Travel: A very Brazilian adventure

Brazilian men have a reputation as Lotharios - but I didn't expect to be chatted up sitting on a horse in the middle of a dried-up swamp. My guide Juliano, a modern-day cowboy, points to a magnificent Jabiru stork in the tree tops, a 1.3 metre goliath with a red necklace separating a black head from a white body. "These birds mate for life," he says, staring deeply into my eyes, "just like Pantanal men."

Admittedly, it's less than subtle and has to be delivered via my translator. However, Juliano, with his Stetson hat and playful smile, is certainly opening my eyes about the country’s remote south west.

Sprawling over a Florida-sized patch, the world’s biggest flood plain in the state of Mato Grosso Do Sul is one of South America’s richest wildlife spots. In fact, few realise that the Pantanal’s vast open savannahs, fields, lakes and rivers are superior to Brazil’s dense Amazonian jungle for unobscured wildlife viewing.

The vultures circle

Accompanied by my sister, my horse trek across San Francisco Fazenda’s 15,000 hectare cattle and rice farm is already living up to the hype. Electric blue hyacinth macaws, toucans with blazing orange bills, red and green parrots, hawks and hummingbirds swoop and squawk above our heads while occasionally, ostrich-like rheas sprint through the high grass. Impressive stuff.

In the distance, vultures circle – a sure sign that a cow lays slain nearby, probably at the claws of the Pantanal’s biggest predator, the jaguar. Numbers of this endangered cat have fallen to around 3,000 in the region, due to a combination of poaching, habitat loss and the guns of disgruntled ranchers who have lost livestock.

Despite this, Juliano explains that the farm’s campaign to persuade cattle owners that it is worth protecting jaguars as a way of generating tourism dollars is paying off.

Wildlife bounty

I scour my surroundings, desperate to catch a glimpse of the elusive cat, but alas, it's not to be. My consolation, however is the wildlife bounty unleashed during that evening’s jeep safari. As we bump across trails and rice fields, I'm thrilled by the sight of solitary giant anteaters with ridiculously long snouts and sweeping tasseled tails; a shy, black-spotted ocelot cat; innumerable marsh deer; giant-eared foxes and scores of capybara, large, bizarre-looking rodents resembling guinea pigs.

The next day, we journey along a tributary of the Miranda river by boat. Kingfishers flit among the branches as we fish for razor-sharp-teethed piranhas. In the murky waters, yellow eyes peer at us from a distance – caimans. One two-metre long 'gator boldy approaches our boat. “His name is Mala,” our guide says, “which means suitcase”.

Unlike this river, the waterways surrounding the burgeoning eco-tourism town of Bonito 120km away are safer for swimmers. Here, the Sucuri, Acquario Naturel and Rio da Prata rivers owe their gin-clear waters to the filtering effect of the surrounding lime-enriched soils. Floating slowly downstream, I snorkel over dense, subaquatic forests, bubbling natural springs and shell-strewn sandy floors. However the real draws are the fish life, ranging from silvery curimbata; dinner platter-sized black pacu, torpedo-like dourados, and red-tailed piraputanga. I am blown away.

Icy swims and rappelling

Our next stop is Boca da Onca (Jaguar’s Mouth), a forested valley in the Bodoquena Hills distinguished by 11 waterfalls. Following a neatly marked trail, we reached Monkey’s Hole where I take my first plunge. Gasping at the icy temperatures, I manage to swim under a low slung rock arch into a circular pool enclosed by high rock walls where a waterfall plummets into unseen depths. By the time I take my final dunk beneath a 156-metre high curtain of water where fine spray dances and swirls in the breeze, I've lost all feeling in my limbs.

Exhilarated, however, from my watery adventures, I warm up for my next challenge - rappelling - until I arrive at the 92-metre-high platform. Below me, the trees look miniscule, and above me vultures circle around. Yet I can't turn back – a TV documentary crew want to film our descent.

Seated opposite one another in leather slings with our legs entwined, and attached to an overhead pulley, my sister and I simultaneously release the brakes on our ropes - and drop less than a metre. Not a bad start. Ten minutes later, we have barely moved. Nobody has warned us that you need Vin Diesel-like biceps.

With our willpower and stamina evaporating rapidly, we dangle helplessly. Yelling instructions from above, our Brazilian instructor is clearly losing his rag. And who can blame him? This is the country's highest rappel and we are hanging around like we have all the time in the world.

Slowly, we painstakingly inch our way to the bottom where we discover that the television crew haven't bothered to complete their filming. Something to do with the overcast weather. Or so they say. It marks the end of our adventure in the Pantanal. Despite failing to spot a jaguar, I will return home with memories of gator-infested rivers, weird and wonderful wildlife, dare-devil activities - and one smooth-talking cowboy.

Best time to visit

April – September during the dry season.

Nearest Airport

Campo Grande, a 90 minute flight from Sao Paulo.

Boca da Onca

Swimming, rappeling.

Pantanal

Horse riding, jeep safaris, river safaris, bird-watching, canoeing, kayaking.

Bonito

Snorkelling, cave diving, white water rafting, tubing, hiking.