Starts | Aug 31st 2022 |
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Ends | Sep 11th 2022 |
Leader | Steve Gettle & Nicole Sudduth |
Price | $8,150 |
Deposit | $1,000 |
Participants | 6 (Just 2 Spots left!) |
The Pantanal is the best place on earth to photograph Jaguars and we will take you up river in a special photo-safari boat to experience them in their natural habitat far away from the large crowds that this place is becoming known for. The pure muscle and raw power of these cats will impress you as you see them hunt, swim, and even interact with each other often just yards from us. We timed this trip for the dry season when wildlife is concentrated along the river. Giant River Otters, Hyacinth macaws, Jabiru storks, jacanas, herons, kingfishers and more will also be in our sights. Our group size is limited to just 6 participants allowing us to be in just one boat.
We designed this trip to give you the best, most intimate jaguar experience possible. We work with the premier eco-lodge and conservationist in the area who not only played a key role in conservation of jaguar habitat for the Pantanal but also founded a series of intimate lodges that support the local community. His lodges put us into the best position to enjoy “private” jaguar sightings and a wild array of bird and other wildlife.
The lodges we stay at offer not only comfort but also great access to incredible wildlife. To make the most of this great river network and have the best experiences possible with Jaguars, we stay at two different lodges in the heart of jaguar habitat. One is upriver, away from the crowds of “Jaguarland.” By being upriver, we are often able to spend time alone as the only boat with jaguars as they hunt and rest along the shores of the river. This is so much better than other situations where there can be as many as 30 boats all trying to jockey for position in front of a jaguar. The other is in a “flotel” on another part of the river network with more wildlife and river areas to explore.
In addition to this, because the Pantanal has such diverse wildlife, we also added two different land-based lodges for bird and other mammal photography.
This tour gets you into the best situations and best locations to make this once in a lifetime trip a real winner!
***Non-photographer spouses or partners: The memories you create and experiences you have on a trip like this are unforgettable and wonderful to share! While available, Non-photographer spouses/partners have the option for a $600.00 discount to sit in a non-photographer seat either up at the front of the boat or next to the driver. In either spot, they will certainly see everything and be able to photograph most of what we encounter.
Wednesday, August 31 – Travel Day
Depart for Brazil. Most flights require an overnight flight that flies into one of the main cities (Sao Paulo, Brasilia) and connects to a domestic flight in order to fly into Cuiaba.
Thursday, September 1 – Arrive in Brazil
Arrive in Cuiaba, Brazil. Transfer to our hotel.
Friday, September 2 and Saturday, September 3 – First steps into the Pantanal
We will transfer via a closed, air-conditioned vehicle into the Pantanal. We will spend our first two days at a special lodge known for its bird life as well as the possibility for Giant Anteaters and Crab-eating foxes. This lodge is also known as one of the best places for Hyacynth Macaws! The habitat here is a mix of pasture, wetlands, forest islands and scrub, giving us a wide variety of species to stalk and photograph. Often seen here are Blue-fronted parrots, Southern screamers, Savannah Hawks, Red-legged Seriemas, Snail Kite, Great-Rufous Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Ground dove, Buff-necked Ibis and more.
Sunday, September 4 thru Tuesday, September 6 – Jaguars, Giant River Otters, Birds and more!
We will transfer to our lodge located in the river in the heart of the Pantanal. Our transfer will be our first boat safari ride in search of jaguars and more, so we will be in photography mode.
Each day, we will have both morning and afternoon boat rides to find and photograph jaguars, caiman, capybara, and an array of exotic birds and other wildlife that call the Pantanal home. Giant River otters are often seen in this area and will be another species that we will work to photograph.
Wednesday, September 7 and Thursday, September 8 – Jaguars “Up River”
To have yet another experience in this amazing river network, we will transfer to another lodge – this time up river!
Each day, we will have morning and afternoon boat rides along the river, photographing Jaguars, birds, caiman, capybara and other wildlife that we encounter.
After dinner each evening, the local biologist will provide a special natural history program on the wildlife we encountered and will share life history and other information about the jaguars that we encountered during the day.
Friday, September 9 – Return downriver
We will have a final boat safari ride this morning as we return to Porto Joffre. We will explore some new areas of the river as we head back to land.
From Porto Joffre, we will transfer via vehicle back to our lodge where we will have the rest of the day to photograph around the lodge, enjoy a photography boat ride in the Paxaim River to photograph kingfishers fishing this river and other species and check the blinds at night for Ocelots and Tapirs.
Saturday, September 10 – Kingfishers, Jaribu Storks, Parrots, Ocelots and more
Today we will enjoy all that our last lodge, located on the Paxim River, has to offer. We will take a small boat to photograph agame herons, sunbitterns, sungrebes and scores of other beautiful birds and experience as many as five different species of Kingfishers as they dive into the water and hunt for fish. Mammals are also prevalent at this lodge with capybaras, marsh deer, three species of monkeys, Brazilian tapirs and even ocelots coming to the property. We will visit night blinds once again to try to photograph ocelots and tapirs that come close to the lodge.
Sunday, September 11 – Travel day
Transfer to Cuiaba for flights home. Please make sure your flight out of Cuiaba does not depart before 1:00pm.
Please note you will actually arrive home on September 12th
Deposit of $1000 due with your reservation
Second payment $4,150 due February 1, 2022
Balance of $3,000 due June 1, 2022