were going to handle that for the next 3 days!! It turned out we were sitting under a ceiling fan and all the insects were getting blown directly down onto our plates and into our food from the fan!! We had to laugh in the end.......needless to say we didnt sit at that table again!!

The next 3 days were awesome! HOt but awesome! We went walking in the forest, did a jeep safari and spot lighting at night, a boat safari down the river, piranha fishing and horse trekking!!! We saw lots of caimans (look like crocs), the biggest rodent in the world (these look like small rhinos with brown hair all over them and are about the size of a big pig), otters, monkeys, racoon type animals, iguanas, deer, and lots of bird life! Woodpeckers, tucans (these are cool!!), baby storks (the symbol of the pantanal), and so many more!!!!! My favourite would be the big blue macaws which are amazing birds! Unfortunately no anacondas or jaguars to be seen boo hoo...........

I loved the boat trip - it was hilarous and Im sure would never pass inspection in NZ! 9 of us got into a dinghy with a small motor, with no life jackets and off we went down the river. Another group had two boats full of people - one of the boats was lashed to the other and off they went down the river like that!! Very amusing!! At one point we stopped and Carlos told us to jump in and swim in the piranha and caiman infested water!!! So we did!!! I freaked out tho and lasted about 3 minutes only!!

The piranha fishing was another highlight....standing in 40 degree heat at the rivers edge with a fishing rod made out of bamboo and baiting our hooks with beef!!!!!!!!!! It was disgusting!!!!! I almost puked every time I put the bait on the hook. The piranhas just start attacking the bait the instant it goes in the water and there is definitely an art to hooking them!! We were basically swinging them up out of the water onto the bank when they took the bait. I caught heaps but they kept falling off back into the river!! We got enough to have one each for dinner tho! Not the best fish i have tasted.....they deep fry them whole and you get about two forkfulls per fish!!

I didnt want to leave the Pantanal because it was such a great place to relax but unfortunately it was time to move on.....Avi and I went with 3 other girls in our group to a place called Bonito......it was a 5 hour drive over mostly dirt roads into a cute little town. It definitely lives up to its name (Bonito means beautiful in portugues and spanish). On the way we spotted two ant-eaters. What incredible animals!! I have never seen anything like them before!

I will leave the Bonito stories for my next blog..............and I hope there will also be photos for you all!!!!!!!!!!