Why Brazil should be SA nature lovers’ new go-to destination

“Did you see Avatar: The Way of Water? It’s kind of like that,” says our guide. When planning a family trip to Brazil, my visions had been more Amazon than James Cameron. But my angst at failing to book a jungle tour dissolves the moment I plunge into the Caribbean blue of the Sucuri River.

Perfectly visible in the crystalline water and so close I could grab them, golden dorados and tiny orange tetras glide and flash through purple-pink aquatic primrose and swaying meadows of swordplants.

We are in Bonito, Brazil’s “eco-tourism capital”. Its well-managed tourism industry strictly limits visitor numbers to its natural gems, meaning the only creatures mobbing you are of the non-human variety.

“It’s like a fairy tale,” my son Tau exclaims, rapt.

We have made our way to Jaguar’s Mouth Farm whose eponymous attraction — a 156m waterfall — is the impressive amuse-bouche of an ecological tasting menu that finds endless inspiration in the pristine waters and surreal rock formations resulting from Bonito’s limestone karst aquifer.

The current wonder, one of nine stops on a 4.5km forest amble, is a series of clear jade pools gently cascading through a mossy glen. It’s so Disney perfect that I wouldn’t be shocked if the catfish we just snorkelled with leapt from the pool and started singing.

Nearby, the Beyoncé of birds soars overhead, landing in a nook in the red cliffs of the “Macaw Sinkhole”.

Plunging 100m down to a sandy floor where a caiman of mysterious origins lazes by a pond, this gaping chasm may be the world’s best place to witness the heart-stopping spectacle of wild macaw flying free.

“I’m a little nervous,” Tau admits.

Hanging from harnesses, we are about to descend 72m to the underground lake in the Anhumas Abyss.

Lowered through a crack just large enough for two, we sink into the dark expanse of the cave’s cathedral-like volume, then hop into an inflatable boat, shining torches at the stalactites hanging ominously overhead.

Then, wetsuit-clad, we jump into the freezing black water, snorkelling around stalagmite cones rising up from what feels like infinite depths.

Wildlife enthusiasts should not miss the nearby Pantanal. This vast floodplain — four times the size of the Okavango Delta — is just a three-hour drive away.

Ten minutes into our first game drive, we are so close to a male jaguar that I don’t need binos to discern the wound on his enormous rosetted head. While spying the Americas’ largest feline is a lifetime highlight, the competition is stiff, what with sightings of giant anteaters, tarantulas the size of dessert plates and more bird species than I can count.

Bidding farewell to the karst streams and floodplains of the south, we head for Brazil’s famed Atlantic coastline.

Highlights of a regrettably short stay in Rio de Janeiro include the pre-Carnival dance party at the Acadêmicos do Salgueiro; the Museum of the Future; graffiti art around seemingly every corner; the marmosets of Rio’s Botanical Garden; and ringing in the New Year with more than 2-million partygoers on Copacabana beach.

Much as I yearn to linger longer in the urban, my naturalist family deems we decamp to Ilha Grande, a popular weekend getaway from Rio.

Untouched by cars and cloaked in Atlantic rainforest, the island’s resistance to large-scale development gives it claim to some of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches.

With its great visibility, mild temperature and abundant marine life, the sea is doubtless the star of the show. Nonetheless, our family’s peak moment comes when caught in a massive downpour at dusk. Running down a rainforest path, we spy fish jumping from silvered waters and can feel the emerald forest thrumming as we scramble to make it to our pousada before dark.

Somehow this moment captures the exhilaration of travelling in Brazil. Though South Africans are spoiled when it comes to eco-tourism, at seven times the size of Mzansi, Brazil’s absurd abundance of natural riches encourages you to plunge into a mysterious but radically hospitable land.

Plan your trip

Bonito and the Pantanal are easily accessible via a direct flight from São Paulo to Campo Grande, the collection point for most tour operators (you can also self-drive).

To avoid disappointment, all Bonito activities should be booked in advance. Prices are set no matter whom you book through, but the writer used the friendly folk at EcoAdventures Travel. Be sure to specify if you want an English-speaking guide (Andre and Bruno Turatti are legends.)

Ilha Grande is accessed by ferry from Angra dos Reis (a two-hour drive from Rio). Multiple companies make the trip, but be sure you go to the correct beach for your lodging, as no roads means travel between parts of the island is by foot or boat only. Also, don’t expect things such as ATMs or consistent internet access. The writer stayed on Praia de Araçatiba.

• About the author: Lee Middleton is an American travel journalist based in SA since 2006.

This article was sponsored by the Consulate General of Brazil in Cape Town.