Horseback riding safari in the Pantanal of Brazil

Pantanal Fazendas Expedition 

Explore the upper and lower Pantanal and ride between 4 different fazendas (ranches).
Pantanal is unique to this world. What make’s it a special region, is its different landscapes which can change radically when crossing the bank of a river. Fields, swamps and woods with the influence of the Amazonian Forest, Fenced Land and Savanna form a mixture of ecosystems. Its balance depends on the waters, the cycle of floods and droughts of the region.
The Pantanal Expedition is a cavalcade which lets us visit, get to know and appreciating the unique and dazzling scenery. Its geographic and climatic diversity, as well as its unequalled natural beauties, becomes transformed into a haven of nature, offering the visitor a great variety of landscapes filled with birds and animals.
The Pantanal Exedition has a special charm during the season of the waters when bays, lagoons and creeks are formed. In native legends, Pantanal is remembered as a great lake full of islands, called the "Sea of the Xaraiés".  The waters which cover the fields, fish and crustacean, leave the bays and river beds and go into the plains in search of food and places for breeding.  Representing a rich source of food and attracting a large number of aquatic birds. These are the birds which fill Pantanal with sounds and movements at this time of year. In this season aquatic mammals also have the opportunity to increase their territory in search of food and a partner for mating while the land mammals migrate to the high ground.

IT-BRPA01
Rates include accommodations in 4 different fazendas in the lower and higher Pantanal, all meals, daily horseback riding, wildlife safari by 4x4, boat tour, English speaking guide.
9 days/ 8 nights   $ 1,795 
Single room: +25% if requested
Shorter trip
5 days/ 4 nights   $1,050
Dates 2008 :       
... any time between April and November
 with a minimum of 2+ riders
Airport:  Campo de Grande
Meeting: Campo Grande, gateway to the Pantanal, which can be reached with regular flights via São Paulo (GRU) or Rio de Janeiro (GIG).
Transfer: Pick up from the Campo Grande airport, city tour and then transfer to the Pantanal by jeep (included).
Horses:   Pantaneiro breed - mixed with Criollo and Brazilian Mangalarga
Tack:   Endurance saddles
Pace: Moderate with trots and canters
Level:  Good novice to intermediate+
Climate:  Hot (can be cold during the dry season) 
Min/Max Riders: 2-12
Max Weight:  220 lbs
Note: alcoholic beverages are not included

The Faziendas:
Fazenda São José  
Fazenda Pequi
Fazenda Funil
Fazenda Baía Grande
 

Itinerary
Day 1  Arrival in Campo Grande. Transfer to the Pantanal (approx 4 hrs). Reception at the Fazenda São José. Time to check in, relax and inspect the property and the horses.  Dinner at Pousada Aguapé
Day 2   After breakfast we ride through the fields of the ranch. One has to forget the dimensions of ranches in North America – here the land seems to be endless. The land is home to many birds and wild animals, who live together with the local cattle. Most of the cattle originate from cattle imported from India. We have lunch on the trail brought by a supply vehicle. We return to the ranch house in the afternoon. Dinner at Pousada Aguapé
Day 3  After breakfast we leave Fazenda São Jose towards Fazenda Pequi. We will ride between hundred-year-old trees, palm groves and have the opportunity to see many fascinating birds and animals. Dinner tonight will be at Fazenda Pequi. If you like a good steak – here you will be in heaven. After dinner we will depart on a nocturnal animal safari by boat or jeep.
Day 4  After and extended breakfast we leave Fazenda Pequi in the direction of the Olhos D' Água.  Open country changes and we ride for over an hour through ancient forests and palm groves before arriving at the Fazenda Olhos D'Água, located on the banks of the Rio Aquidauana. Here we enjoy an wonderful typical lunch. In the afternoon we ride back to Fazenda Pequi. Dinner at Fazenda Pequi.
Day 5   Today we depart and ride for about 2 hours before reaching Fazenda Funil, from where the group will be transported by car to the Fazenda Santa Inês, where we arrive just in time for lunch. In the afternoon we explore Fanzeda Santa Inês with a private lake with cayman, capybara and plenty of waterfowl.
Day 6  After breakfast we get ready to move some cattle together with the local cowboys. Dinner at Fazenda Santa Inês.
Day 7  Departure after breakfast from Fazenda Santa Inês to Fazenda Baía Grande on a wonderful ride with a typical lunch along the way. Dinner at Fazenda Baía Grande.
Day 8   In the morning we can help the farmhands with their cattle work. In the afternoon we leave for a photo safari by jeep – and surely we will wild animals and waterfowl. Dinner at Fazenda Baía Grande.
Day 9 After breakfast we ride to the small lake, where we can try our luck to fish for piranhas. Along the way our guide will point out many different bird species that are home in this area.  Typical lunch (piranha soup and fried piranha...that you “caught"....). After lunch we say our farewells and depart for Campo Grande – arriving in the late afternoon.

When is the time to visit Pantanal?
When the rains finish, in the dry period, the waters lower and deposit nutrients in the soil, enriching it and offering food to the animals of the region. This allows tourists during the Pantanal Expedition to encounter animals of a rare beauty. It is also the time to see the purple ipê, the symbolic tree of Pantanal.  At this epoch the vegetation of the fields quickly become increasing exuberant; species which are buried in the earth awaiting the arrival of the waters launch their stems, leaves and flowers to the surface. The flooded field ends up becoming an enormous garden. The woods are dense and rich in foliage, becoming a shelter for mammals and birds.
 If the inundation makes Pantanal a land of birds then the drought is the season of the mammals.  Where these animals can be seen more easily owing to the fact that vegetation loses its foliage.
Between the season changes it is common to indicate that Pantanal is filling up or becoming dry. In the literature, it is possible to verify that the seasons are well defined, with the dry season described as being June through November. Consequently the months of December through May are known as the season of the waters. However, the global climatic variances also logically affect the cycles of Pantanal and currently there is a modification of the duration or intensity of the seasons.
Since the middle of the 70’s, the agricultural and cattle raising economy has increased in Pantanal. Today, with approximately 4 million head of cattle, the region has become an important productive region of meat, and the oxen there (“nelore”), thanks to the large territorial extensions, do not compete with the original fauna. They have become an integral part of the scenery and are constant company of the Pantanal Expedition.

Pantanal
According to Portuguese-English dictionary, PANTANAL is a "large swamp or marsh". In reality the definition is not precise . The term Pantanal is applied to a large land mass which becomes partially submersed during the raining season, covering an area of about 210,000 square kilometers in Central-Western Brazil, Eastern Bolivia and part of Paraguay. The largest portion of Pantanal, about 140,000 square kilometers lies, in Brazil, stretching over two states-- Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. By comparison, Florida Everglades has only 10,000 square kilometers.
The vegetation of the Pantanal is mainly a mixture between three of the most important Eco-systems of South America; the Chaco with its dry forest formations to the south, the savanna-like Cerrado to the east and the Amazon jungle to the north. As a result of the topography and the seasonal climate the landscapes consist of swamps, seasonally flooded grass and woodlands, and various types of forest (evergreen, semi deciduous, gallery etc.). This mixture has caused the Pantanal to house the highest concentration of wildlife in all of the Americas.
In the Pantanal region occur around 700 species of birds (compared to about 500 in all Europe). It is one of the most important breeding grounds for typical wetland birds such as heron, stork, ibis and pink spoonbill that are found in enormous flocks. The magnificent Jabiru with its red neck and black head; the biggest stork of the Americas is known as the symbol of the Pantanal. Quite evident are also the 26 species of parrot including the endangered blue hyacinth macaw, the world's largest parrot more than one meter long. Of other characteristic birds can be mentioned the rhea – the South American version of the ostrich. The large quantity of birds of prey – represented by 45 species – indicates a well balanced ecosystem."
"The Pantanal is a huge plain of marshy areas. The flooding period justifies the myth about its origin that says that it used to be a huge inside ocean, the Xaraés ocean. This hydrographic complex yet includes, countless of bays and lakes with the most diversified areas, linked or not by booklet and runways which are small perennial or even periodic rivers. During the river flooding or rains, it takes place an extraordinary linkage among rivers, river arms and the bays. The river water finally becomes only one: The Xaraés ocean. During the drainage period the region, enriched by humus, becomes the most and more rich concentration of natural foods which will sustain its entire flora and fauna. It is the period that the most large and vigorous grazing land of the world becomes green."

  see  Slide Show

Macaw

Capybara

Caiman

Anaconda