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High time to finish this off but I get called away. Part 5. Amazon Adventure. We now have to leave San Isidro and so began a rather strange journey. We had said good bye to everyone including Gabriel and even met our driver Santos for the next day who was to take us to Coca and, we thought, to the waiting boat for the four hour transfer down river to Eden ecoLodge. As we had to be there for the boat at 10.00 and it was a three hour drive we left at first light o6.30ish. Santos had little English so we just relaxed and enjoyed the drive through the scenic Sumaco area. Maybe even snatched a  few zzzzs as once off the twisty mountain roads the faster main road seemed to go by quite quickly and about 9.45 as we crossed a bridge over a river Santos proudly said “Coca”. It was what he said next that floored me. “Which Hotel you want?” Eh? We want a boat. He had not been told that and did not even know where the harbour was. A bit of a cock up on the communications front. Fortunately I had been before, albeit 11 years ago but I do have a memory for places so directed him in the direction I remembered. Tip 1. When looking for a boat don’t bother with signs to Airports or Bus stations. Tip 2. When looking for a boat head downhill as that is where rivers are usually found. Soon enough, well after turning into a building site and having to reverse out onto a busy street, I spotted a bridge ahead and sure enough the river was below.  But where to find our boat? Santos was yelling into his phone, hopefully asking directions but who knows, he could have been selling us to the Slave market or ringing his Stockbroker? Either way he was not having much success, or the prices were not good, so I got out and looked around and came upon a kiosk advertising ‘river trips’.  At least I think that is what I hoped “viajes con la Reina del río 2 oro” meant and I was not about to spend a couple of hours in some den of iniquity. Phew, all was well and I spied a likely boat being loaded with supplies. So we retrieved our meagre luggage from Santos’s car and thanked him profusely for his navigating skills. We were then met by ‘Bill’ who was to be our Guide for the entire stay, and he assured us that we had found the right place. Helped by boat crew we loaded our kit aboard the ‘canoe’ and once loading was finished we were off down river at some speed. The Napo is quite wide but can be shallow in parts so the steerer hugs the deeper channels to avoid sandbars etc. and can make quiet sudden and dramatic alterations in his course at times so sit tight and enjoy the ride. A warm windcheater can be useful as the boat speed can create a chill effect. We had a packed lunch on the ride down which takes about four and a half hours. And we were not the fastest boat on the river by far. Eventually we turned off the main river into a backwater and, after hitting a sandbar, drew up at a somewhat primitive jetty. Well if a fallen tree with a few planks can be called a Jetty. We were helped ashore over the sand/mud to terra firma by willing hands as our joints were a bit stiff after sitting still for five hours. We were expecting to see the lodge close by so were somewhat surprised, (this trip was full of surprises) to be asked to board the waiting school bus. After loading the cargo we set off on a 15 minute drive through small ‘farms’ and a village to a point near nowhere where we were invited to disembark. Hmmm! Still no sign of a lodge. Then Bill told us that due to low river levels the canoe could not access the lodge directly and we had to walk for about 40 minutes along Jungle paths and to take care as some steep bits were quite muddy. Eh? Who said anything about us walking steep bits or muddy trails in the afternoon heat? But we had booked for some walks so may as well get on with it and get it over with. And so it was to be. Oh how we yearned for walking poles. Nobody fell or slipped and the really wet bits had been bridged with wooden or metal walkways or bridges. There were seven of the latter, I know because I counted them when after the first three, Bill said there were only two more. He lied about distance too. After about an hour our trek ended at raised walkway #8 which morphed into a raised pier where we descended some stairs and clambered into a smaller paddle canoe. We were both well knackered by then so to sit anywhere was a relief as we were carried over a large lagoon and my tiredness waned as I noted several interesting waterbirds as we moved briskly along. And when we arrived at another set of rickety landing steps which we were directed not to use we faced another scramble over what looked like a random set of planks on mud but there were many helping hands to guide us to the firm ground ahead. By this time Lady G was giving me some very hard looks forcing me to look away and dodge the daggers but I knew how she was feeling. . In no way am I whining or moaning but it would have been nice to know ahead of time rather than have it sprung upon us without notice. I think it was just not knowing what lay ahead rather than the exertion of the actual jungle trek that concerned us. The Lodge was just across the well tended flower beds and lawns and after signing in and being orientated we were shown to our cabin to collapse on our beds. We were here at last despite all the issues. The Lodge is a local community venture managed by the able Manuelle and employs many local people from the village that owned the School bus we had used. There was much interchange of personnel between the two but the Lodge was inside the Yasuni National Park whereas of course the village was not. The Lodge grounds held the usual wooden decked buildings comprising Lounge and Bar, Dining room and  was set centrally between six wooden Cabins or Chalets that were served by neatly clipped pathways edged by trim hedges and shrubs. Inside we had two beds, a single and a double, electric ceiling fan and lighting all run from Photo-voltaic panels. Hot water was solar powered also and never ran out. The bathroom was clean and tidy and all services worked well. However the Flypaper was very unusual as it was very proactive at times. To close this part of my report mention must be made of the cuisine. Breakfast was the usual buffet system, fruit, cereals etc., PLUS the most tasty and fresh bread rolls made each morning by the very competent local cook. They put the usual fare served by many much more up market Hotels to shame. Lunch was well prepared and served and dinner was the same quality with many dishes completely new to us. Excellent soups, main courses and a simple dessert to finish. Not all what one would expect from a community run establishment isolated in the Amazonian rainforest and it stood comparison with other lodges we have used before and since.   The final part follows shortly.

I don't believe I was ever near the 4 Rivers camp area, though I could be wrong. Definitely crossed paths with people from Splash quite often. I met the helicopter pilot who was transferring people to 4 Rivers as the air strip wasn't open yet and he happened to be from Canada as well, which was super fun to discover. I get the sense 4 Rivers is a pretty good drive from Kwara camp.  

Better late than never @Peter Connan and glad you liked it.  Regarding Kwowarib Schlucht, I knew of that track and had read up on it. But on the day take a look at the photo on 25th March 22 above. No way.   We actually had taken a look during our stay, pre rain, and I wrote this on that same post. "We did try on the morning but after only a couple of km the ‘trail’ fell off a cliff into the river and we did not attempt the descent in fear of not being able to get back up again. " It will be there for me next visit.  

Thanks @offshorebirder, it's definitely an amazing place.  I've actually been thinking the same thing about Alaska while reading your report.  Too many places, not enough time (or money)...   So next stop was Araras, which was a really nice spot but as mentioned I started to feel sick shortly after arriving and so I didn't take as much advantage as I would have liked.  The first afternoon I was feeling ok though, and I spent a fair amount of time on a boardwalk that they have that heads out over a marshy area.  The light was pretty harsh, so I tried to take advantage of various spotlighting opportunities to at least work around that.     My main target was a pretty confiding juvenile Rufescent Tiger Heron.     I'm pretty happy with this one   A pair of Jabiru Storks also showed up for a bit, although they were a bit shier and wouldn't come too close to me.     The lodge has a pool, and in a large tree right beside it a nest box that had a pair of Hyacinth Macaws.  They ignored the people, but seemed to be actively incubating eggs as in general we'd only see the tail of one sticking out of the nest box while the other was off foraging.  So it was really necessary to be there are the right time, when they switched off who was sitting on the nest and would spend a minute or two bonding.     The lodge offered afternoon tea before the afternoon activity, and would put out some feed to attract birds.  While not natural it was nice to see some rarer species up close - unfortunately there was a large group of birders there with no photo etiquette, and after the third time someone stepped into my shot I gave up on trying to get any shots.   The one I did get was of this Seriema, you can see how close they get.     We didn't see a lot of photographable birds while on game drives, with one exception.  Our second afternoon was very hot, and when we headed out not much was going on except for this Jabiru trying to keep cool in the sun.  I feel like I could have done a bit better with this shot, but that afternoon I was feeling the worst and so didn't really work the opportunity particularly well.    

Only one and three-quarters of a year late. Thanks for a wonderful report. Munduleu looks truly wonderful! Regarding the drive to Hobatere, there actually is a virtually straight road. Called the Khowarib Schuscht off-road trail (and even visible on your maps). Only I'm not sure it would have been passable at this time of this year. We did it in April 2017 and it was no struggle at all (in fact we were even towing trailers), but it looks like 2022 was a wetter year than 2017. Of out whole trip in 2017, those roughly 50km were by far the ones I enjoyed most.   Lastly, with regard to there being fewer people on the plane than on the manifest, it is my understanding that that particular requirement was introduced after Lockerbie.

The jackal was still very busy lightening the piece it had managed to steal from the lions.             To be continued .....

@offshorebirder   It's a big meal, indeed, for a small group, five in the occurence.  If there had been twenty of them, the prey would have already been almost completely devoured. In the dry season, due to the convergence of animals towards artificial water points, the others being dried up, like Masuma, Shumba, Deteema and a few others, they can easily carry out their predation.  In some cases, they no longer have to bother hunting.  There are quite a few animals, particularly elephants, who die of exhaustion or other natural deaths.  When we left the sighting, we went to take a look at the pan from the viewing gallery.  There was, on the opposite side along the water, another dead elephant, with no predators nearby.  This one wasn't there the day before.

You raise some interesting points @ice.   Some thoughts from my side: this particular trip is less about nature, and more about vehicles and driving, and a lot of the people who do it are "petrol heads" first and may not have any interest in nature. So while I don't for one minute dispute that lots of South Africans (and Namibians) are "petrol heads", there are other tours that are more nature-orientated there would be somewhat more balanced fireside conversation. Unfortunately you will still have the language problem, because as you say we do tend to lapse into our home language.   As you have said, power is important in this type of driving. However, a lighter vehicle will also fare better. If I had to do it in a hired car in Africa on Wheels' lineup, I would hire the 2.8l Hilux without the roof-top tent, and just take a small 2-person hiking tent, and most nights I would probably just sleep outside, next to the car. Apart from the wind, this is the ideal opportunity to do that, and you will probably never see more stars than by doing that. I see that it is also available in automatic.    A sideways comment about the big Jeep: that vehicle was almost certainly modified especially for this trip. That engine is a petrol engine, not diesel, and would probably get around 2-3km/l of fuel when going hard in the sand. I bet it has long-range tanks installed everywhere they can be made to fit. The owner probably does the trip every year.   While this is certainly a trip that is on my personal bucket-list, I think there is a very good reason very few overseas tourists sign up for it.

Thanks for sharing your trip report and lovely photo's @BonitaApplebum, you had some amazing encounters that's for sure. My family and I are off to Botswana in January ,6 night mobile and then 3 nights staying with Kwando at there 4Rivers camp, did you get close to that area in Kwara? You have got me excited to get going on Safari again. 

Thanks .... that s special 😂😂😂

Thanks  for this continuing trip report@Bush dog    A tiny elephant is a big meal for lions in the dry season.  

Wow @pomkiwi - looking forward to that trip report!

What a wonderful behavior smorgasbord you witnessed @BonitaApplebum!   Thank you so much for this trip report - such rich detail and fine photos.  

Technically, Hong Kong is not part of Southeast Asia but it was a rare sighting of a Rhesus Macaque for me so I'll squeeze this in. I was there at end-October this year and was on a one-day birding tour of HK's forest birds in its northern territories where there are more forested areas. The bulky male was on its own, possibly having been forced out of a group, and was hanging around the main road.  The rhesus monkey's range spans from the Indian sub-continent across northern Indochina into China, and is thought to have the widest geographic range of all non-human primates. With a characteristic red face and bottom, the macaque is a social animal, seen usually in troops of around 20 to as  many as 200 individuals.     

Two squirrel species we saw while watching birds were the Red Cheeked Squirrel (LC) and the Grey-bellied Squirrel, both of least concern in the IUCN list. The red-cheeked squirrel is found in foothills and lower montane forests and is both arboreal and terrestial in nature. The Grey-bellied squirrel occurs from southern Myanmark down through Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia but doesn't occur in Singapore.    Red-cheeked squirrel      Grey-bellied squirrel