After years of steady economic growth in Brazil, Juliana Barbassa goes in search of an on-the-cheap exotic holiday in Rio.

Gaucho are the original cowboys who roamed southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina after the Spanish introduced cattle to South America, then largely abandoned them. Today, the gaucho philosophy remains on farms throughout South America, with riders expected to wear cowboy boots, baggy pants and wide-brimmed hats... and to ride the gaucho way - one-handed.

In the Uruguayan countryside, Geoff Cumming embraces the philosophy of South America's original cowboys.

Charlotte Holmes heads deep into the mines of Potosi - once the richest city in all of Latin America.

Abi Jackson rounds up some elevated accommodation options and finds treehouse living has come a long way.

A close encounter with glacier calving in Argentine Patagonia is a thrilling event, finds Paul Rush.

London's Games are done, now all eyes are on Rio, writes Josie Dale.

Two waka crews have set off on a massive ocean journey to Easter Island today.

Tourists can now wander freely around the former mansion of infamous cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar, writes Amy Rosenfeld.

This town of 11,000 people, about two hours' drive from Medellín, is home to a huge hydro-electric dam and was the former holiday playground of infamous Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar, whose crumbling mansion in the area is now a drawcard for tourists.

Derek Cheng visits the home of the tango... and discovers he has a lot to unlearn.

As mining makes a political comeback Catherine Masters finds strong local opposition to the prospect of a Northland gold rush

New Zealand won’t win eight golds in London, but it doesn’t stop anybody dreaming of stepping on top of the dais.

Ushuaia's self-proclaimed status that it is the "end of the world" prompts a natural question: what lies beyond the port?

Chris Leadbeater visits the city Argentina claims is the most southerly on the globe.

Socialite, former reality TV queen and aspiring DJ Paris Hilton is getting ready to assault the charts again.