Veterinary Study Tour to Argentina
About the tour
Travel from vast Iguazu Falls to the cosmopolitan elegance of Buenos Aires, onto the mountains and pristine lakes of Bariloche, before ending amongst the blue glaciers of remote Patagonia.
The veterinary visits and cultural experiences span an extraordinary spectrum from the tropics to the icefields. See veterinary conservation in the tropics before heading to Buenos Aires. Learn about equine therapy for children and visit a veterinary association, an equine rehabilitation centre and a polo horse breeder. Experience the country by horseback in Bariloche, have lunch at a local estancia and hear from local veterinarians in Patagonia.
Enjoy the fine wines and food of Argentina and see authentic tango in the most sophisticated city in South America on this tour of breathtaking variety and contrasts.
3 nights Iguazú – 3 nights Buenos Aires– 3 nights Bariloche – 3 nights Calafate – 1 night Buenos Aires
Download our brochure Veterinary Study Tour to Argentina
Our online booking system is temporarily unable to accept payments. If you would like to book this tour please call our office on:(Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764.
Your tour leader
Dr Campbell Costello BVSc
Campbell Costello, or “Cozzy” as he is more usually known, was born and raised on his family’s isolated beef cattle stations in the outback of North Queensland, Australia. Growing up on a few hundred thousand acres of bush with plenty of animals and not many people made choosing a career in veterinary science an easy one, especially if it involved cattle, horses and the frontier. Campbell graduated from James Cook University’s inaugural year of undergraduate Veterinary Science in 2010, and traded the tropical North of Australia for the cold Southern States of Australia for a few years of mixed-animal practice, with a predominant focus on large animals.
In 2012, Campbell decided to ride one thousand kilometers across Mongolia in the world’s longest horse race, the “Mongol Derby”. Cozzy was not only the year’s youngest rider but was just one of 16 out of 34 that finished the race. Cozzy returned to mixed practice in Australia but the banality of life post-derby was too much, so he packed his bags and trekked across the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in 2013 before relocated to the Highveldt of South Africa as a Large African Game & Wildlife veterinarian. Cozzy returned to Australia to work as a veterinary contractor in the livestock sector that dealt with several overseas governments that were importing breeding animals to establish or improve their pre-existing livestock ventures. This took Cozy to coutnries such as Russia, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kuwait, Oman, Israel, the UAE, and Sri Lanka to name a few. Cozy has also returned to Mongolia annually several times as one of the senior veterinarians and crew for the “Mongol Derby” race, and several weeks prior to select thousands of Mongolian horses for the event. During these deployments, Campbell ventured to Northern Mongolia twice to spend time with the Nomadic Tsaatan Reindeer herders in the Khövsgöl province on the Russian border. Campbell also started working annually as an Airborne Veterinarian for the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska. In 2016 Campbell was stationed in South-Eastern Kazakhstan as the head veterinarian and farm manager of a Angus Beef Cattle farm and help establish one of the country’s first ever cattle ventures since the demise of the Soviet Union. During that time, Campbell was also one of the only English speaking veterinarians to attend the “World Nomad Games” in Kyrgyzstan and offer veterinary assistance to the local animals and training to local veterinarians and para-veterinarians. During March of 2019 Campbell was very fortunate to be the mounted veterinarian for the “Gaucho Derby” recce mission, which involved riding across the Argentine area of Patagonia for several days, monitoring the local Criollo horses’ physiological parameters as a response to the terrain and conditions, and mapping a basic route for the inaugural “Gaucho Derby” race in 2020.
Campbell was based as a large animal veterinarian in the Kimberley region of Australia for eighteen months but left at the beginning of 2019 after contracting leptospirosis. Campbell has returned to his home state of Queensland and is currently locuming around Australia and the world.
Need more information?
- Tel: (Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764
- Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm
Itinerary at a glance
- Day 1: Iguazú (Mon, 4 Nov) Arrive Iguazú and check in to the Mercure Iguazú before a local dinner.
- Day 2: Iguazú (Tue, 5 Nov) Iguazu Falls straddle the border between Brazil and Argentina. Both sides provide spectacular and very different perspectives. The Falls are simply astounding, with hundreds of thundering cascades spanning nearly 3km in length. Explore the highlights of the Argentinian side in the Iguazu National Park. Walk across walkways amongst the cascades within lush rainforest, with hundreds of butterflies fluttering in the mist. Visit the Guiraoga Wildlife Refuge, a rehabilitation centre for injured wildlife. It carries out valuable research on the forest environment and has a breeding program for endangered species. Spot monkeys, toucans, ocelots and other animals along the route. Welcome dinner.
- Day 3: Iguazú (Wed, 6 Nov) Visit the Brazilian side of the falls, including the dramatic ‘Devil’s Throat’. Stand on a lookout platform perched above the majestic torrent of water, watching it plunge into invisible depths. The roar of the water is overwhelming and the ‘smoke’ from the cascade can be seen several kilometres away. Visit the Birds Sanctuary and Preservation Park.
- Day 4: Iguazú / Buenos Aires (Thur, 7 Nov) Fly to Buenos Aires. This elegant, edgy city often looks like Europe, and its denizens would be at home in the most stylish of Europe’s cities, but it has its own Latin American twist. Explore the heart of the city, including Recoleta, before checking in to your hotel. Enjoy a tango show with dinner.
- Day 5: Buenos Aires (Fri, 8 Nov) Start the day visiting the famous antiques market at San Telmo and the multi-coloured artist quarter of La Boca. Continue to Buenos Aires’ Puerto Madero District to meet with Regional Representatives of the OIE World Organisation for Animal Health and staff of SENASA (National Animal Health Services). Return to Palermo to learn about equine assisted therapy for children. Enjoy dinner at a renowned local restaurant.
- Day 6: Buenos Aires (Sat, 9 Nov) Leave Buenos Aires’s city centre to visit an equine hospital and rehabilitation centre. Continue to visit a polo horse breeder and farmhouse in Buenos. Enjoy an asado in true Argentine style. Return late afternoon.
- Day 7: Buenos Aires / Bariloche (Sun, 10 Nov) Depart Buenos Aires and arrive in scenic Bariloche. Transfer from airport to hotel with an orientation tour. Walking tour of Bariloche.
- Day 8: Bariloche (Mon, 11 Nov) Enjoy a half day tour with the most spectacular panoramic views of Bariloche's lake district (circuito chico). Afternoon at leisure. Dinner at local restaurant with wine tasting.
- Day 9: Bariloche (Tue, 12 Nov) Explore the Patagonian steppes and fauna with a horseback riding morning and enjoy a farmhouse asado. Hear a talk from local veterinarians.
- Day 10: Bariloche / El Calafate (Wed, 13 Nov) Depart Bariloche and arrive at the majestic El Calafate. Transfer from airport to hotel with an orientation tour.
- Day 11: El Calafate (Thur, 14 Nov) Explore the national park, including the Perito Moreno Glacier. This natural phenomenon is a thunderous 200 foot high and three mile wide river of constantly moving and exploding ice. There are a number of wooden catwalks to view the glacier. Talk with Eduardo Clapera, Senasa’s Food Safety Regional Coordinator Patagonia South.
- Day 12: El Calafate (Fri, 15 Nov) Day at leisure or option to return to the wonderful, otherworldly land of the glaciers with a full optional day tour to the Upsala Glacier, a huge chunk of ice measuring thirty-seven miles long and nearly three miles wide.
- Day 13: Calafate / Buenos Aires (Sat, 16 Nov) Depart Calafate for Buenos Aires and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Farewell dinner.
- Day 14: Buenos Aires (Sun, 17 Nov) Depart for the airport.
Tour cost
TBC
Our online booking system is temporarily unable to accept payments. If you would like to book this tour please call our office on:(Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764.