Brazil Macaw Canyon and Giant Anteater Photography Tour
Join Daniel for close encounters with Brazil’s colorful red-and-green macaws, and one of its more strange, yet captivating, creatures, the giant anteater.
About this expedition
Join Daniel for close encounters with Brazil’s colorful red-and-green macaws, and one of its more strange, yet captivating, creatures, the giant anteater. This is a wonderful extension to your Jaguar tour with us!
This journey will take us just south of Brazil’s Pantanal region, starting with an easy, unique snorkel that will introduce us to the river Rio da Prata’s underwater paradise. Swim in crystalline waters (clear as gin!) and photograph the colorful fish and aquatic plants and landscape in this unspoiled environment, an experience not to be missed!
Next, we’ll make our way to “Macaw Canyon” where red-and-green macaws are plentiful. Photograph these colorful birds in flight, perched in trees, and interacting with one another. This is the time of year when the red-and-green macaws mate, so there should be plenty of excitement in the air!
We’ll enjoy close-up encounters with the unusual giant anteater, the largest of all the anteaters. Though a bit odd-looking, you’ll surely be mesmerized by these animals as they meander in their natural habitat, sniffing out unsuspecting ant and termite mounds to satisfy their 30,000 insect per day appetite.
Lastly, we should have opportunities to photograph the beautiful blue-and-gold macaws along with coatis before we return to Cuiabá. Note: Dan will be leading this tour with our local guide.
Itinerary
Thursday, August 31
Jaguar Tour II guests will depart US/Canada to fly to São Paulo (GRU) or Campinas (VCP), usually an overnight flight, arriving September 1.
Friday, September 1 (D)
Upon arrival, board a connecting flight to Campo Grande (CGR). Today Jaguar Tour II guests will have some time to relax from their international flight. There will be a local representative to greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Dan will be finishing up the first jaguar tour today, so our local guide will host our group welcome dinner at a nearby venue. Overnight at Novotel Campo Grande.
Jaguar Tour I guests will spend tonight (the last night of the jaguar tour itinerary) in Cuiabá at the Hotel Slim Cuiabá Aeroporto or similar near the airport.
Saturday, September 2 (B, L, D)
Early this morning Jaguar Tour I guests will head to the airport in Cuiabá and board a flight to Campo Grande with Dan.
Today, we’ll drive to the town of Jardim and make our way to the Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata to eat lunch. After lunch, there are two options.
The first (and more adventurous) option is to stay at Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata for a nature experience like no other. We’ll gear up in our neoprene wetsuits and booties and take a short drive to a nearby trail. A brief walk on this pleasant trail will take us through a beautiful riparian forest filled with old trees, orchids, and bromeliads. Keep an eye out for the creatures that inhabit this forest, including coatis, capuchin monkeys, peccaries, agoutis, anteaters, and several species of birds. At the end of the trail, we’ll snorkel in the crystal clear waters of the Olho d’Água River, a tributary of the Rio da Prata. This aquatic environment hosts 50+ species of Brazil’s native tropical fish along with amazing underwater scenery and vegetation, and you’ll have ample time to enjoy and photograph this unspoiled paradise.
For those who prefer a less adventurous afternoon, enjoy a tour of the Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata gardens before taking a short drive to EcoPark Jardim, located just downstream on the Rio da Prata. Here you’ll have the opportunity to photograph curassows and a plethora of bird species. Several different types of macaws, parakeets, parrots, hummingbirds, hawks, owls, and other avians inhabit this area. The endemic blaze-winged parakeet is one of the top species that is often seen at this location.
In the evening, we will reconvene as a group and have dinner together. Overnight at Vitória Hotel in Jardim
Sunday, September 3 (B, L, D)
Rise and shine, another adventure awaits! This morning we’ll make our way to “Macaw Canyon.” Macaw Canyon has been described as a mini Grand Canyon, though it isn’t the canyon itself that draws people here. This 400-foot deep, 300-foot wide limestone sinkhole is home to 20+ pairs of red-and-green macaws.
We’ll situate ourselves on viewing platforms with plenty of space, so we can photograph these colorful birds in flight, perched in trees, and interacting with one another. This is the finest place in the world to photograph these large macaws, and we can expect numerous unique, and sometimes challenging, photo opportunities. The canyon’s vibrant pink and yellow walls interspersed with various lights and shadows is an excellent location to perfect your photo technique. This is the also time of year when the red-and-green macaws mate, so there should be plenty of excitement in the air!
We’ll take a break to have lunch at and then head back to Macaw Canyon in the afternoon for even more red-and-green macaw opportunities. Overnight at Vitória Hotel
Monday, September 4 (B, L, D)
Now that we’ve spent a whole day photographing the fast-flying red-and-green macaws, we’ll check out of our hotel and head back to Macaw Canyon one last time this morning to hone our action photography skills even more.
Later in the morning we’ll depart the canyon and make our way to Bonito to have lunch, check into our hotel, and rest for a bit.
Now it’s time for close-up encounters with a more peculiar-looking animal, the giant anteater. Bonito has several great locations where we can observe and photograph 5-10 of these impressive mammals from just a few meters. Giant anteaters are the largest of the anteaters and can grow up to eight feet long and weigh up to 120 pounds. Their well-adapted noses help them detect ant and termite nests, and their sticky tongues slurp up to 30,000 ants/termites per day! Though anteaters are generally docile animals, they do have razor-sharp claws and are known for their ability to fight off pumas and jaguars. Our biologist guides have many years of experience with the giant anteaters, so we’ll be sure to adhere to their guidelines while we photograph these endearing animals.
Overnight Pousada Olho D’Água
Tuesday, September 5 (B, L, D)
Because they’re so fascinating, we’ll spend today with the giant anteaters in Anteater Valley, with a midday break for lunch and a little R&R. Overnight Pousada Olho D’Água
Wednesday, September 6 (B, L, D)
This morning is free for you to enjoy the inn. Take a dip in the pool, or wander the inn grounds to photograph macaws, toco toucans, plush-capped jays, brown capuchin monkeys, and other wildlife that frequent the gardens and forested area of the grounds.
After checking out of our rooms, we’ll drive back to Campo Grande. Though an urban area, here we’ll have the chance to photograph blue-and-gold macaws up close, among the most accessible in the world. We’ll also photograph coatis, the adorable, hyperactive relatives of raccoons, in palms and forests. Overnight Novotel Campo Grande
Thursday, September 7 (B, L, D)
We’ll spend one last morning with the blue-and-gold macaws, coatis, and other urban wildlife of Campo Grande and then have lunch.
Jaguar Tour II guests will have a late checkout from the hotel and then board the evening flight to Cuiabá. Overnight Hotel Slim Cuiabá Aeroporto or similar near the airport
Jaguar Tour I guests will overnight again at Novotel Campo Grande.
Friday, September 8 (B)
Breakfast provided at the hotel.
Jaguar Tour II guests will continue on the 2023 Brazil Pantanal Jaguar Wildlife Photo Expedition II.
Jaguar Tour I guests will fly home from Campo Grande (CGR) today.
Saturday, September 9
Jaguar Tour I guests arrive home.
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