Overnight flight to Santiago (Chile). The flight time from Sydney is about

14 hours, most of which is at night. As we fly north along the Chilean coast we should get a great view of the coast backed by the magnificent snow capped Andes. Afternoon arrival and transfer to a direct flight to Cusco.

There are also direct flights from Melbourne to Santiago but these may entail an extra night in Santiago.

Tour of Cusco in the morning and time to visit one of the markets. This afternoon we enjoy a spectacular bus and train journey through farming valleys and imposing mountains to Aguas Calientes station (1000 metres lower than Cusco).

Early start by bus to the top of the mountain and our unforgettable introduction to the citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the most renowned examples of Inca architecture, surrounded by lush cloud forest. Lost in history, it was not discovered until 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. After a guided visit of the ruins, we will have a self-service lunch at the local mountain-top restaurant. After lunch, there will be some time to wander the ruins and maybe climb to the Sun Gate for a spectacular view of the whole site (about 45 minutes each way). Then return to Cusco. Dinner and folkloric show at a local restaurant this evening.

Fly to Sao Paulo via Lima, staying in an airport hotel overnight.

We will take a morning flight to Cuiaba in Mato Grosso, then travel through the spectacular Chapada dos Guimarães, an area of stunning table-top mountains, ravines, caves, streams and waterfalls perched about 800m higher than the enormous, flat plains of the Pantanal. It enjoys cooler temperatures and its vegetation is 'cerrado' or tropical savannah which gives rise to different flora and fauna. This cerrado landscape dominates Brazil's broadacre agriculture – not only in Mato Grosso, but Minas Gerais, Goias and Bahia. It was thought to be worthless for agriculture until Brazilian researchers found that it could be made highly productive with the addition of lime and phosphorus. We will visit some of the huge farming operations near Campo Verde. It is truly farming on a grand scale. Dinner with some local consultants and farmers.

Visit to Bom Futuro. The size of this operation is almost incomprehensible. They grow 90,000 hectares of cotton which is classed as a secondary crop to soybeans. They are big enough to build a hydroelectric power station 200 km away which provides 60 per cent of the power to their nine cotton gins and farming operations. They have scaled back their cattle enterprise but still have something like 100,000 head. And they have moved into fish farming in a big way. Be prepared to be amazed.

Later in the afternoon we head back to Cuba for overnight.

After breakfast, we'll catch a flight to Cascavel via Sao Paulo for an evening arrival and a buffet dinner at the Hotel Deville.

Cascavel is at the heart of grain production in Parana State and we will visit a large farm growing wheat, corn and soybeans and with pigs and timber production. Then continue to Itaipu, where we will inspect the giant Itaipu Dam – one of the seven wonders of the modern world. This enormous hydro scheme is a joint project between the governments of Paraguay and Brazil. Eight kilometres wide and requiring enough concrete to build five Hoover Dams, the Itaipu Dam spans the Parana River at the Brazil/Paraguay border.

We'll enter the Iguacu National Park and arrive at our hotel in time for sunset and an unforgettable (and easy) stroll along the boardwalk, from the front of our hotel, to many vantage points including Garganta del Diablo. Free evening to explore the falls and enjoy this magnificent 5 star hotel, perched right on the edge of the falls.

Dinner at the hotel for a buffet you will never forget.

This is the only hotel inside the National Park, so we have the falls to ourselves in the early morning and late afternoon when the park gates are closed.

Full day to explore all aspects of the falls. We go straight to our jungle tour and exhilarating jetboat ride to the most impressive part of Iguacu Falls – Garganta del Diablo (translated as the ‘Devil’s Throat’). After lunch, there are options for helicopter flights over the falls and other activities.

After another early morning close up view of the falls from the Brazilian side, we'll cross the Iguacu River into Argentina before joining our flight to Buenos Aires for the weekend. Our hotel is located on the widest street in the world – the Avenue 9 de Julio – which honours Argentina’s independence day in 1816. It is in an area known as Microcentro and is close to shopping and almost opposite the beautiful Teatro Colon, BA’s opera house.

Freshen up before we take a short stroll for dinner and a first taste of a genuine Argentinian steakhouse, La Estancia.

We take a guided city tour of the major sights of BA. This is a vibrant city of many barrios (neighbourhoods) and while we're here, we'll visit colonial San Telmo, the colourful houses of La Boca and the newer Puerto Madero. At the Plaza de Mayo, we get a look at the Casa Rosada (the Pink Palace) where Eva Peron waved to the adoring crowds and visit her tomb in the cemetery at La Recoleta.

The afternoon and evening are free, but we will suggest a few options such as bike tours, tango shows and just generally exploring the many interesting areas of BA.

If shopping is more your thing, the shopping street of Florida is nearby.

This morning we will be met by Andrés Sylvestre Begnis, the former CEO of the Argentinean No Till Farmer’s Association, who is going to be our tour leader for the next few days. Our guides will introduce us to the farms and farmers of the pampas, an almost uninterrupted fertile plain of 75,000,000 hectares covering a large part of eastern Argentina through to Uruguay and southern Brazil.

We will visit Marcos Daziano (UBA agribusiness specialist) on the farm of Arrecifes City (crops and a feedlot). For lunch we’ll enjoy an Asado on the field and later in the afternoon, we’ll visit the Manuel Ocampo farm with grain storage facilities, chicken eggs and soy oil production.

After breakfast, we’ll visit a farm near Pergamino City (with crops and livestock) and talk with Maximiliano Santos, the farm agronomist. Later transfer to Federico Varela’s farm and have lunch at the farm. During the afternoon we’ll visit a seed plant near Pergamino, prior to transfer to Rosario City. Dinner at Rock and Fellers Restaurant, a walking distance from the hotel.

In the morning we will pay a visit to the BIOCERES Sevillas (seed) facility and the Louis Dreyfus silos and port at General Lagos then back to BA in preparation for an early start the next morning. We'll also bid goodbye to our good friend Andres.

Note: We'll be leaving too early for breakfast at the hotel, so will have to try for any options at the airport (or on the plane). This morning we fly south to the magnificent Patagonian region to the lake-side resort centre of El Calafate, the gateway to the Argentine glaciers. In the afternoon we will visit one of the local large scale sheep farms and discuss their particular (and unique) problems, such as pumas. Estancia Huyliche is perched on a hill directly behind El Calafate with a magnificent view of the town and Lago Argentino. The estancia is dedicated to raising cattle and horses. Includes visit to the corrals, stables and historic shearing shed. We will have either lunch or dinner at the estancia, depending on the weather.

Either way, you will have some free time to explore this fascinating town.

We are in the arid rain-shadow region of the Argentine Patagonia. This is an environment ranging from enormous, majestic glaciers through to thick sub-Antarctic woodlands and savage unclimbed crags. El Calafate is sited on the shores of Lago Argentino, one of the world’s largest and most beautiful lakes. El Calafate is also the access town for Glacier Perito Moreno, undoubtedly one of the world’s natural wonders and one of the very few advancing glaciers on Earth. Early this morning we board our charter 4 wheel drive coach and travel about an hour to visit this glacier as it wages a titanic battle with Lago Argentino. On our spectacular boat cruise to the face of the glacier we will witness huge chunks of ice detonate off the face with the report of a cannon, and plunge into the water below. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the walking trails and viewing platforms. Lunch has not been organised, but is available from the well stocked kiosk. After our glacier encounter we will return to El Calafate by the "back road," passing through a very large sheep operation – Estancia Altavista. This estancia (ranch) is 75,000 hectares running 28,000 sheep.

We start early on a long, but spectacular trip across the stark Patagonia plains – with some wildlife spotting, especially the local guanacos (type of llama) and maybe a condor or two.

We cross the border into Chile (have passports and visas ready) and meet with our Chilean guide Viviana. Then travel into the famous Torres del Paine National Park with a picnic lunch on the way. Torres del Paine is a massif crowned with weird twisted granite peaks rising out of the surrounding plains. It is one of the planet’s most visually stunning national parks standing guard against the elements at the foot of the world. Note that we will be travelling through some rugged country with unpredictable but often spectacular winter weather.

By late afternoon we arrive at the ferry terminal town of Puerto Natales. The town is a spectacular settlement sited on the Seno Ultima Esparanza channel – or Last Hope Sound. We can enjoy a welcome-to-Chile cocktail, giving us a chance to enjoy the Chilean national drink, the “Pisco Sour”.

We'll visit a large cattle and sheep estancia on the banks of the Last Hope Sound. Magnificent scenery with views to the glaciers and nearby snow capped mountains.

It's a two-hour morning flight from Punta Arenas north to Puerto Montt, the gateway to the Chilean Lakes District. We'll visit to a nearby breeder of Chilean horses (it's a recognised breed) for a look at some of their best animals and a demonstration of South American horsemanship. Then continue to the nearby resort town of Puerto Varas for a night overlooking the largest lake within Chile and some active volcanoes in the Andes.

We immediately continue by coach to the beautiful Lake Llanquihue where we will visit the Neumann family farm for a walkabout on the farm and lunch – a barbecue, if the weather cooperates. In the late afternoon, it's another hour to the agricultural services centre of Osorno for overnight.

Then off to the regional airport for the flight of around 100 minutes to Santiago and transfer to our hotel for a two-night stay. Dinner tonight is at the roof-top revolving restaurant near our hotel where we toast our successful whirl around South America as we overlook the lights of the city.

Today we take a day trip through some magnificent scenery to the beautiful and historic seaside city of Valparaiso for a wonderful lunch with a view. On the way we travel through the incredibly fertile Casablanca Valley, known around the world for dairy production and especially its wines. Sitting between the coastal mountains and the Pacific in the valleys of Chile’s central area, this fertile valley is renowned for its white wine, especially chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. After our farewell lunch at Valparaiso, we return to Santiago for a free evening and overnight.

A leisurely morning and, depending on your flight departure time, you may have a chance to do some last minute sightseeing or souvenir hunting before transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Arrival back into Australia on the afternoon of September 14.