Northern Pantanal

Time to make the exciting journey to the Pantanal with perfect weather it only seemed right to open up the roof seats on the truck. Perfect for spotting all/some/none of the local wildlife. We did spot a number of birds and Capybara but no Giant Anteaters....

We made good time and arrived at the Ranch by Lunch time. A spot of lunch and a dip in the pool. Yes!!! Can you believe it, they had a pool. As you can see we had trouble with the local wildlife in the pool too :) hee hee.


Not much time to rest as we had the afternoon planned with a boat/river safari. Dont know what you think but this is the way to spend your afternoon on safari. During this boat ride Kat and I were determined to get a photo of a bird (any bird) in flight. As for me this is the shot that I got. Kat how did it work out for you?. We ended the boat safari with a relaxing sun set. PERFECTO!


A new day and with more planned. The morning was a bushwalk, and we had to get an early start to beat the sun. We spotted our first snake upon this walk (not the biggest snake but hey it was a snake). With this walking taking 2 hours everyone was starting to feel the sun and heat. Water bottles (not mine!) were running on empty and the thought process was all about cold beer, Coca-Cola and a swim.

After lunch it was time to enjoy some horse riding. Now that I am an experianced rider (cough!!, cough!!, 3rd time on this holiday). I found this ride to be quite relaxing and enjoyable, I got my hourse to a trot (OK!!! so not to extreme but exciting for me). Did not spot any wildlife other then the local farmed cows. Not long after our return we were on the truck for a afternoon/night safari, with spotting a number of deer, turtle, spiders and it should go with out mentioning we spotted a large number of caiman. Kat and I thought it would be fun to sit on the roof of the truck cab, well it was until it started to rain. We would have only had rain for 30 min at the most but this was enough to ensure that every part of us was wet to the bone. Megan I am sure you remember this rain storm, THANKS GOD!!!

With a sunrise boat ride and a last dip in the pool it was time to say good bye to the ranch and head back, ready for a next adventure. What ever that maybe?

Don´t think I am in Canberra any more!

The capital of Brazil is Brasilia and if its anything like Australia and its a capital Canberra I guess, well my expectations are low.

Yep!!! Lucky my expectations were low. Brasilia is very much what I would call a city of over planning. I do like the idea that if you see an arial shot of the city it looks like a plane (Pretty Cool), but so much thought and structure has gone into this city that its not my first city of choice (but hey that is just me).

Now that I have the negative things off my chest Brasilia does have some AWESOME sites to visit. The Metropolitan Cathedral shaped like a crown, also made a trip up the TV tower, for a panoramic view of the city. After spending 3/4 of the day checking out what Brasilia has to offer in a 8 seater van that had 12 passengers. We spent the afternoon getting ready for Megans Birthday P.A.R.T.Y.

Party you ask!!! Yep, it was Megans 29th Birthday and we had to celebrate in style. Style was optional as we all were assigned groups as asked to dress up as something starting with the letter ´M´. My team dressed up as Maps. See just checking the directions of where we need to go tomorrow.

A party is not a party unless you have some games so, thats just what happened games of flip cup, leap frog (not sure how the guys with the mattresses won?). Who has soft hands to catch a water bomb umm.... its not me!. Of course all this involved a large amount of pizza and drinking. Just the way a party should me.

HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY MEG´S.

With the hostel asking us to pack up at 11:30 it was time to head off to bed, ready for a 8am start to make our way to the Northern Pantanal. Wonder how it compares to the Southern Pantanal.

Chapada Dos Veadeiros National Park

With a late arrival at our campsite we quickly cooked up a storm for dinner and sat back and relaxed ready for a couple of fun filled days.

With no time to sleep in we were up and ready to do a bush walk through the National Park. Our turn around point was a view of a Canyon and a waterfall. See how happy I am to sit down and have a rest.

These canyons were just beautiful , with walls of up to 40 meters high and valleys of up to 300 meters. We saw a number of different flowers (umm.... cant say I remember the names, but hey there were/are very pretty). As everyone makes it quickly back to the truck for a cold beer (OK!! Coke) we are told we will stop to try the local Brazil drink Casasha. Celebrations all round re-hydration is very important. :)

After a big day out exploring the National Park and tasting the local drop it was time for a ice cream treat and then off the the local music festival for a night out.

Wish I could share more about this night out but what happens on tour stays on tour right ;).......

So with a night dancing the night away it was time for a sleep in. Once awake we spent some more time in the forest and rain (bummer!!), walking across the canopy in style. Oh!!! so much fun. Once finished we walked further through the forest saw another AWESOME waterfall, and slowly made our way back.

Triva Fact: Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is, according to NASA, the most luminous point seen from the Earth's orbit. This is due to the quantity of quartz crystals present in the soil, besides several other metals and minerals

With all this time spent camping and going through the National Park/Forest it was time for a City and that is exactly where we are heading, Brazil capital Brasilia.

Mine, Mine, Mine

I have now found my way to Ouro Preto. This town is a beautiful old colonial mining town we visted the a Topaz and Gold Mine. A number interesting facts but these facts were not enough to distract me from wanting a sample to take home. Unfortunately they were not giving out any samples on this day.

To distract me from my disappointment I walked around town looking at the 101 churches they have. As we continued to wonder around town taking photos time was getting away and I needed to head back to the plaza to get a lift back to the campsite. Little did I know that the shortcut that we took turned out not to be a short cut. (Guess we should have checked what time the gates shut). After another 1hr of walking we finally made it out of this garden maze, only to find another church that we had not taken a photo of. Pretty isn´t it.

Now if you are wondering we had just enough time to get back to the plaza and get the lift back to the campsite. (Bah!!! Perfect timing)

With all the excitment that Ouro Preto brought I guess I will be going home empty handed. Before I head home its time to make my way to Chapada Dos Veadeiros National Park.

Awesome Adventure #3 - South America - Part 4

Well after 10 days of rest in Rio & Buzios I am ready to face the wild Amazon. (I think - I hope - ummm.... Help!!!!!)

Wish me luck.

Rio & Buzios (Rest and Relaxation)

My tour to Rio has come to an end and I now have 10 days to relax, unwind, do some sightseeing at my pace yippie!!! of course with the good there is always some bad and bah!!!! laundry, repair shoes etc etc.... will need to be done.

With the sunshining and not a cloud in sight I could not think of a better day to visit one of the most famous statues in the world is Rio's Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). It soars over Rio atop Corcovado Mountain (Corcovado means "the hunchback"). Did you know this site has been nominated as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

I also made my way to Arcos da Lapa Arches and old aqueduct, Lapa is also the spot to go out for a good night out on the town (awh!!! Sorry, what happens in Lapa stays in Lapa). Not far down the street we were looking at the Seleron Steps. OMG!! this is fantastic so may tiles it must have taken forever.

I only have a few days so need to make the most of it now across to the Cathederal such an interesting shape to select for this building, the stain glass windows are huge.

Made sure I went to visit Sugar Loaf Mountain (its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar). For me to reach the summit, I took two cable cars. The first ascends to the shorter Morro de Açúcar, 220 meters high. The second car ascends to Pão de Açúcar. A glass bubble-shaped cars this gave me 360-degree views of Rio city. AWESOME!!!

Triva Fact: If the views look familiar, it might be because of a famous scene in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker.

Sounding busy right well time to head to Buzios and take some time out to relax. 3 days to take in the sun work on my tan and just relax. I did visit the the Bridget Bardot statue, OK!!! so was on my walking route to the main city where I did a spot of shopping.

Búzios is a pleasant 2-hour trip from Rio there is more than 20 magnificent beaches and crystal-clear water contrast with sculptured landscape. Not only this but "Mother Nature" has privileged this area with a wonderful year-round summer - Just the way I like it.

I return to Rio to try my luck and hang-gliding over the city only to find that the weather was not good enough for this activity, either not enought wind or to much cloud. Bah!!! I could not win. Guess I will have to safe it for when I return to Rio for Canival.

Time to say Good Bye to Rio and make my way to Ouro Preto

Time to Party in Paraty

Paraty is nothing but AWESOME with a thin strip of land sandwhiched between green mountains and the sparkling waters of the Atlantic. Picture-book islands, deserted beaches and picturesque coves with excellent swimming and diving make it the perfect place to relax and enjoy a couple of days of R & R. Dotted along the coastline itself are lots of small towns and villages, not to mention the hundreds of tiny islands, best explored on a lazy boat-trip.

So I guess you get the idea about his amazing place and what it has to offer. Of course I filled in my days and to start it off I did a Jeep Tour around this town to view some of the waterfalls they have on offer and of course I could not miss the opportunity to side down one of them. So much fun.

OK!!! Did someone say lazy boat-trip, with it being our last offical day on tour and not on the truck included in our was a day out on this amazing boat to cruise around to some of the islands, go snorkeling, swimming or if you wanted to work on your tan you could do that too.

Time to say good bye to Paraty and join the crowds in Rio.

Brotas and Halloween

Brotas appears to be new to the tourist scene which is nice for a change. In the morning I went tubbing down a river with some small rapids. Not as many rapids as I would have liked, but still a nice way to spend a sunny morning.

Time to dry off and check out what this town has to offer. OK!!! So I did not make it far and I was eating large bowl of ice cream for lunch.!!! (oh!!! Jacki it was so nice).

Back to camp as it was time to get ready for the Halloween night ahead. With so many family and friends getting pregnant I thought it only right that I go as a Pregnant British Teen with an attitude. What to you think? Its totally me right?

Along side the dress up we had dinner of brains with blood sauce and eye balls. We had hands in our punch and decorations after decorations. Such a fun night.









PS!!! I gave birth to a baby boy during the night and called it Wilson
(Hope you have seen the movie Cast Away)

OH!!! So who will have a saw head in the morning as we make our drive to Paraty.