Fazenda San Francisco occupies 14,800 hectares and produces irrigated rice and raises cattle. The ranch, on the left margin of the Miranda river is in the basin of the high waters of the Paraguay River and receives water from the central Bodoquena range and the Miranda and Salobra rivers and flows to the Paraguay River. The ranch is on an asphalt highway, BR-262 that connects Campo Grande to Corumbá. The trip requires 3 hours from Campo Grande and 4 hours from Bonito. The farms roads are of gravel and kept in good condition. The headquarters of the farm are 6 km from the entrance. Small cars and buses have easy access. There is runway for small planes.
Lodge – Pouso Boiadeiro
There are nine apartments with air conditioning, fans, fridge, and bath. Six of them are double-bed apartments. There is capacity for lodging 18 people in double rooms or 40 people in a collective system. There are bar and restaurant, swimming pool and hammocks. It is also available an auditorium or conference room with capacity for 40 people.
Attractions – Infrastructure
Three vehicles are available for photographic safaris. One, a flatbed truck for 35 people outfitted with comfortable lateral seats, a holding bar, and shade covering is suitable for longer rides. There are two outfitted Toyotas with 3 levels of seats (capacity 11 each), which are used for night safaris.
Two double-deck barges (capacity 25) with seating and shade covering offer observation of wildlife and fishing for piranhas. There is an air launch for 6.
Two trails suspended above the brush (savanna and flooded areas) were built to have the opportunity of walking in flooding areas. The Carandá Trail (700m) and “Vazante” (area of flowing waters) Trail, on which, there is a Lookout tower, 11 meters high for a panoramic view of the Pantanal. Besides these, there are trails in many areas of diversified types of land. All of this is ideal for observation of birds and beasts.
For the more adventurous, there are horseback riding and canoeing.
We hope you will enjoy your time with us. Experienced guides will increase your understanding of the Pantanal Wetlands.
Conservation
Since the beginning of the agro-ecotourism activities there is the concern and commitment to conservation. Several research projects about the flora and fauna have been achieved, like the ecology of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) and the study of density and economic viability of the Carandá palm tree (Copernicia alba). A few years ago, Fazenda San Francisco received the title of Conservationist Creator from CRAS (Wildlife Rehabilitation Center), supporting the rehabilitation and reintroduction of wildlife rescued from the illegal pet trade. Besides these researches, there are long term monitoring programs like the Hyacinthine Macaw Project and the Blue-fronted Parrot Project, under course since 1996 and 2001, respectively.
Nowadays Fazenda San Francisco is the headquarters of Project Gadonça, which studies the depredation of livestock by jaguars (Panthera onca) and Pumas (Puma concolor).
Beside the researches on fauna and flora there is also a Program of Environmental Education through the ministration of lectures for the visitors. Lectures are focused in the Pantanal and some of the research projects undertaken here, such as Gadonça and Blue-fronted Parrot, which are presented by the researchers themselves. The program of Environment Study done with children from Brazilian schools is another pioneering initiative on Environmental Education. A multidisciplinar team of biologists and tourismologists of the ranch elaborated the material used for this program.
It is important to note that all of these researches are or have been theses of Specializations, Masters and PhD. Publication of these studies are source of important information about the biology and ecology of the species and might serve as guides for planning future actions of management and conservation, especially for the most endangered species.
The survey for bird species have the objective of knowing which species inhabit and visit the area, and what is the relation of them with the food resources available at the ranch.
Website:
www.fazendasanfrancisco.tur.br
E-mail/MSN:
carolpcoelho@terra.com.br
Central of reservations:
Phone/Fax: (55 67) 3242-1088 or (55 67) 3242-3333
Phone/Fax: (55 67) 3325-6606
Mobile: (55 67) 9982-9993