It's A Jungle Out There!

Home to sloths, anacondas, piranhas, birds as colourful as the rainbow and tarantulas as big as a plate, the Amazon rainforest is one of Planet Earth’s greatest wonders. Hanlie and Vivian Gericke set off to explore in their Land Rover.

- Hanlie and Vivian Gericke

After dreaming of the world’s biggest rainforest for years, we were finally in the port city of Belém, on the southern fringe of the Amazon basin, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

But first we had to wait for a barge to take us to the city of Macapá. This city is on the northern bank of the Amazon River, but it’s 330 km away as the crow flies! In between Belém (technically on the Para River, part of the greater Amazon system) and Macapá is one of the largest river islands in the world – Marajo Island. With a land area of 40 000 km², it’s twice the size of the Kruger Park.

While we were waiting for the barge, we decided to explore Marajo. Despite its size, there are only three sleepy villages on the island, and more bicycles than cars. The island is also full of domesticated water buffalo. According to legend, the ancestors of these buffaloes arrived on a ship destined for French Guiana, which was wrecked here. They now number about 450 000 – more than the human population! The buffaloes are used for transport – even the police use them for patrols. Imagine a policeman chasing a pickpocket on a buffalo!

On Marajo we swam in the Amazon River for the first time. The water was warm and brown, with waves. The opposite shore is so far across on the horizon, it felt as if we were swimming in a saltless sea.

Life on the river