Macaws, monkeys and moai : 6 weeks in the Pantanal, Peru and Polynesia

[SafariChick]

wow, the Pantanal was terrific - looking forward to Peru @@Treepol !!

 

@@Atravelynn funny, I'm just now re-reading your Peru trip report to compare to Treepol's - and now you're off on yet another trip that sounds amazing and will probably end up on my (very long) bucket list - have a great time!

[Treepol]

@@Atravelynn I think this was 'your' Fabricio but sadly I don't have a photo of him in the report.

 

Do you visit Barranco Alto this trip - look forward to hearing all about it.

[Treepol]

AREQUIPA AND COLCA CANYON

 

The international flight to Lima doesn’t leave until the evening so we make the most of a leisurely day at the Airport Marriott followed by some duty free shopping at the airport before departing for Peru. Bit of a hiccup here because Cheryl´s bag didn´t arrive and worse still, it had been checked in under my name. This meant that LAN wouldn´t give her a certificate in her name for insurance purposes and also created some issues with Customs.

 

Breakfast next morning at the Lima Ramada Airport Inn is good and we only have to walk across the road to the airport. Interestingly, Cheryl´s bag has arrived in Arequipa before us. Francisco is our guide for the next 3 days and our first stop is at the Alto Carmen Mirador for a view of the volcanoes that surround the city

 

 

Misti is the only one that is still active and it erupts about every hundred years. The last time was in 1979. There is a statue of a local deity called Ekeko where people pray for material things such as houses and cars.

 

 

My own communing centred on the means to do more safari travel! The next stop is the Parish of Yanahuara where the architectural features mix Spanish and local worship symbols

 

 

Nearby is a park with a message for dog walkers

 

 

After the previous late night we decide to rest up at the hotel for the afternoon.

Francisco arrives at 9 am the next morning and we head off through congested streets to join the road to Colca Canyon.

 

 

 

Its an all day drive to Colca Lodge with stops along the way and lunch in Chivay. Near the outskirts of Arequipa we pass heavy machinery such as bull-dozers and cranes parked on the median strip that can be hired for $100 US per hour. Most of the oncoming traffic is heavy trucks and large buses coming from Cusco and Bolivia. Once we leave the city behind we make a number of stops for scenery and wildlife - these vicunas grazing by the roadside are almost lost in the overwhelming landscape of the Andes.

 

 

Further along the road a female shepherd watches over a large herd of alpacas

 

 

and we stop at a corral of llamas and alpacas

 

 

New bird species are seen at a small lake near the road - giant coot,

 

 

Andean gull

 

 

Puno teal and negira. A pair of Andean hawks is tethered at the roadside and I feel really sorry for the bird that continually stretches its wings and seems so desperate to fly. Andean geese are very large birds and are present in good numbers. Closer to Chivay a viscacha grazes just below the snowline. We stop briefly at the ´world´s highest market´ where the mountain peaks reach into the clouds and a range of Andean handcrafts are on sale.

 

 

The snow-capped mountains are majestic and provide a dramatic backdrop to the dry puno terrain.

 

 

Next morning I wake at Colca Lodge and open the curtains to watch dawn steal over the Andes. The stars faded away as the night sky changed from black through navy blue, purple, mauve to blue and later from the gardens I watched the first rays of the sun light up the hills behind the lodge

 

 

Colca Canyon Lodge is a very elegant property with large, well appointed rooms and spacious bathrooms. There are walks to the private outdoor spa and thermal springs and alpaca ranch from which dramatic views of the Colca Valley are possible. The grounds are home to a variety of birds. The restaurant offers an extensive a la carte dinner menu whilst breakfast is a buffet of baked delights and hot dishes.

 

We left at 7 am for the 2 hour drive to Colca Canyon to see the Andean Condors and it seemed that every mini-bus in Peru was on the same road. There were more condors than usual because 8 carcasses from a recent bullfight had been dumped close to the canyon rim, making an easy meal for these giant scavengers. Adult and juvenile condors floated, soared and wheeled above the canyon before beginning the daily 200 km flight to the coast in search of food.

 

 

 

 

Driving back to Chivay we make several stops for photos of the patchwork landscape,

 

 

Inca grain stores and some high Inca graves. After lunch we start the 3 hour drive back to Arequipa which begins with a steep drive out of Chivay away from the Colca Valley.

 

This valley is a rich agricultural area that in the past had been heavily terraced and was an important Inca food-growing area. Today, most of the terraces are abandoned partly due to population loss through rural-urban drift. Most terraces that remain in use are close to the river or sources of mountain water. Back in Arequipa Francisco takes us to St Catalina Convent which in its hey-day was a small town with many individual houses and streets.

 

 

 

The old convent is no longer used by nuns and now serves as a major tourist attraction with many original pieces of furniture and decorative arts. Today, 24 remaining nuns live in an enclosed area separate from the historic site.

 

[Treepol]

CUSCO, MANU CLOUDFOREST AND RESERVE

 

The early flight to Cusco next day gives us a half day to sightsee and shop once we have checked into the Palacio del Inca. A quick change of clothes and we are out to lunch and a walk to the Plaza das Armas where we are accosted by a guide from the open top tour bus. This is something new since 2010 and is a good way to see the area away from the old town. The view from the top deck gives us a different perspective of life in Cusco. The bus visits the main sights in the old town before heading for the Christo Blanco on the hill above the city. It’s a Sunday afternoon and families are out flying kites, walking dogs and playing ball games. A lady sits against a fence knitting, an elderly man dozes in the sun and a couple lift a large dog out of a taxi – he’s out for family day too. The bus is delayed by the local Inti Rami festival where religious effigies are carried on palanquins through the town – its great to be part of this but the staff are anxious about the timetable. Its so nice to be on holiday and leave others to worry about time! The Old Town is busy, shops do good business and the ladies are out with baby alpacas in slings – the going rate for a photo with one of these babies is 2 sols. Back at the hotel we have dinner and get ready for the long drive down the Manu Road for a 2 night stay at Cock of the Rock Lodge.

 

The day begins badly when my wake-up call doesn’t work – I’m woken by wafts of a delicious breakfast and see that it is already 6 am. After a quick breakfast we meet David Fuerte from Manu Expeditions who will be our guide for the next 6 days. Albertino is the driver – his day job is a policeman but he likes to travel the Manu Road for some ‘rough driving’ on his days off. Due to road works we take a different route to Paucartambo than we did in 2010. The proud residents of Cuyo Grande decorate their homes with scenes from local life - this one shows a woman baking a guinea pig

 

 

 

 

and a young boy carries his puppy away from the road.

 

 

The region between Cusco and Puarcartambo is used for cropping and less frequently grazing.

 

 

We see locals with a herd of alpaca but they have disappeared around a hill before we can take photos. Women and children accompany horses, cows, sheep, pigs and alpacas grazing along the roadside.

 

David shows us some 3,000 year old cave paintings of llamas at Chawaitive that were revealed when the road was built.

 

 

Nearby we spot viscacha on a rocky outcrop.

 

 

A group of Puna ibis feed closer to Paucartambo,

 

 

a former Spanish administrative centre with an arched bridge

 

 

and a town square where locals meet

 

 

There is time for a quick visit to the main church which luckily is open to visitors this morning. During our 2010 visit we followed a wedding through the town to this church

 

 

The water feature in the main square has statues of folk characters that are a focal point for the annual Virgen del Carmen festival, a colourful local fiesta featuring traditional dances, exotic masks and costumes

 

 

After Paucartambo the winding, steep, gravel road climbs to a high point at the Ericsson monument that marks the boundary between the Manu and Cusco districts before plunging into the cloudforest. This is the top of the Manu Road.

 

 

We eat lunch at the entrance to the park and then walk a short way down the road while Albertino re-packs the vehicle. The were some interesting flowers and butterflies along the way

 

 

 

 

The devastating landslides of February 2010 wrought huge damage to the Manu Cloudforest area with some villages having no road access to Paucartambo and beyond for months. The Manu Road was not for the faint-hearted with tight corners and wash outs requiring very careful negotiation. The lower parts were little better than a one lane track only 6 paces wide which led to interesting interactions when our mini-bus met a wood truck, especially as the larger vehicle expects right of way

 

 

 

The mini-bus was expected to back up to a ´suitable´ parking space to allow the truck right of way. There were a few edge of the seat moments, however the beauty of the area soon outweighed our unease.

 

This year there was much more development along the Manu Road. The government is improving infrastructure to the region with an intensive roadbuilding program that has widened the road, particularly the tight corners, built reinforced concrete fords to limit water erosion, turn-outs facilitate overtaking and poles are being installed to carry electricity to the villages closer to the river. The road was very busy with tourist and local mini-buses, a few privately owned cars and motorcycles, an ambulance,

 

 

construction vehicles, government officials and police searching for dumped loads of coca leaves along the road. A Caterpillar digger has loose tracks and blocks the road for a short time while the crew make running repairs

 

 

before it gets underway and rattles and clatters past Cock of the Rock Lodge hours later around 1 am. For me, the price of progress is the loss of degrees of remoteness that made travelling the Manu Road a frontier adventure.

 

Before arriving at Cock of the Rock Lodge (CORL) we stop for an Andean Potoo and Cocks of the rock

 

 

Next morning we opt to stay around the lodge and see what can be seen in the ‘front yard’. We are alone at the lodge and it is so quiet – the loudest noise comes from the nearby river. The hummingbirds are busy around the feeders and during our stationary morning we see:

 

Booted Racquet Tail

 

 

Violet eared

 

 

Violet fronted brilliant

 

Speckled hummingbird, Wire crested thorntail and Many spotted hummingbird

 

 

We also see Paradise, Silver-beaked and Blue Necked Tanagers, Speckled Chachalaca

 

 

Russet-backed oropendula

 

 

Highland Motmot, Bananaquit, Plumbeous pigeon and Gray fronted dove

 

 

Mammals included a brown agouti,

 

 

capuchin monkeys

 

 

and Bolivian squirrels.

 

 

We had hoped for a tayra but were out of luck.

 

The afternoon is spent up the Manu Road unsuccessfully looking for quetzal around a couple of waterfalls. Instead we see a Cinnamon Flycatcher

 

 

and a Red Star. The rest of the day is spent quietly in preparation for a 5 am wake-up and 6 am departure for Atalaya and the boat trip to Manu Wildlife Center. The drive to Atalaya takes 2.5 hours

 

 

and along the way we glimpse a tayra, see Crested Oropendula in a flaming orange coral tree and closer to the river, David spots a Great Potoo

 

Edited September 10, 2013 by Treepol

[Treepol]

CUSCO, MANU CLOUDFOREST AND RESERVE (CONT.)

 

Pancho and Manuel are our boat driver and off-sider who will travel with us from Atalaya all the way to Colorado. The first animal sighting is a family of white-lipped peccaries trotting eagerly to a banana plantation for an easy breakfast

 

 

and a large flock of Neo-tropical cormorants are gathered at the edge of a rocky beach.

 

 

The beaches this close to Atalaya are rocky due to the proximity to the Andes, sandy beaches don’t occur until further down in Manu. The river is very low and Pancho and Manuel do a great job carefully navigating the shallows and rapids.

 

 

 

 

Boats returning upstream to Atalaya have to be pushed through some parts of the river and David says that his next group will be bussed to a village 2 hours down the river to avoid these shallows. The boat trip takes a further 7.5 hours to reach Manu Wildlife Center during which Fasciated and Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets and an old friend, the Cocoi Heron are seen.

 

 

Early the next day the trip to the Blanquillo Macaw Hide began with a 4.30 wake-up to see yellow-fronted, blue-headed and mealy parrots and red and green macaws. This early, the outline of trees through the misty dawn creates a ghostly atmosphere along the river. The small parrots are nervous and don’t approach the lick early, possibly due to a Roadside Hawk perched nearby on a fallen log or the Laughing Falcon that eventually moves into the open.

 

 

 

 

 

The trip to the hide takes about 40 minutes in the boat followed by a 15 minute walk to the hide. Breakfast of fruit, cereal, pancakes and hot drinks is eaten at the hide.

 

Back at the lodge for lunch there are 3 new hummingbird species in the garden, Reddish Hermit

 

 

Festive Coquette and a Grey-breasted Sabrewing. This afternoon we go to Cocha Blanco an ox-bow lake about about 25 minutes boat trip from the lodge, followed by a 10 minute walk. The ‘catamaran’ is 2 canoes lashed together with a platform on top where chairs are placed for viewing.

 

 

 

Pancho and Manuel paddle us around this ox-bow lake where David spots Horned Screamers

 

 

Hoatzin, Least Grebe, Brown Titi, Dusky, Squirrel and Red Howler Monkeys together with a pair of Giant Otters. Blue and yellow macaws fly overhead and a Blue Grey tanager clings to a dead tree. A White-Winged Swallow hitches a lift on the journey back to the boathouse

 

 

where Long-Nosed Bats hang from the ceiling.

 

 

Tonight we are the only guests at the Wildlife Center – the dim candlelight does not reach the dark corners of the lofty lodge which had been busy with guests the previous night.

 

Next morning at 5 am I’m sitting in the lodge waiting for hot water for tea while the cooks prepare breakfast for a second visit to the hide. The lick was quieter today, the yellow-fronted parrots were leaving as we arrived and the blue-headed and mealy parrots didn’t settle on the lick. Approximately 50 red and green macaws slowly drifted down to the lick and began feeding before being startled by a family of red howler monkeys. Whilst the monkeys don’t predate on the macaws David says their close proximity was enough to startle the birds. The red howlers have a deep red, richly coloured coat. that lights up in the sun.

 

 

There are some local boats on the river around Manu Wildlife Center as families travel around during the school holidays

 

 

 

The afternoon catamaran trip around Cocha Camungo began after a short boat ride and a 15 minute walk along a leaf-strewn path. Camungo is not visited as frequently as Cocha Blanco and once again Pancho and Manuel paddle us around. The highlight of the day is a 3 toed sloth sleeping in a dead tree. I had always thought that sloths were slow moving, however this one shinned down the tree so fast I only managed one photo

 

 

Other sights were numerous hoatzin (punk chickens?)

 

 

 

Donacobius, a brief glimpse of Giant Otters and a Black-Collared Hawk. A heavy gray cloud hangs over the lake and we are lucky to escape a downpour – this time.

 

The rain begins around 1.30 am and does not let up for the downriver trip to Colorado and on to Puerto Maldonado. We wait for dawn before beginning this miserable cold, wet, windy trip – the wind and rain increase and the temperature plummets. A lonely Manu jaguar looks as cold as we are as it rests on the river bank

 

 

 

Our ponchos whip around us for most of the 3.5 hour boat trip where we say goodbye to Pancho and begin a 1 hour car journey to a river crossing where we need the life jackets once again. We say goodbye to Manuel here, he is returning upstream with Pancho to Atalaya. The final stage is a 1 hour drive which ends at the Rainforest Expeditions office where we say goodbye to David.

 

We really enjoyed the trip from Cusco through Manu Cloudforest to the Manu Wildlife Center. We were fortunate to have a guide of David's calibre who was knowledgeable, thoughtful and great company. David was very patient and tried hard to find quetzels for us, he didn't seem to mind that we wanted to spend a morning seeing what we could see around Cock of the Rock Lodge. Pancho and Manuel did all the heavy work with the boat and catamarans that allowed us such great sights - they also carried our breakfast into the Blanquillo hide each morning. Manu Expeditions is a safety conscious company, carrying a spare outboard motor in an isolated area like Manu was very reassuring. Accommodation and food was of a very high standard during these 5 days considering how isolated the lodges were.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Treepol

[michael-ibk]

A great continuation of your report. The licks must have been spectacular, what a colour feast you were enjoying there. Really love the pics of the sloth and the hoatzin, for some reason a bird which fascinates me, it reminds me a bit of an Archaeopterix.

 

Jaguar here too! Did you hope for one, or was that a surprise?

 

And a question about the condors: Are they regularly attracted with cadavers for tourists sake or was this just a (lucky) coincidence?

[Treepol]

I am fascinated by the prehistoric hoatzin too, how amazing that the chicks have hooks on their wings that disappear as they grow? I was pleased to see so many of these birds on the ox-bow lakes.

 

Well, of course I hoped for jaguar in Peru, but it was a surprise. We were talking about seeing a dozen jaguar but only made 11, maybe I will count the tail that I glimpsed along Black Channel - and then that will be 12!

 

I don't think the carcasses were deliberately put there to attract the vultures, bullfights are infrequent so it was possibly just a convenient location to dump the dead bulls knowing that they would be eaten quickly. I didn't get the impression from the guide that the condors were fed on a regular basis on a vulture restaurant basis.

[SafariChick]

Fantastic condor shots! Love the sloth (saw them in Costa Rica too and I adore them) and the peccaries. And the howler monkeys too - we heard, but didn't see, them in Costa Rica. And how great to see another jaguar!

[jeremie]

This was an amazing trip, you should have been really lucky to see an jaguar in Manu, it's not so usual over there. Your last images represent a marvelous invitation to travel to the Amazon ! I'll fly tomorow to a place next door, on the bolivian side of the frontier: Madidi National Park and Yacuma Pampas located inside the Llanuras de Moxos. I hope it will be as exciting as Manu! Madidi definitely seems amazing anyway.

Hope you will post the pics of the spectacled bears tomorrow before my flight!

[pedro maia]

What an amazing trip, looking forward to the following chapters.

 

How would you rate the different parts of Pantanal you visited, Southern, Transpantaneira and Porto Jofre and then river Paraguai?

Edited September 14, 2013 by pedro maia

[Treepol]

TAMBOPATA RESERVE

 

Following our miserable trip downriver to Puerto Maldonado we quickly change into warmer clothes at the Rainforest Expeditions and meet Pedro our guide for the next 3 days. There is great excitement when an urban-dwelling 3 toed sloth came down from the trees – they see him about once a week

 

 

There is another 5 hour boat trip to be completed today, longer than usual because the overnight rain has damaged the road and we cannot do the bus transfer that saves 19 km on the river. Eventually we arrive at Refugio Amazonas where its early to bed after a light dinner. Next day we have a sleep-in until 6.45 am (luxury) followed by a leisurely breakfast and short walk before the 11 am boat leaves for the Tambopata Research Center.

 

The upriver journey is pleasant due to improved weather and interesting scenery. The river is very shallow and we are poled through some of the worst corners. The guides point out white (spectacled) caiman

 

 

capybaras, cocoi heron, snowy egrets and a Great Black Hawk along the way. The major sighting is of a male jaguar, however the boat approaches too quickly and he is gone

 

 

Cheryl and I are amused when we are told that a sighting of 20 seconds is good, mostly they are much shorter, closer to 10 seconds and we think back to the hours in the Pantanal that we spent observing these animals.

 

There is a 10 minute walk from the river to the Research Center and we have the remainder of the day to ourselves which is welcome given the previous long, cold day we spent on the rivers. An early night is followed by a 4.45 am start in order to arrive at the macaw lick just before the birds. A short boat ride, a 5 minute walk and we are sitting on our folding chairs waiting for the macaws. Yellow-fronted, Blue-headed, Mealy, White-bellied and Orange-fronted parrots are the first to arrive, however these are too far away for anything but good views with binoculars. A couple of Chestnut-fronted and Red-bellied macaws are flying around screeching but do not settle on the lick, neither do the Blue and Gold, Scarlet and Red and Green Macaws. This was really disappointing, as the visit to the Lick was the main reason for spending 3 nights in the Tambopata Reserve.

 

Back at the Research Center we decide to do a morning trail walk with Pedro. The first sighting is a 2 toed sloth way up high in the canopy, spider monkeys travelling fast through the trees, Red-necked Woodpecker, Yellow Spotted Side-necked turtle

 

 

a Green Kingfisher balancing above the fast-flowing river

 

 

and a Neo-tropical Amazonian spider

 

 

An Undulated Tinamou scratches through the leaves and surprisingly does not run as we approach and an Amazon Race-runner Lizard soaks up the sun in a forest clearing

 

 

A male Dusky Titi Monkey with a baby on its back forages in nearby trees during lunch

 

 

Twenty years ago the Research Center participated in a program to rescue and raise the second and third Scarlet Macaw chicks in nests. The youngest birds are more likely to die from neglect as the older, first hatched chick receives the most food and best care. There are currently 5 macaws aged around 20 who were hand-raised at the Center and who are frequent visitors, although their wild-raised partners do not approach too close. The 5 are known as ‘Los Chicas’ and like to hang around the kitchen for food – chicken, fruit, bread and pancakes are favourites - they apparently have a good nose for pancakes.

 

 

Two of the chicas wander from room to room in search of mischief – rings, earrings and tablets in foil packs are at risk from these attractive thieves. Late in the afternoon ‘los chicas’ fly into the trees behind the lodge where the sun lights up fiery scarlet feathers while 2 Dusky Titi monkeys feed quietly below.

 

Next morning we are up early at 4.30am for a 5.30am start downriver en route to the concrete jungle for the flight to Chiclayo in Northern Peru. Dawn on the river is serene

 

 

with rows of Neo-tropical cormorants on logs at the riverside and long shadows cast through the white trunks of the Cecropia trees that quickly colonise secondary rainforest.

 

 

We looked in vain for our 12^th jaguar, however we like to think that if we didn’t see the jaguar, maybe the jaguar saw us! The last 45 minutes of the trip is completed by mini-bus that passes guava orchards where the harvest is in full swing and the fruit is being packed in wooden crates ready for market. There is a great deal of road-building that points to rapid development fuelled by tourism and the downstream goldmines in the Colorado area.

 

The course of the dirty brown river around Puerto Maldonado is clearly seen snaking through the verdant jungle as the plane takes off. Closer to Cusco agriculture is the predominant land use with many high fields and terraced valleys. Abandoned terraces even higher in the valleys indicate the intensive nature of Inca agriculture. Some are so high that it would be a days work to reach them, let alone do any work on arrival! A network of roads between Cusco and Lima is obvious from the air. The roads cling to mountainsides, twisting and winding with the contours of the mountains before climbing to isolated settlements by a series of tight switchbacks. Suddenly, the plane drops below the clouds and we are flying over a bay crowded with moored ships awaiting cargoes. There are acres of brand new vehicles in factory ‘wrapping’ that look so grimy they could be at the end of their useful life rather than the beginning. We have a short wait in Lima before departing for Chiclayo on the evening flight.

[Treepol]

BOSQUE DE POMOC AND CHAPARRI RESERVE

 

Chiclayo is Peru’s 4^th largest city with a population of around 1,000,000 people. It seems to have a permanent pall of smog that hangs over the city. Whilst parts of the city are very modern, many sights such as shop-houses, over-loaded tuk-tuks and former stylish colonial buildings falling into disrepair remind me of the old towns in Saigon, Cochin and Penang.

 

John and Fernando from Chaparri collect us at 10 am for a planned day trip to the ruins at Bosque de Pomoc and Sipan. One of the first sights is a large flock of Great Egrets in a field of sugarcane. John is the vet at Chaparri and begins pointing out birds, the first of which is a Peruvian Pygmy Owl

 

 

and soon after I notice the Peruvian Brushcutter Trail

 

 

We spend longer than planned walking the trail and at the end of the trail we catch a whiff of skunk and a glimpse of a Sechuan Fox before heading for the ruins.

 

During the walk around the mud pyramids at Bosque de Pomac we have a close look at the ruins but our eyes keep swiveling skywards, checking for the birds for which this area is well known.

 

 

 

 

A Burrowing Owl is watching us closely as we begin to drive away.

 

 

As we have spent so much time looking for birds we decide to head straight to Chaparri via a back road that crosses 2 valleys. The first valley is like a scene from the Old West with sparse vegetation and large cacti plants

 

 

This desolate area is used as a source of gravel and road-building materials and the Peruvian air force has an area set aside for target practice.

 

Suddenly the landscape changes to one of green agricultural crops where rice, grapes, corn, bananas, beans, sugarcane and potatoes grow in abundance irrigated with Andes water sourced from a large canal.

 

 

Arriving at Chaparri Reserve we pay our fees and collect a young local guide named Daniel. John will be staying on as our translator and he tell us about his latest work for the BBC when he spent 3 months in Manu Reserve making a program on giant otters.

 

We do a late afternoon walk to the herpetarium where there aren’t many snakes because a wild spectacled bear broke into the enclosure and damaged the flywire allowing the snakes to escape. The folks at Chaparri care for a relinquished former pet collared peccary that is visited by wild pecarries, one of which has 2 piglets.

 

 

A ranger is on the way to feed the spectacled bears in the rehab centre and soon after a loud wailing is heard – the female is in season and she won’t have anything to do with the old male bear who shares the compound – she sleeps in the treetops where he can’t follow because he is too old to climb.

 

The first morning at Chaparri we are at the freshwater pool where 6 species of hummingbird come to bathe.

 

 

 

A saffron finch catches the morning sun on the lodge roof

 

 

and the sun shines on the peak behind the lodge

 

 

After breakfast we do a circular trail up past the rehab centre where the bears are disinterested in breakfast. The ranger throws sweet potatoes joined by a piece of string into the trees to make the female work for her food. This is an enrichment activity for the bears, designed to keep them active at mealtimes. The morning walk is very productive - we see a Collared Ant-shrike

 

 

collared peccaries, re-introduced llamas

 

 

a lizard basking in the warm sun,

 

 

a Black and Chestnut Eagle lazily riding the early thermals, a brilliantly coloured Golden-bellied Grosbeak

 

 

and a Sechuan fox. A family of white-winged guan lives around the lodge

 

 

The bears are very lazy in the afternoon so we do a longer walk below the lodge at dusk looking for deer. Next day we are at the hummingbird pool at 6.45, this place is so tranquil I am going to pin a photo above my desk at work to remind me of cool, still and calm places!

 

 

After breakfast we head up the hill with the ranger who feeds the bears – he has worked with them for 8 years and obviously cares for their wellbeing very much. Once again he ties sweet potatoes with string and the female has to climb for her breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

whilst 28 year old Kota eats in front of us at a stone ‘table’.

 

 

Kota was rescued from a circus and because his canine teeth were removed he would not survive in the wild. John said that when he is anaesthetised for his annual vet check his toenails will be trimmed and hopefully he will walk more easily.

 

John takes us to see Pierre the ‘escaping’ bear who now has to live in a large barred area. Every morning he has a free run through his enclosure where he has to look in multiple places for the sweet potatoes and other treats the ranger has for him. He sometimes swims in the pool, maybe a swing on the tyre tied to a high tree and a ramble through the bush. John would like to release him, however the government has vetoed this option because Pierre is not afraid of people and any interaction could have dangerous consequences.

 

Too soon, Fernando is waiting to drive us to the airport in Chiclayo for our onward flights to Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) via Lima and Santiago. I have enjoyed walking across the swinging bridge

 

 

to get to my adobe chalet with the cacti garden in the bathroom and the visits to the bears were very special. The hummingbird pool was a magic place to begin the day with quiet contemplation and the whole reserve is rich in birdlife. We drop Daniel off at reception where children are washing bottles that will be used in the construction of a community library.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

John will be staying on as our translator and he tell us about his latest work for the BBC when he spent 3 months in Manu Reserve making a program on giant otters.

 

 

This was on TV here this week. Beautiful documentary with some stunning footage. The otters can be pretty hardcore, they were seen ganging up on a black caiman (much bigger and more dangerous than their Yacare conspecifics in the Pantanal) and biting it to death.

 

Excerpt here on Youtube:

 

[Treepol]

@@michael-ibk thanks for posting that amazing clip. Wow, those otters are feisty and brave! We haven't seen this program in Australia yet, but I am looking out for it. When do you fly out to Brazil, can't be long now.

 

@@jeremie I look forward to hearing about Madidi. I have a copy of Kim MacQuarrie's book, Where the Andes meet the Amazon : Peru and Bolivia's Bahuaja Sonene and Madidi National Parks which looks like a less visited Manu with possible good sightings of jaguar, giant otter, cock of the rock, tapir...I'll watch out for your TR!

 

@@pedro maia - wow, thats a hard question.

 

I rate all areas of the Pantanal highly! A mix of jaguar tracking from boats and a stay at a fazenda along the Transpantaneira for grassland and forest species such as anteater and monkeys provides a great opportunity for wildlife viewing diversity. A trip combining the Northern and Southern Pantanal allows visitors to experience the cleared areas of the Southern Pantanal where cattle seemed to be more evident when compared with the riverine and forested areas of the Northern Pantanal. This year, having the charter flights from Baia das Pedras to Porto Jofre and from Pocone to Hotel Baiazinha return meant that we had a seamless 17 days in the Pantanal, avoiding flights and road transfers between the North and South.

 

A distinctive feature of travelling throughout the Pantanal is that there is always so much to look at - there is rarely a single sight at any stop. Capybaras graze with tiger herons, coatis fraternise with jabirus and a jaguar on a river bank may have caiman nearby. Mostly, there really is a bird in every tree! All of the areas we visited have something unique and interesting to offer. During trips in 2010 and 2013 I've stayed at both Barranco Alto and Baia das Pedras in the south and the following properties in the North: Porto Jofre Hotel, Rio Clara, Piuval, Araras Eco-lodge, Pousada Alegre and Jaguar Eco-lodge.

 

Accommodation at both Barranco Alto and Baia das Pedras was more luxurious than anywhere in the Northern Pantanal except for Hotel Baiazinha. We enjoyed sharing meals and being guided by the owners of both these properties. However, luxurious accommodation is not required and we stayed at Pousada Piuval, Rio Clara and Porto Jofre Hotel during both trips and found the rooms, clean, comfortable with excellent food and would happily return for a third visit.

 

Porto Jofre and Hotel Baiazinha were both very good for jaguar viewing - we saw more jaguars along the Paraguay River than at Porto Jofre, however the absence of river banks on the part of the Paraguay River that we visited made photography a challenge at times. It would be good to re-visit this area to make a more meaningful comparison. The Taima Ecological Reserve is 80 minutes from the Hotel Baiazinha by fast boat, whereas Black Channel and Tres Irmaos River is around 40 minutes from Porto Jofre Hotel. I enjoyed spending time on both rivers, there was always something to look at while we were 'in transit'. We saw giant otters, jaguar, capybaras, caiman, jabiru and the usual birds on both rivers although large flocks of skimmers and egrets were only seen in the Northern Pantanal whilst the largest flock of roseate spoonbills was on the Paraguay River. Porto Jofre Hotel has a lily pond where its easy to see the giant water lily pads and flowers.

 

I have had good luck both trips with giant anteater at the Southern Pantanal lodges with 2 brief views at Pousada Alegre in the north. The best Southern Tamandua sighting was at Pousada Piuval this year with a spotlit sighting at Barranco Alto in 2010. Rio Clara and Piuval were particularly good for Howler and Capuchin monkeys. We had several sightings of armadillos at Baia das Pedras and one at Rio Clara. Different species of deer were seen at Baia das Pedras, Pousada Alegre and Rio Clara. The most coatis were seen at Baia das Pedras in large groups whilst the closest sighting of these cheeky animals was at Pousada Alegre.

 

Sightings of toucans occurred in both the North and the South whilst the strikingly marked Chestnut-eared Aracari was only seen in the North at Pousada Alegre and Piuval in 2010. Hyacinth macaws were seen at both Southern lodges as well as Porto Jofre Hotel, Araras and Pousada Alegre. The Northern Pantanal was best for sightings of Savannah, Roadside, Black-collared and Great Black Hawks. Reflections and sunsets along the Northern Pantanal waterways were memorable whilst sunrise and sunsets at all properties we stayed at provided great photo opportunities at dawn and dusk.

 

The Transpantaneira is much more than an access road to the southernmost point at Porto Jofre. It provides a ring side seat to waterholes along both sides of the road where caiman, water birds and cattle are frequently seen. Wildlife can be seen crossing the road or in fields by the roadside - we saw a tayra briefly, crab-eating fox, many caiman and narrowly missed a female jaguar and cubs along the road this year. Some Northern lodges are quite close to the Transpantaneira whereas both Barranco Alto and Baia das Pedras are very remote from other settlements and roads. Rio Clara, Piuval and Pousada Alegre are located away from the passing traffic on the Transpantaneira. Lodges that offer board walks and towers provide a different viewing opportunity to that gained from a boat, vehicle or on foot. Araras and Piuval both have towers and Araras has two interesting boardwalks that cross some wetlands and provide access to lightly forested areas. Walking trails at Piuval, Rio Clara and Pousada Alegre were very productive this year, delivering sightings of coati, capuchin monkeys, red brocket deer and Southern tamandua.

 

The Northern Pantanal is readily accessed from Cuiaba - Porto Jofre can be reached in 4-5 hours on tarred and gravel roads. Both Southern Pantanal lodges we stayed at were 5+ hours from Campo Grande over tarred and bumpy sandy roads some of which were water-logged in places. The water drains from the Southern Pantanal later than it recedes from the Northern Pantanal and this can impact on access to Southern properties early in the season.

 

These are the main distinctions between the areas that we visited, however you may also be interested in a comparison made by @@Atravelynn which is here

 

 

[Treepol]

@@pedro maia I forgot to say that we were the only boat in the reserve and at the jaguar sightings for the 2 days we were there, which is quite different to some sightings in the Porto Jofre area. There were at least 8 boats at our first jaguar sighting on Black Channel.

 

The uncrowded sightings at the Taima Ecological Reserve on the Paraguay River are a major attraction of jaguar viewing based from the very comfortable Hotel Baiazinha.

 

EASTER ISLAND (ISLA DE PASCUA)

 

After 30+ hours of flying, we are decanted at Mataveri Airport where we purchase tickets for the National Park in preparation for our tour the next day. Easter Island is a 6 hour flight from Santiago. We are transferred to the Hotel Tauraa and spend the afternoon looking around town. Easter Island is a quiet place with one main street, lots of restaurants, a couple of supermarket type places and two Internet cafes. The first moais are along the shore near the town. Restaurants are expensive compared to prices in Peru with fairly ordinary mains costing US$20-30.

 

Larry is our guide for the full day tour of the island. He is originally from Melbourne and worked on a the film Rapa Nui in 1992, met a local woman and stayed. We head down the island’s south coast where the first ahus (an ahu is a ceremonial platform) we see are quite small with the moais pushed over and broken

when the locals no longer believed that the ancestors were watching over them.

 

 

The quarry is an excellent site for viewing all stages of moai construction because several statues in various stages of production are visible.

 

 

The front of the statues was carved in situ and separated from the bedrock when the sculptors cut through a stone ‘keel’.

 

 

The statues were then moved downhill where they stood in pits to have the carvings on the back completed. Only a third of the statue is evident above ground with the bulk of the statue buried in the pit.

 

 

Once the carving was completed the statues were moved to ahus around the island on an early road network. How they were moved remains a mystery, however as larger moais continued to be produced until around 1680 there was a way to transport these heavyweights.

 

Walking around the hill from the quarry I am amazed by my first view of Tongariki a restored ahu of 15 moai.

 

 

Tongariki is the quintessential postcard view of Easter Island and we are returning tomorrow at dawn. The tallest moai at Tongariki weighs 87 tons and is the largest on the island.

 

 

The day tour concludes at the main beach, where families and visitors swim, sunbake and eat.

 

 

Sunday is family day on Easter Island and throughout the day we see people fishing, enjoying beach barbecues and picnicking.

 

Next morning Larry collects us at 6.15 for the drive to Tongariki in the pitch dark. I don’t recognize any of the landmarks picked out by the headlights. The moais look prehistoric in the dawn light before the sun lights up the ancient stones. Once the sun has risen the stones cast long shadows across the grass. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the morning we spend a couple of hours wandering through town where shops sell the usual souvenirs – t-shirts, carved stone, miniature moai and shellcrafts. Lunch is freshly baked empanadas bought from the bakery in the main street. We have an easy afternoon as the flight to Tahiti is 6 hours long and crosses a couple of timezones before finally arriving at 1 am.

 

 

[Treepol]

TAHITI

 

The plane lands at Faa’a International Airport in Papeete around 1 am. There are musicians performing traditional songs of welcome and we have lots of time to take in this cultural experience as immigration is painfully slow. The transfer driver is waiting patiently as emerge from the Arrivals Hall and kindly takes us to an ATM to withdraw French Pacific Francs.

 

We arrive at Pension de la Plage and crash for a few hours sleep. The pension serves a delicious tropical breakfast of fresh fruit, cereals and fresh breads with jams and cheeses. We booked a private 4WD island tour for the day as we were keen to see as much of this Pacific paradise as possible in the short time available. Sydney arrives with a ‘bakkie’ - our safari vehicle for the day.

 

 

First stop is the Explorer’s Monument where there are some familiar names – Cook, Banks and Bligh all of whom visited Tasmania in the 18^th Century.

 

 

This is our first taste of Tahiti and we see small boats on cradles at the edge of the lagoon, black sand beaches and the lush vegetation that covers the interior of the island.

 

 

 

 

Common myna birds and Red-vented bulbuls are easily seen around the monument.

 

 

 

Sydney drives us into the centre of the island which is surprisingly mountainous, sparsely inhabited and very green. We stop at 3 different waterfalls that tumble down the mountainsides creating of plume of clean white spray.

 

 

Returning to the road that circumnavigates the island we quickly gain an appreciation of the importance of the sea in the life of Tahitians. Every 5-10 kilometres we see people fishing, swimming, paddling outrigger canoes and even canoe-surfing.

 

 

We stop for lunch in a snack bar which is really a small family run restaurant with an extensive menu before setting off around the island again. It is a favourite place with the local gendarmes and we eat our lunch in the company of a group of ‘uniforms’.

 

Much of the circular road around the island is characterised by ribbon development and most houses have a waterfront location. We stop at the grottoes where cave mouths yawn away into the darkness and water drips into the pools. Tropical plants grow around the pools with ginger, birds of paradise and waterlilies being some of the easiest to identify

 

 

Close to the grottoes there is a classic view of a palm-fringed lagoon which is a lasting memory of the Pacific

 

 

Next morning we are collected at 4.30 am (!) and driven to the airport in time for the 7.30 flight to Auckland, Melbourne and home.

 

This 6 week trip stitched together 5 distinct regions – the watery realms of the Pantanal and Amazon, the drylands of northern Peru, the island scenery and moais of Easter Island and palm-fringed Tahiti. Whilst we didn’t spend an extensive amount of time in the Pacific, our LAN ticket gave us an opportunity to ‘island-hop’ our way back to Australia and Easter Island and Tahiti became exotic add-ons, albeit with some very unfriendly flight times.

 

The diversity of the environments in this itinerary made some memorable wildlife and cultural sightings possible. These included baby-toting giant anteaters (thanks @Sangeeta), jaguar, spectacled bears and sloths in addition to colourful and comical bird species such as toco toucans, Andean cocks of the rock and chestnut-eared aracari. The moai of Easter Island and the palm-fringed lagoons of Tahiti provided cultural experiences that contrasted to those we enjoyed in Brazil and Peru. Great memories indeed.

[Leely]

Magnificent photos! What an epic journey. Thanks for sharing it all.

[michael-ibk]

Great memories indeed.

And a great trip report indeed.Thank you, @@Treepol, I really enjoyed all of this, not only the Pantanal part and will surely read through all of it again several times.

Edited October 15, 2013 by michael-ibk

[Treepol]

@@michael-ibk thank you once again for your very kind comments on the TR. How was your own trip to the Pantanal? I'm looking forward to your TR and am keen to hear about Sao Sebastio ranch - no pressure mind!

[michael-ibk]

Thank you, it was wonderful, and a return trip is not an "if" but just a "when" question.

 

Shouldn´t be too long before I´m able to start with the TR - hopefully.

[pault]

I'm saving this for a rainy day.Amazing itinerary.

[SafariChick]

What a fabulous trip! The work that must have gone into even just planning it is impressive, and it seems to have been really worthwhile. Thank you for the great report!

[TonyQ]

@@Treepol

Thank you for a wonderful report -great writing all the way through and excellent photos

Such a variety of wildlife

The section on the Pantanal has really influenced our travel plans (and the report from @@pedro maia ) - it has come from nowhere for us and we are thinking - here or Borneo!

 

You give a great flavour of being there. The photos of the baby anteaters on their mother is one of the cutest photos I have ever seen -I had no idea they did that. We have also started digging out older reports on this region - so thank you

 

I enjoyed the Peru section for slightly different reasons - we went to the bits you did ( not the north) about 5 years ago so a bit of nostalgia - very enjoyable

And the final bits including Easter Islands - wow!

[Treepol]

@@TonyQ thank you for your kind words. There are so many great wildlife destinations, I'm sure you would enjoy either Borneo or the Pantanal equally as both offer unique experiences.

 

I am heading back to Namibia and Botswana next year and maybe back to the Pantanal in 2015 if my mother would like to go. Alaska, Borneo, India, Sri Lanka, US national parks and Spain are also high on my list. Then there is Katavi, South Luangwa, Kafue and Zimbabwe all of which have received stellar recent reports.

 

Feel free to ask any Pantanal related questions. In May I posted planning notes for this years trip in the worldwide trip planning forum and you may find these useful.

[Atdahl]

Treepol, Wow! What a great trip and trip report. I inhaled every word since I am planning a trip myself for next year. Thanks for sharing it and thanks for leading me to this great forum via Fodors. I have LOTS of reading to do out here.