After breakfast say goodbye to staff and newfound friends and board boat for travel along the Rupununi River to Kwatamang Landing.
Travel by boat along the Rupununi River to Kwatamang Landing.
Transfer from Kwatamang Landing through the rainforest to Genip Landing, stopping enroute at Pakaraima Mountain Inn.
Continue on to the Pakaraima Mountain Inn, which sits in the Aranaputa Valley, just outside the village of Yakarinta. Enjoy a home-cooked lunch on the veranda along with fascinating stories from local character and host, Charlie De Freitas.
From Ginep Landing we take a boat trip on the Rupununi River to Karanambu Lodge. Depending on the river level, this trip offers an excellent opportunity to look for Giant Otters as there are several family groups which live along this stretch of the Rupununi River.
Karanambu, a 110-square mile former cattle ranch located in the North Rupununi, was the home of the late Diane McTurk, conservationist and a world-renowned expert on giant otters. Karanambu encompasses savannah, marshy ponds, riparian forest, and a 30-mile stretch of the Rupununi River. The number of species found here is much higher than expected given its size with at least 600 species of bird, and over 200 species of mammals. The seasonally flooded savannahs and forests also draw substantial fish migrations with as many as 700 species of fish — more than anywhere on Earth.
This region is rich in history and is the homeland of the Makushi and earlier peoples dating back more than 7,000 years. Several prominent explorers and naturalists have written about their experiences here, including Robert and Richard Schomburgk, Charles Waterton, Evelyn Waugh, and Gerald Durrell. A very young David Attenborough spent time here and wrote about it in his early book, “Zoo Quest to Guiana”.
With both the river and savannahs close at hand there is a wide variety of activities to be enjoyed at Karanambu. Two guided excursions are provided each day — one early in the morning and another late in the afternoon and into the evening. As well as being the coolest times to be out, these are usually the best times to see the different birds and animals. Trips may be on the river by boat, on the savannahs by 4 by 4 or along forest trails on foot to the different ponds in the area.
Late in the afternoon we will travel by boat to look for wild Giant River Otters and as dusk falls to the ponds to see the giant Victoria amazonica waterlily, bloom at dusk. On the return trip we will spotlight for Black Caiman and birds and creatures of the night.
Accommodations are in traditionally made clay brick cabins, each with en suite and veranda with hammocks.