The Estrada Park Pantanal is a 118km dirt road in the southern Pantanal that serves the farms located there. Fortunately for us there is also great wildlife in the area, predominantly birds, but with a few capybaras thrown in along with the odd jaguar. Oh, and not forgetting the piranha and caiman in the river. We set out early at […]
Leaving Foz do Iguaçu and the falls behind, we head north towards the vast Brazilian Pantanal. It’s a long journey to Bonito, our destination. But before we set off, we visit the Parque das Aves and have a very enjoyable morning in the bird park. The trip north is quite monotonous, farm after farm, silo after silo. Just before reaching […]
Forming the border between Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls are a sight to behold. We visited the Argentinian southern side first. The view from this side is from the top of the Falls. Three paths , Paseo Inferior, Paseo Superior and Paseo Garganta del Diablo lead us on a tour of the Argentinian side. The falls are very popular and […]
Having picked up Big Bertha from Zarate Port and spent four days or so getting her ready for travel again, we were ready to start exploring South America. We have arrived in winter and so we shall go north to warmer climes and then head south to Ushuaia, at the southern tip of South America for later in the year. […]
We arrived in Buenos Aries, Argentina, a week ahead of Big Bertha and stayed in a hotel in the centre so that we could explore this renowned city. Initial impressions are that it feels a lot like Paris – European architecture, cafés on every corner and pavements covered in dog s**t. The monetary system takes some getting used to: there […]
We are very lucky to have Raquel as a friend. A Londoner, Raquel moved to Béziers in 2003 to give the Mediterranean lifestyle a try and hasn’t left. With time on our hands, whilst Big Bertha waited for a ship to transport her to Argentina, we accepted Raquel’s invitation to stay in her flat in the heart of Béziers, for […]
Leaving the baking hot Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park behind, we made our way to Durban, where we readied Big Bertha for shipping to South America. On the way we visited Kimberly, home of the ‘Big Hole’ – a huge diamond mine, our friends Johan and Lyn, Terry (our champion mechanic) and the Drakensburg mountains. Here we are with Johan and […]
Perhaps not the prettiest of waterfalls, but certainly one of the most powerful we have seen, Augrabies Falls was almost at full flow when we visited. Eastern South Africa had experienced very high rainfall (unusually high, locals said) during February and a number of sluice gates on the Orange River had been opened to try to prevent flooding in the […]
On the way across from the West Coast to the Kgalagadi National Park we camped for a night at the Kalahari Trails Meerkat Sanctuary. Aside from a very nice welcome from Richard, a fellow Brit making his home in South Africa, we were treated to some fun encounters with their resident mob (yes, that’s the correct term) of meerkats. We were first […]
After the excitement of the new washing machine and a quick detour back to Cape Town (so that we could join the friendly Fish Hoek Scottish Dancing group for a class), we continued our journey north up the West Coast. The village of Paternoster has a laid-back feeling to it and it was nice to see pretty white-painted bungalows, rather […]