Show us your baobab trees...

[Jan]

Great photo, treepol!

 

 

 

Jan

[Ayesha Cantor]

Baobabs and Fever Trees, two of my most favourites. We did a wilderness trail in northern Kruger last year, walking among the forests of Fever Trees and surrounded by Baobabs, was just amazing....Love your photo, beautiful in evey way !

Regards

Ayesha

[Bugs]

[Game Warden]

The scale between the human figures and trees is incredible. Would love to see a bigger version...

[Bugs]

OK second try at the Baobabs of Madagascar.

[Ayesha Cantor]

Oh wow....on our 'Bucket List ''

[africapurohit]

Here's one of my favourites taken in Lower Zambezi, Zambia. The elephant was a fully grown mature bull with good sized tusks but still looked dwarfed whilst it was scratching its bottom.

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi there! New user here though I've browsed quite a bit.

 

Here are some images from a cluster of Baobabs in the northern region of Savute, Chobe National Park, Botswana.

 

 

[twaffle]

I especially like that second shot Morkel. Beautiful.

[Game Warden]

I think that's a good way to introduce your photographic skills Morkel

[Game Warden]

 

The African Baobab (Adansonia digitata) can reach heights of up to 30 metres and trunk diameters of up to 11 metres. It is also known as the tree of life, with good reason too. It is capable of providing shelter, clothing, food, and water for the animal as well as human inhabitants of the African Savannah regions. The cork-like bark or huge stem is fire resistant and is used for making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is rich in vitamin C and is eaten. The tree is capable of storing hundreds of litres of water, which is tapped in dry periods. Mature trees are frequently hollow, providing living space for numerous animals and humans alike. Radio-carbon dating has measured that age of some Baobab trees at over 2,000 years old. For most of the year, the tree is leafless, and looks very much like it has its roots sticking up in the air.

 

There are numerous legends offering explanations of how the tree came to be stuffed in the ground upside down. The Bushmen believed that goings-on in the baobab so offended God that in his wrath he uprooted it and cast it back into the earth upside-down. It is also said that if you drink its delectable sap you will receive protection from the crafty crocodile; but do not pluck its flowers, for whosoever does so will be torn apart by lions!

 

The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of northeastern Botswana. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up several thousand years ago.

 

Photos and text courtesy and copyright Roger Dugmore, www.rogerdugmoresafaris.com.

[twaffle]

Beautiful additions to the thread.

[Calo]

I've really enjoyed eveyone's beautiful baobab photos! These were taken in or near Tarangire National Park:

 

 

 

Sorry, I thought I was following the directions for uploading images, but mine are appearing tiny for some reason. I'll have to investigate further.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Calo

[Sharifa]

There are some wonderful images of these ancient giants here.

 

Oh, the stories they could tell

 

Here is one taken in Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa. The Park is in Limpopo Province. They do not grow naturally further down in South Africa.

 

 

[Bugs]

Sharifa - you have to tell us a bit about Mapungubwe.

 

Its on the my list of places to visit in the near future.

[Sharifa]

Sharifa - you have to tell us a bit about Mapungubwe.

 

Its on the my list of places to visit in the near future.

 

Ok @ you have twisted my arm. A trip report coming up.

[wulff]

The "Baobab Forest" in SLNP Zambia. Situated in a fairly remote area of the northern part of the park it can be reached by a track from Derek Shenton's Kaingo camp. The reason why so many comparatively young baobabs occur in a limited area is something of a mystery. Pottery sherds which we found at the base of one of the older trees may indicate that they were planted for ritual or burial purposes at an earlier time in this area's history.

Edited September 14, 2013 by wulff

[Soukous]

This amazing Baobab in the Selous is apparently 1800 years old.

 

 

 

[madaboutcheetah]

The famous Baobab in Lebala (Kwando concession) in better times ...... I was shocked when I went there last month, this tree is on the verge of falling off (Elephants!!!!) - was a prominent landmark.

[Thys Basson]

Gweta -Botswana

[Peter Connan]

Planet Baobab Thys? Brings back good memories!

[marg]

Malilangwe

[Treepol]

Moremi, August 2012

 

 

Ruaha, July 2008

 

Edited June 12, 2014 by Treepol

[Game Warden]

Me with a tree...

[savoche]

Some different baobabs, these are from Lac Tsimanampetsotsa. Sorry, I don't know what species they are, but I do know that 7 of the 8 species in the world are found in Madagascar - and 6 of them only in Madagascar.

 

 

 

This one was sadly vandalised.