On arrival at Porto Jofre we disembark. Old tyres have been utilised to construct the steps ascending from the Cuiaba River.

Our bags are stowed on the open truck and we head back up the Transpanteneira. I should like to point out that many of the wooden bridges that we traverse do not seem that sturdy. They are continually being replaced but some very iffy ones remain. This is one not in use…

…and scarily this is one that we crossed!

We stop to allow a large herd of cattle to pass by. They moo noisily, indignant at having to walk round us. The vaqueros smile and have very comfortable ornate saddles.

Slowly the air is warming and we can remove some layers although face protection is essential to guard against the dust.

As ever the bird life en route is prolific. We see some distant roseate spoonbills. I do not have my long lens handy and in any case they never allow you to get closer than 100 yards. I do better with a lovely scarlet-headed blackbird.

The sun comes out as we arrive in time for lunch. The lodge South Wild Pantanal is well-run and maintained. There is a swing seat over-looking the river, which has run dry as there is a severe drought, where we sit with a pre-lunch beer.

The afternoon is spent chilling as well as wandering around the grounds with Bruno. There are lots of birds. A savannah hawk poses and orange-backed troupials, yellow-rumped caciques and purplish jays fight over pieces of fruit.

There is a jabiru stork’s nest in the grounds with a viewing platform built next to it. I was lucky and did not need to climb up all the steps to capture these wonderful mating shots.

At 16.30 we head out in the hope of seeing an ocelot. There are no guarantees, but it did not show up yesterday so the odds are in our favour. The lodge has built a hide a short walk from the lodge.

They put out small amounts of food to entice the ocelot. I am not totally comfortable with this practice, but the reality is that you will never see an ocelot in the wild without a little incentive. The amount of food offered is small so should not interfere too much with the ocelot’s natural behaviour. Did we see the ocelot. Oh yes! It appeared before it was too dark so the light was pretty good.

Next day starts straightaway with wildlife. A tiny frog is sitting in the bathroom. Fine by me. He can eat the mosquitos.

This morning we have a forest walk. We have been told to never walk alone as there are jaguars here and the sign makes it very clear, as did the paw print that we saw on the track leading to the lodge.

Frankly I am not expecting to see anything remarkable in the dry, scrubby forest but Bruno always delivers. We come to an observation platform and are surrounded by Azaras’s capuchins. Food has been put out for them so this is slightly artificial, but I do not mind as there is so much activity. Honestly I could stay here all day.

We start to leave and then someone notices black-and-gold howler monkeys approaching. They are very different from the howlers that I saw in Costa Rica and Ecuador. They are much smaller and much quieter. The males are black but the females and young are golden. They turn out to be incredibly difficult to photograph as they are quite shy and move rapidly through the branches. I love the way that the baby twirls its tail around the base of its mother’s tail

As I leave the platform I notice an agouti below me. Not an angle you usually see and it is interesting to see the varied colours of its fur.

We make our way to the river, which has largely dried up, but not so much that giant river otters cannot use it. And there they are. Right in front of us. Making lots of alarm calls as we disturb their tranquility. How lucky are we?

We also see a sun bittern in flight – such a beautiful bird, a distant roseate spoonbill – you never get close, two black vultures, a rufescent tiger heron and a woodpecker amongst many others.

For a change I thought I would capture a little of the flora. It is so easy to walk along the river and concentrate on the creatures and not take in the beauty of the plant life.

In the afternoon just three of us go for a walk with Bruno, two of the group are resting and the others want to see the ocelot again. I think they missed a treat with some interesting encounters. Bruno is very knowledgeable, points out different plants and trees and tells us about their medicinal uses. We see glass ants collecting sap from a tree and see the sap congealing into what could become amber given enough time.

In the trees above us we firstly hear and then see capuchins. It is lovely to see them in their natural environment. They are much calmer than when we saw them this morning and are quietly foraging in the branches. We make our way to the river and notice that the capuchins have made their way there too. Bruno thinks they want to drink so we watch and wait. Very cautiously, and only one or two at a time, they dart to the river, take a few sips whilst nervously looking around and scamper back to the safety of a tree. It is wonderful to observe and Bruno says he has never seen them do this before.

We continue our walk, look back along the river and on the far side we spot a tapir. It is a fair distance away but it is walking in our direction and unaware of our presence, as the wind is blowing towards us and carrying our scent away from him. He gets closer, then goes for a swim.

The river has dried up where we are so we cross and try to get closer. We try to walk quietly on the grass but there are a lot of dead leaves, which make loud crunching noises. We are sussed! The tapir quickly exits the water and disappears.

As we approach the lodge we see a family of capybara in the water. There is some unusual behaviour from them too. They see a large caiman approaching their young. They make alarm calls and aggressively chase it away. What ann incredible afternoon.

So much exertion in the heat deserves a rewards. Sundowners by the pool are called for. A gin & tonic never tasted so good!

After dinner some of us went on a short night drive. There really was very little to see, just a potoo and a couple of deer. The highlight of the evening was actually seeing a tapir crossing the lawn 10 yards in front of the restaurant.

Next morning we set out on foot to explore the surrounding savannah. It is a lovely morning and still cool. There is dew on the bushes and I am surprised to see an orange-backed troupial bathing in the dew on the leaves.

This is a low key activity with time to observe the little things.

Although we also see some different birds including a red-shouldered macaw and squirrel cuckoo.

We have no sooner returned from the walk, when there is a knock on our door. Someone has come to tell us that Bruno has rescued a hornero that was trapped in the dining room. It is very calm and seems very reluctant to fly away. It sits on his hand for several minutes.

We then have time to relax before our afternoon walk. It is nice to be able to just laze around as this has been a very active holiday with early starts every day and for me it is an opportunity to catch up on writing the blog. I enjoy telling you about my adventures, but it is a somewhat time-consuming enterprise.

The afternoon excursion turns out to be a very short walk. Firstly we watch one of the resident jabiru storks bathing and grooming by a water-hole. They are massive birds and impressive at close quarters. He is beautifully backlit by the sun.

Then we make our way to a tiny pool at the back of the lodge and sit and wait. Pool is a bit of an exaggeration, it is no more than a puddle really, but it is a haven for all manner of birds. In the space of an hour we must have observed nigh on twenty different species, both large and small. I’ll just show you loads of photos to demonstrate how amazing it was!

This was our last day at South Wild Pantanal and everyone will be going their separate ways tomorrow. Some people will fly home and others have booked extensions. We shall be heading back to Porto Jofre for three nights for Paul to do some fishing and see whether he can catch a golden dorado.

There are farewell sundowners before dinner. Caipirinhas and nibbles. Delicious.