If we thought the Iberá Wetlands was rich in wildlife, the Pantanal was even more so! We had read online that in order to encounter as much wildlife as possible and fully experience the Pantanal, it is recommended to stay in a lodge. As such, we found a secure place to leave Phil in the city of Cuiabá and headed by hire car to Pouso Alegre Lodge, located approximately 30 km along the famous Transpantaneria from the town of Poconé.
We had heard great things about the access road to the northern Pantanal, the Transpantaneiria, so we were very much looking forward to the drive in. We did see some impressive birds along the way, including buff-necked and plumbeous ibises, jabiru (widely considered the symbol of the Pantanal) and wood storks, greater rheas and red-legged seriemas. However, we found it just too dusty to really enjoy. The road is a mixture of dirt and gravel, and the local minibus drivers fly along at speed (despite the 40 kph speed limit that’s in place) kicking up clouds of dust.
Pouso Alegre Lodge
We were happy to reach our turning after an hour or so and slowly made our way along the 8 km dirt track to Pouso Alegre Lodge. The grounds of the lodge are home to a vast array of wildlife, and on the drive in we encountered many yacare caiman, jabiru and wood storks, roseate spoonbills, green and bare-faced ibises, herons, egrets, parakeets, guans, kingfishers and much more – it really felt like we were on safari! Arriving at the lodge mid-afternoon, we then found a small band of coatis rooting around the bushes looking for food! We settled into our room and went for an evening walk to the nearby observation tower where we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
We booked to stay four nights at Pouso Alegre Lodge, giving ourselves three full days in the Pantanal. On our first full day we woke at 6 am to visit the feeding station where the lodge staff put food (seeds and fruit) out each morning for the birds (we were slightly jealous as the birds were getting papaya for breakfast and we did not get any!). Many birds visited the feeder that morning: chestnut-eared aracaris, red-crested cardinals, giant and shiny cowbirds, purplish jays, ruddy ground, scaled and white-tipped doves, red-throated piping guans, chaco chachalacas and bare-faced curassows. A beautiful toco toucan came to watch in a tree nearby, but it was too shy to come down to the feeder.
After breakfast, we spent the day exploring some of the trails around the lodge. Whilst out walking we had three wildlife encounters that we were particularly excited about. The first was when we came across an adorable family of tufted capuchin monkeys! We enjoyed quietly following the family group as they foraged and preened, swinging from tree to tree. The second was when we heard and saw three pairs of hyacinth macaws! Their colourful feathers were so pristine that they looked almost artificial. These stunning birds are charismatic too – we watched as they playfully hung upside-down and chatted with each other, seemingly discussing their plans for the day! The third exciting encounter was at dusk. We were heading back to the lodge when we found a family of our all-time favourite rodent – capybaras. These adorable animals never fail to make us smile.
Night safari
That evening we joined another couple on an incredible night drive safari. During the hour and a half drive within the grounds of the lodge we were lucky to see a group of collared peccaries, a crab-eating fox, a common tapeti (also known as a Brazilian cottontail rabbit), a great horned owl, a black-crowned night heron, many common pauraques and, most exciting of all, a tapir! We had a wonderful sighting of the tapir as it was just appearing out from the trees to drink from a large pond. We were all in awe of this beautiful animal. It was a magical experience!
Jaguar safari
The next morning we woke at 4 am full of anticipation! Hopping in our hire car we drove the 120 km to Porto Jofre and Pousada Berço with whom we had booked a full-day jaguar boat safari. It was a long journey along a bumpy dirt/gravel road, mostly in the dark, but we arrived with time for a hearty breakfast before boarding the boat, which we had to ourselves! As soon as we were ready, our guide set off straight away to the Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas to look for jaguars.
Half an hour or so into the safari, we bumped into another guide who passed on some information and we sped off in the direction he indicated. Our first jaguar sighting was of one swimming across the river. We were struck by the size of their head and how they swam with ease. Soon after, we found another jaguar which had just caught a caiman and was dragging it into the vegetation!
Then, our guide was alerted by radio of another jaguar nearby. We joined a few other boats and waited near a bank for them to appear. It didn’t take long before a beautiful female jaguar appeared, walking along the bank, pausing to sit in the open for several minutes at a time. It was incredible to see her, but we did feel that the boats were bothering her after a while and we were relieved when our guide peeled off in search of other jaguars.
We saw a total of seven jaguars during the day! Our favourite encounter was of another lone female jaguar that was following the river bank, scenting and searching for caiman to hunt. She was very confident and hardly seemed to notice the boats of people observing her (plus there were only a few boats at this sighting).
Whilst eating lunch on the boat, we spoke with our guide and asked him whether it was possible to see giant river otters. He subsequently took us to a different part of the river system and we managed to find a lone giant river otter. It was very cool to see, and we would recommend letting your guide know if you are interested in spotting other animals on the tour.
We requested to finish the tour a little early to give ourselves enough time to return to the lodge before dinner. By the time we reached the turning to our lodge we were very tired. But, we were instantly energised when we spotted a tapir on the entrance track to the lodge. Likely the same one from the night before, we extremely enjoyed our private wildlife sighting.
Back at the lodge
We had a slower start to our final full day at the lodge. We decided to do a guided walk with two of the staff at the lodge to find a great potoo that often spends its days perched in a particular tree within the forest to the north of the lodge. It is a remarkable looking bird, perfectly camouflaged and appearing as though it is merely an extension of the tree it is perched on! During the guided walk we also came across a group of tiny and very cute black-tailed marmosets, a pair of orange-backed troupials, a rufous-tailed jacamar, and a red-billed scythebill amongst others.
The rest of our day was spent wandering the trails and soaking up as much of this amazing place and its wildlife as we could.
Summary
We had an incredible trip to the Pantanal. The variety of wildlife that lives there is unbelievable, and what is even more incredible is how easy it is to encounter the wildlife (unlike the rainforest where it can be challenging to spot things). If your main reason for visiting is to observe wildlife, then we would highly recommend staying at Pouso Alegre Lodge. The accommodation and food is fairly basic so it is not for everyone. However, the bird and mammal life more than makes up for it. The owner, Luiz, is friendly and clearly passionate about the wildlife that lives there.
We would also recommend doing the jaguar tour with Pousada Berço. However, although it is doable, we probably wouldn’t recommend doing a day trip from Pouso Alegre Lodge to do a jaguar safari and then return! In total, we were driving for 7.5 hours! We chose to do it this way to save money (the lodges in Porto Jofre are more expensive than those further out), but we wished that we had stayed at least one night in Porto Jofre. Pousada Berço itself looks very nice so that is likely a good option.
