September 17^th until October 4^th 2004.

There are no clearly defined borders to the large wetland area known as the Pantanal. Although a small part of it is a nature reserve, most is privately owned ranch land that extends across Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. A rough estimate would put it at 230,000 sq km’s, or half the size of France.

Caiman

Access is very difficult with the exception of the Transpantaneira, a dirt track that runs from the small town of Pocone in Brazil to Porto Jofre, 145km south. At its conception the road was intended to continue to Corumba on the border with Bolivia, but lack of funds and conservation concerns meant it has never been completed, and it is ill maintained. At Porto Jofre it stops and the journey has to be retraced north again.

Along its route are 114 small wooden bridges crossing flooded dykes. Most are in a bad state of repair with missing planks leaving gapping holes for tyres to disappear down and vehicles frequently get stuck. In September 2004 I could only travel for 79 km’s south before having to turn back at a bridge I could not pass. Locals may have been able to navigate it, but I was too nervous and my hire car insurance would probably have been invalid.

Black-collared hawk

The road was built by simply scooping dirt from the sides to create a raised path through the swamp wide enough for two vehicles. This has resulted in a series of pools the entire length of the road that during the dry season hold the only open water around and are full of fish and birds.

The rainy season runs from October to March, when the whole area will be flooded and access even on the Transpantaneira might be difficult due to the mud. August into September are probably the best times to visit, when most of the water has gone and the birds restricted to the pools close to the road. Air fights in September, after the school holidays, will be cheaper.

Snail kite

Cuiaba airport about 100km north of Pocone is the closest. It requires two connecting flights, the first of 11 hours to Brazil and then another shorter internal one of 3 hours. It is important to go through customs and all border formalities at the first airport, before going to the domestic terminal.

My visit was from September 17^th until October 4^th 2004. The weather was overcast at times, especially first thing and at the end of the day so I did not see a sunrise as such. The sun was always quite high before it burnt off the haze, but my guess rises at 0530 and sets at 1730 hrs.

Red-crested cardinal

There are local car hire firms at the airport, but no one spoke English and their prices were high and without unlimited mileage. Both Avis and Herts have offices in town very close to the airport and gave the best quotes from their web sites. The Avis office is on the main road almost opposite the exit from the airport. It would actually be an easy 300 metre walk if it were not for the heat and your luggage. I did not realise how close it was and booked a taxi at the airport booth for £2 to the Avis office, where I paid £412 for 16 days, with unlimited mileage and full insurance in an air conditioned Volkswagen Pavat estate. They spoke no English, but the guy I dealt with was very good at sign and gesture and I am a real expert. The people of Brazil seem to use sign language a lot.

Sunbittern

The car was neither petrol nor diesel, but ran on Alcool, which is made from sugar cane and this was widely available in petrol stations. A first for me.  4 wheel drive is not needed for the track, but might help to get across the wooden bridges simply because the spread between the wheels might be wider and span the holes.

If you arrive late then within 100 metres of the Avis office is the Hotel Diplomatic, which gave me a good, cool, clean room for £20 (single).

Hyacinth macaw

Another choice of hotel would be the Las Velas, which is on the main road opposite the airport. Step outside the terminal and it can be seen on the other side of the car park. An easy walk and similar costs to the Hotel Diplomatic which is 200 metres further. With your back to the Las Velas the car hire companies are to the left and there is  a hypermarket to the  right where you can get fillings for beanbags and general supplies.

There is an outdoor restaurant on the opposite side of the road to the Hotel Diplomatic, but its name I have forgotten. Sit and eat your evening meal here and watch the traffic negotiate the lights at the junction. At times you wonder why they bother to change from green to red, cars just go straight through regardless of colour. On one occasion I watched a police car going through on green have to slam on his brakes to avoid a car speeding through on red. The police did not react at all, it is a normal and expectable way to drive.

Black vulture

I have managed to drive for a total of 6 weeks in South America so far without an accident, but I have been very stressed. Avoid driving of a night, keep out of the cities if you can and never assume you have right of way.   

Roads can be pot holed, sign posting poor and the traffic fast and dangerous. The road south to Pocone has very light traffic and I found it very relaxing, unusual for South America. It is a two hour drive south to cover the 100 km’s. Signposts out of Cuiaba were none existent, but the car compass I always take and stick on the dash kept me going south until I picked up the route. Initially follow signs for Careres. The turning to Pocone is off to the left, but is not signposted at the turning coming from the north. It is signed if coming up from the south and I spotted it in my rearview mirror after going past the turn.

Black howler monkey

Once at Pocone the compass took me to the south side of town or you can follow the signs for Hotel Sesc. Where the road turns into a dirt track and goes under a metal barrier signed Hotel Sesc you need to look for another sign saying Tranpantaneira. The start of the road is only 200 metres away. Fill up at the two petrol stations here.

I had to ask which was the right track, which was perhaps less obvious than usual due to the road works. In fact the first few km’s of the Transpantaneira were closed and a roadblock in place.  

At about km 15 there is a security barrier where I was waved through on all but one occasion when they wanted to look in the rear of the car. There was never any charge to enter although the Lonely Planet guide book said there was. 

Along the Transpantaneira into the Pantanal there are several lodges to stay at, including one at the far end. Otherwise there are no shops or petrol stations. At the Pousada Pixam, about 60km south there were petrol pumps, but they were covered up as if out of use and my enquiries resulted in lots of negative head shakes.

The Transpantanaeira through the Pantanal

Fuel can therefore be a problem, 140km there and 140 km back along a dirt road in low gears, stopping to photograph, uses up a lot of Alcool. Ideally spare fuel needs to be carried. I bought a plastic container at a hardware store in Pocone and when I left stored it opposite the entrance to the Rio Claro Lodge on the Transpantaneira. Go to the other side of the road to the gate and walk to the fence. It was by the tallest fence post. It's empty, I'm not that generous, but worth borrowing as it will save having to keep returning to Pocone to fill up. You never know it might still be there. If so put it back at the end of your trip. 

In Pocone I spent a several nights at the Hotel Skala, which is right in the centre and cost £10 for a single. It was a bit tatty, but the air conditioning worked well and it had secure parking for the car and a restaurant. Not far away was an internet shop too.

30 km’s along the Transpantanaeira is the Pousada Araras Eco Lodge, which was about £50 for a single for full board. That’s way outside my budget so I moved on. At km 40 is the Fazenda Rio Clara on the left hand side. It was well sign posted. It is about a 3km drive across the ranch to find the lodge, but the track is easy to follow. This cost £26 for a single with full board. Rooms were more than adequate, but not posh and there was plenty of food.

Crested caracara

At km 60 there are two safe looking solid bridges and the Mato Grosso Hotel. This was £34 full board for a single and looked very posh. I had a meal here, but did not stay. There are other lodges too, some of which looked closed to me. All the ones I have mentioned had feeders for birds in the grounds, which were well visited. My favourite for natural perches was the Fazenda Rio Clara.

If I was going again I might consider hiring a guide from the Pantanal Bird Club for the first 3 days. I am sure he would find other photo opportunities I have missed.

For the northern end of the road I would stay at the Hotel Skala in Pocone and then at the Fazenda Rio Clara at km 40 and then finally at the Mato Grosso at km 60. It would be worth driving to the other lodges too. Most have a short drive across the ranch to the accommodation and pictures might be possible. When you get there have a look around, enquire of the price and drive out again. I got some worthwhile pictures this way. The Pouso Alegre Hotel Fazenda for instance was a 6 km drive across a dirt track where I got some good capybara pictures. There was also some excellent bird photographs at a small pool just before the lodge. Within the grounds I got my best pictures of hyacinth macaws.

Large billed tern

The lodge Araras has some broadwalks at the rear which you can visit without staying there. There may be a small charge. At the tallest bird tower black howler monkeys visit and can be approached very closely. Brown capuchins are also present.

Santa Tereza is worth staying at for the boat ride, which is included in the price. Some of the most approachable river otters in the world are seen here.

Other Sites.

From Pocone I drove south to Parque Secs (close to Hotel Secs) which is signposted by the beginning of the Transpantanaleria. It was a rough 40 km drive and after km 27 a few pools on the side of the road gave photo opportunities. These carried on until the Parque was signposted off to the right. More pools were on this track too, but is was getting dark when I was there. It might be worth a look.

I also went to the Parque Nacional Das Emas, which was a days drive to the east of Cuiaba. It is a very open grassland park and I liked it a lot. They have maned wolf here, which I would love to photograph. The problem was getting in. I spent 1 ½  hours trying to understand what I needed to do to get through the gate.

The man on duty was not very sharp and would not sign or gesture information at all. The only Portuguese I have is Pele, Ayrton Senna and Manchester Unitied so we struggled. The Lonely Planet travel guide says you do not need a guide, but in the end I paid one $15 to sit in the back of the car, while I drove around. It seemed to be the only way to get in.

If you could prearrange a trip here I would say it is worth it, but otherwise a long drive. I hope to try it again for manned wolf, sometime in the future.

In Cuiaba I followed a sign to "Zoological" which took me to the university. There is a small collection of native animals here. It was open to the public on a Sunday when I first visited, but appeared closed on Monday when I returned.

I managed to get myself understood and got in at 0630 on Monday, when the first member of staff arrived, but failed to get access to any of the cages or paddocks. I was willing to bribe big time to get in with the river otters and taipers. The lakes were excellent for photography and my lack of progress here was frustrating. Worth trying to arrange access in the future, but it needs doing in advance.