Welcome to The WC, wherein you’re trapped in my mind for eight to ten minutes weekly.
Last week, we had a fun look at the most remote places on earth and dug around to see if there’s anything worth investing in:
- The Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility
- The North American Pole of Inaccessibility
Today we’ll look at three more:
- The South American Pole of Inaccessibility
- The African Pole of Inaccessibility
- The Australian Pole of Inaccessibility
Let’s go
Table of Contents
The South American Pole of Inaccessibility
The South American PIA is ticked into the Brazilian rainforest, right smack in the state of Mato Grosso (“the great woods”),
Where is The South American Pole of Inaccessibility?
The point itself is in rainforest, but the entire region is dotted with farms (which were uhh…formerly rainforest).
There are lots of towns dotted around, but the nearest city, Cuiabá, is a 3.5hr drive away.
What’s nearby
It’s mostly nature and farms.
But the nature is awesome.
Investment opportunities near the South American PIA
Ecotourism is big in western Brazil, and there are some cracking options.
This ecolodge, which is a few hundred miles away, goes for $600 per night.
If you want to buy up some land to build something yourself, property prices are comparable to what you’ll find in South Dakota.
Here you can get 6,500 acres for <$3k per acre:
Cuiabá Esporte Clube, which is the professional football (soccer) team, plays in the Arena Pantenal, which was built for the 2014 World Cup.
There are a number of less notable clubs in the region as well. If you’ve ever wanted to own a second-tier South American football team, maybe this is your chance.
(Meanwhile, if you want to own part of a New Zealand Rugby team, reply and let me know).
How do you get to the exact South American Pole of Inaccessibility?
Drive to the nearby farm then walk. “Expect to find the last kilometer or so to be ‘hard going’ in some very dense bush. You will definitely need sturdy boots, bug spray, and a machete”
It’s very difficult:
“Hazards we encountered included a few massive bees nests, anthills, collapsed trees making some foot placements precarious and, at one point, we came across Jaguar tracks – about fist sized with four prominent knuckle indentations.”
Want to learn more?
The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review: Partha Dasgupta. This comprehensive review explores the economics of biodiversity, giving insight into the economic value of ecosystems, sustainable development, and investment opportunities.
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?: Martha Honey. This book examines the intersection of ecotourism and sustainable development.
Psst – We’re planning an Alts trip to Bali in 2025. An eco-tourism themed investing adventure.
The African Pole of Inaccessibility
Just south of the Sahara and north of the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the African PIA is probably the most remote, and is definitely the most dangerous.
Where is The African Pole of Inaccessibility?
About 200km west of the tri-point border between the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the DRC
This sheer remoteness makes the land very unproductive and difficult to monitor, which contributes to the political instability it’s been saddled with.
What’s nearby?
The town of Obo, CAR is closest. It’s been attacked at least three times since 2012 and features the only hospital in the area. Calling the town beleagured would be apt.
There’s also this, but I don’t know what it is.
Geosleuths, if you can help me out I’ll send you a free Alts mug. (The coordinates are 5.400512316729084, 26.489710349310528)
Investment opportunities near the African PIA
Investment opportunities are all the things you’d expect:
- Military and mercenary opportunities.
- Natural resource extraction
- Humanitarian and NGO operations
- Infrastructure build out
- Smuggling
- Warlording
- Possibly something around tourism
Not my first choice, I’m afraid.
How do you get to the African Pole of Inaccessibility?
Before you set off on your adventure:
The entire region is best described as unstable and travel in and around CAR is very dangerous. Indeed, the Several Governments advise against all travel in the country. On the health front CAR has a high risk of Zika virus transmission and has experienced outbreaks of Dengue Fever, Polio and Ebola.
If you really want to have a go, this guy did it. It required five airplane flights, two rides in a helicopter, at least four armed escorts, and a different route back to avoid ambush.
This is how he planned out entire expedition including handy checklists for what to bring and how not to get hacked to death.
Would You Like to Know More?
The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa’s Wealth: Tom Burgis. This investigative work explores the complex web of economic exploitation in Africa.
Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong: Morten Jerven. This book challenges conventional wisdom about African economics.
The Australian Pole of Inaccessibility
Set deep in Australia’s outback, the Australian PIA is the only one (that I know of) that’s slotted into recent pop culture.
Furiosa, the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, named its first chapter after the remote point.
Where is The Australian Pole of Inaccessibility?
It’s about 30km from the tiny town of Papunya in Australia’s Northern Territory, a cool 4 hour drive from Alice Springs, and sits smack on Tropic of Capricorn.
What’s nearby?
Besides Papunya, which I’ll discuss further below, the lively-looking Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park is “just down the road” (in Aussie terms).
Oddly, nearly 10% of the population of Alice Springs is American, due to the Pine Gap joint surveillance base nearby.
I wouldn’t recommend getting too close to it. But these guys actually snuck into the CIA base at Pine Gap:
Investment opportunities near the Australian PIA
All the usual Aussie industries are nearby, and the regional government offers grants and de-risked loans through the Invest NT scheme.
Typical projects include:
- Mining and mineral processing
- Renewable energy projects
- Tourism infrastructure
There are also lots of opportunities in space due to the reliably good weather and extreme remoteness.
But the most interesting industry in the area is dot art, the aboriginal craft that may have actually originated in the tiny settlement of Papunya. You’ve seen it:
The cottage industry has been backed locally, but there’s surely much more that can be done.
How do you get to the Australian Pole of Inaccessibility?
Get to Australia, fly to Alice Springs (domestic airport only) and drive a long way there. A dirt road runs right through it.
Want to learn more?
Papunya: A Place: The Beginnings of the Western Desert Painting Movement: Geoffrey Bardon. This is a first-hand account of the artists and works emanating from Papunya, the birthplace of the Western Desert Painting Movement. Based on the exquisitely recorded notes and drawings of Geoffrey Bardon, the man who instigated the movement’s development, the extensive documentation features over 500 paintings, drawings, and photographs, many of which had never been seen before.
That’s all for this week; I hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- Our friends at Rainbook sponsored this issue
- This issue contains no affiliate links
