Buying a game farm

Is it actually feasible for someone from a different country to be able to buy land in South Africa, Namibia, or Botswaina. Me and my wife have a lifetime government pension from the US federal government so we could take the risk and not end up in the poor house. Hell the government could have it back when I kick the bucket.

Simple answer is yes.
There are some complicated issues to deal with, land claims, etc, etc.
A good realtor and lawyer will be invaluable in this adventure.
Good luck.

I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. I have thought about it too.

I think we have all thought about it. The most important thing to remember when entering into something like this is that you must be sure to have a room ready for AHers at all times!

Anyone who even considers that needs their heads read....... All of Africa is increasingly adopting a policy of Africa for Africans & no matter who tells you what, land seizure will ALWAYS be a VERY real possibility....... South Africa being one of the most at risk countries in this regard....... One day, Julius Malema or someone similar (but probably Malema) is going to be President & when that happens, he's going to make Mugabe look like a saint.

If you want to see what can happen buy yourself a copy of Robert Mugabe & the White African.

Sir,

Are you still interested in information ref. your inquiry?

Looking forward to hear from you.

Charl van Rooyen
Owner
Infinito Safaris

Sorry if my last post was a bit brusque.... I was tied up with something else and had to dash out.

To add to my previous comments:

Many African countries, especially southern African countries will let you buy a property without any hassles but firstly many of them will expect you to take in a local partner and by that, they mean a black African partner and if you're gonna do that, you need to make sure it's someone who has influence rather than a someone like a local tracker etc....... so you effectively give half or a large percentage of your business/money away before you even start...... if you don't have to do it immediately, there's a bloody good chance you'll have to do it sooner or later.

Then if you do buy somewhere, you'll probably think you'll spend your time hunting on your own place or sitting around enjoying the sunsets etc...... and nothing could be further from the truth because you'll soon find you're tied to the office dealing with the business of running a game farm & ensuring some bugger isn't trying to steal from you. Then you have to worry about things like water pumps, poachers, game departments, fuel prices, wages, strikes, game fences, neighbours, security/crime and then comes the politics and politics of dealing with the game dept etc etc etc...... These things really are a massive amount of work, worry & hassle.

I'm sure that as soon as people find out you're considering investing money in Africa, you'll get lots of offers of help and guidance etc but you need to be VERY careful about everything you say & do before parting with even a single cent.

Getting money into Africa is never a problem but getting it out is ALWAYS a problem and you can very easily lose massive amounts of money.

Don't think I'm having a pop at any individuals here because I'm not but I do have an awful lot of experience with Africa, African politicians, banks, game depts & the hunting business etc and from my experience, I wouldn't recommend anyone invest in anything that wasn't essential & couldn't be driven/flown/moved across a border.

I also have had invited to be an part owner - investor in a game ranch.

On a flight to South Africa i had the chance to visit with a world banker and his recommendation was do not do it. Reasons are as mentioned above by Shakari...

The World Banker also provided guidance: To top it off if you invest or purchase a game farm-ranch be prepared to lose your investment and sooner rather than later. Plus you will need to be there physically to protect your investment.

Oh & I think I forgot to mention fire, flood, drought & farm murders....... if you think that last one isn't too much of a worry, try doing a Google or You Tube search on South African farm murders........ Some/many organisations are now classifying these as genocide.

Funny it ain't!

Originally Posted by shakari

Oh & I think I forgot to mention fire, flood, drought & farm murders....... if you think that last one isn't too much of a worry, try doing a Google or You Tube search on South African farm murders........ Some/many organisations are now classifying these as genocide.

Funny it ain't!

Well have no dought your other thread had already gotton that idea out of my head but this one puts the icing on the cake, guess if I want a place over there I'll just rent it by the day and hunt other outfitters farms.

Much better to rent & be the guest....... and you also get to see a wide variety of places.

As mentioned above we have all thought about this. But the realist will soon figure out its a non starter and waaaayyyyy more trouble than its worth. Most anytime a guy tries to turn his beloved hobby into a job it quickly becomes the job he wishes was his hobby again.

Originally Posted by sestoppelman

As mentioned above we have all thought about this. But the realist will soon figure out its a non starter and waaaayyyyy more trouble than its worth. Most anytime a guy tries to turn his beloved hobby into a job it quickly becomes the job he wishes was his hobby again.

You are probably right. I should be real happy that I can hunt deer and turkeys here on my own property in the US. To old to start over and like was posted you can just be a quest and hunt alot of different areas. I think about Namibia that I liked through was that no one hardly lives there

I remember when I took my older brother to Namibia for his first safari and he started talking about moving there. I laughed. I said yeah sure, its winter time right now. Summers are a little different!

The weather in Namibia in May was wonderful. The last two summers here in Kansas we have had over 25 days of 100 plus and a drought. It is nice to have tornadoes and not much rain.

In my neck o the woods, 90 is really hot! Pacific NW. We had a long dry summer this year but not very warm. Max temp was maybe 90 once and a few high 80's. Took a long time to get here though. Every day on the news we kept hearing about all the record heat in "every corner of the country"! We laughed! Didnt happen here.

Was in Namibia in June of '07 and it was very cold in the mornings and afternoons were nice but rarely very hot. In RSA in '09 we had frost several mornings. Zim mornings were chilly in '11 as well. Tanzania and Botswana were the warmest hunts for me.

In my neck of the cacti we're just thrilled that high temps may not make the 90's tomorrow for the first time since May!

Phoenix Phil Its been real nice up here in Page the last 2 weeks :-) Actually real cool this morning

Originally Posted by Cliffy

Phoenix Phil Its been real nice up here in Page the last 2 weeks :-) Actually real cool this morning

Saw 36 degrees in Forest Lakes a few weeks ago....it was perfect with nice afternoons. Another few weeks we'll be there here.