So we are in the Pantanal - an area the size of France that stretches across three countries - Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Most people visit the Brazilian side because there is a road, the Transpantaneira, that penetrates 150km into what is otherwise a largely trackless area. Whilst not paved the road is passable all year round meaning that is is quite easy to drive a considerable way into the area.

At the height of the wet season in February and March about 80% of the Pantanal is under water. But we have come at the end of the dry season so there is relatively little water about although there are still a few stagnant pools and lagoons around. At first sight the landscape is not immediately appealing. Much of the land is savannah, rather coarse flat grassland with a few trees and scattered termite mounds. The savannah is not the natural habitat but was created by clearing the original forest to create grazing for cattle and this remains a major activity (although most of the estancias (ranches) and fazendas (farms) have now diversified into tourism). Extensive tracts of forest remain especially as you go deeper into the region, although deforestation continues to be a threat despite its protected status.

The guidebooks describe the Pantanal as the best place in South America to see wildlife. But it is not like the plains of Africa, here the wildlife has to be carefully sought after. The major attractions, such as jaguar, giant anteaters and tapirs, are uncommon, elusive and largely nocturnal meaning that even with a good guide your chances of spotting them are not high.

And we do have a good guide, Juan Paulo, whose ability to spot things is remarkable, for example seeing a 30 cm long Red-footed Tortoise some 20 metres from the road in long grass or a Screech Owl 15m up a tree in the dark! So much of our time is spent driving slowly up and down the road either at dawn or dusk hoping to spot an elusive big cat in the glare of a spotlight which Juan Paulo sweeps across the sides of the road.

And we do see plenty of wildlife. Lots of herons, egrets, ibis, rails, vultures, hawks, cormorants, kingfishers, pheasants, storks, parakeets, songbirds, deer, caiman and capybara. We see a few, sometimes only one, macaws, parrots, spoonbills, ducks, owls, monkeys, armadillos, tortoises, lizards, frogs, (the latter more heard than seen). Unfortunately we neither see nor hear jaguar, puma, ocelot, anteaters, tapirs, anacondas (or indeed any kind of snake). This is apparently due to the fact that it is raining quite a lot whilst we are here. Some animals, it seems, don't like to get wet.

But whilst it may be slightly disappointing not to see some of the big beasts we have been lucky to spend time in this fascinating area and see so much.