Esteros del Iberá

The Ibera Marchlands are an extensive and untamed area in Argentina's central north. Renowned for its exceptional game viewing (by South America standards) and off the beaten track image, we were excited to get there. It promised the chance of seeing animals that we had missed in the Amazon and where very different to whatwe have got used at home. The marshes themselves are the second largest in the world, the title of the largest belongs to Brazil´s Pantanal, and just the protected area covers approx 13000 km². The Reserve is known for its biodiversity, including four species that have been declared "provincial natural monuments" (we´re not what that means exactly but the animals are well protected!): the neotropical river otter, the maned wolf, the pampas deer, and the marsh deer. Of which the only one we didn't see was the shy wolf.

With Hurricane Sandy causing havoc up North, we arrived in Mercedes in a drenching downpour. Thanks to the rain the bus was no longer running to Ibera. So we had to do some smart bargaining and hired a 4x4 and driver to get us in. And indeed it was needed!

The village of Ibera is a small, sprawling area of smart lodges and ramshackle homes separated by swathes of thick green vegetation. There are no shops, bar two small trading store type shops which have limited and expensive stock. The capibaras roam the streets and caimans chill right in the campsite. But the rain never stopped.

We eventually ended a our stay two days early in order to catch the last 4x4 out of the area before the roads became totally impassable. We did manage some great game viewing:

Marsh Deer

Capibara

Wet roads

Pampas Deer

Armidillo bottom:)

Baby Capibaras

Black Caiman

We took the chases between squalls to get walking done!

We did get a couple of hours of sunshine!

More wet roads!