Smarttraveller is pretty useless... if you listened to them you wouldn't go anywhere

Also.. there's nothing wrong with research but when you get there do yourself a favour and DITCH THE GODDAMN LONELY PLANET!!!!!
Sorry to yell but there's nothing worse than seeing scores of sheeple consulting them for every minor decision.

Learn as much Spanish as you can and take some decent maps (or buy them there) and find your way by talking with people instead. Sometime's you'll pick the wrong path but you'll have much more adventure than following the LP trail.

Sorry haven't done any of S.A. but have seen some of the rest of the world.

About ten years or so ago we spent 6 months in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru visiting those and other places your planning on.

They are insane countries rich in culture and history you are guaranteed a ball.

We had no problems except travelling from Corumba (Brazil) through to Santa Cruz. It seemed someone on our bus had a quantity of cocaine stashed so at a checkpoint the bus was asked to move to a kinda quarantine facilit. We were taken from the bus, women an men seperated. Bus was searched a bribe paid and the suspect allowed back on the bus.
Worst thing was we were the only non-locals and had little idea of what was expected of us or what was to happen.
However tales like this are all part of travelling.

Never went to Rio but went to Sao Paulo massive massive overpopulated and at night bit scary sort of a place. We left preferring the country.
Pantanal is awesome we went with a bloke who was brought up there, he knew everything and we saw heaps of wildlife and a few alligators up too close. Also ate Piranha which was errrr tasty?

Macchu Piccu is awesome do the 4 day treck and expect lots of up the hill days and down the hill days. If your not fit it can be gruelling however the 4 day trek is so worth it.
Don't expect to be alone on the trail, don't expect some sort of spiritual experience. The site is busy the trail is busy. 100's of thousands of people do it every year. However i recommend it. The train journey back to Cusco is wickid if you get a seat!
In Cusco check the local backpacker haunts, often boats are looking for crew to cook/clean in return you can score a free trip round the Galapagos but you have to be literally in the right place at the right time.

Bolivia is an amazing country the Sala d'uyuni (sp?) is unbelieveable hook up a tour from Uyuni cant remember the cost. Scenery is like something out of a moonscape with dusty plains overlooked by massive snow covered mountains and unbelievably cold. I think we got it at -35c and slept on a cold concrete floor.
La Paz is a vibrant alive sort of place they play chess in the median strip on the main road through the city. Its a really social place to hang out.
They also like to protest a lot, whilst majority of these are peaceful sometimes the farmers get really pissed off and fight out a storm.
Lake titicacca is spectacular when we were there ist was sunny and hot however the water is too cold for swimming. Well worth a visit to see the islands, and those floating weed places i forget the name. tho they are a bit touristy.

I guess with travelling anywhere your taking risks, you just need to have your wits about you and not do anything stupid, like buying drugs, smuggling drugs over boarders, getting wasted to the point of "where am i" then walking back to your hotel in the early hours of the morning, especially in Cusco.
LP is handy more for information regarding the history on places you will visit, relying on the book for anything more takes the fun out of it all, meet people ask them get advice. Your fellow traveller is your best asset

If you need more PM me i could go on and on and on and on...........

oh yeah, don't rely on the australian government to help you out of a tight spot.
that riot i got stuck in in la paz; i was stranded in a large hostel with many travellers of many nationalities. over the course of the trouble everybody was evacuated out of the country by their respective consulates with a military escort. except the australians and 2 russian guys.
we were told by our embassies to sit tight and see what happens. this was despite running out of food, watching people get shot dead outside, and listening to looters throw rocks at the windows and try to smash through the door.

I love that fact that when ever someone tells me their adventure tales of South America I become equally more excited and scared sh!tless

This is all great info guys - keep it coming!

As for the "learn a bit of Spanish" advice - I've got the podcasts making me look a little insane as I listen and repeat out aloud whilst riding the pushie to and from work

@ Stamp - I've been reading alot about not crossing picket lines and avoiding protests... do you remember what caused the one you were stuck in?

@ PR - Do you recall what time of year you were in the Pantanal? Wet or dry season? We'll be there towards the end of the wet, so travel can become interesting! The salt flats look amazing, but as you mentioned, the temp is a bit of concern! We're coming out of the Bolivian Amazon up to 4000ft..... How did you go carrying the extra warm gear??

@ Mr Plow - I'll check out the Pantanal guys, cheers! What city did you access Uakari Lodge from?

@ KB Dave - I've found the lonely planet handy in the past (NZ, Hawaii, Borneo etc..) for finding last minute accommodation, a bit of history and not a bad source if you need to access a quick local translation.. But completely hear your ditching point. We intend travelling low key and of the gringo trail, as long as there's another "safe" option...

Thanks again for the inside info folks - If you feel like writing an easy, I'd appreciate it...PM or post...

Uacari Lodge

http://www.pousadauacari.com.br/Default_en.aspx

Has all the details. You have to get to Manaus - big dirty city in the Amazon, then fly Tefe - small dirty city in the Amazon, then hour and a bit by speedboat to Uacari.

Check out the website - it is as good as it looks believe me.

PR^^
A light pack and buying lama jumpers was my plan... Did you have any trouble getting big enough sizes? They build people a little smaller up at altitude....

^^...muchas gracias...

...una cerveza por favor...

...and of course (thanks Stamp)... no soy americano

I think that almost makes me fluent..?

^^ Thanks...I'm definitely looking forward to all the food!

Anywhere to avoid in BA? Being a 6ft blonde guy, I've got a feeling I might stand out a bit - should I leave my t-shirt with a target printed on it at home

am in argentina at the moment (pissing about waiting for the bus, hence the seabreeze). It´s fookin awesome. Try to learn as much spanish as possible before you go. The other tip is to try and get to as many random places as possible. Search for things like local festivals where you´ll get an authentic experience. I was the only gringo in town last night with 1000s partying.

Just remember to always jump in to everything. And a smile will get you everywhere and probably beyond.