Travel Stories
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South Africa
I thus decided to leave for new horizons to go to discover the largest Baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) of the world.
By the means of emails and contacts, Janice Golding of the National Botanical Garden of Pretoria, Isak Van der Merwe with her sister' familly, DWAF (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry), Sarah and Casper Winter, Norbert Hahn, Louise Steytler and her son, organized my stay in the area of Limpopo (Transvaal) and I thank them much.
The Baobab tree of Sagole (Adansonia digitata)
Photo taken before 1922. Is it the same? If yes, it had a pool near by. Where is it now?
Sarah Winter, a forester woman, drove me to the foot of the largest Baobab tree of the world (Adansonia digitata), which measure 38 meters of turn of trunk, of which the lowest branch stay on the ground. It grows in the area of Limpopo where live the Venda tribe, between Sagole and Tshipise. This area has many baobab trees. The Venda chief of the village accomodated us well, and his wife offered a water melon as a welcome to us. She also showed us a small Baobab tree, which comes from one seed, itself coming from the largest of Baobabs. It still has time to grow!
The children of the village like to climb on the branches of the tree to collect the fruits and to sell them to the travellers of passage. They also plant some to preserve the species. I thus photographed the children on the Baobab tree.The will be the guardian of the largest baobab of the Earth!
As for the Baobab trees of Madagascar and Australia, the Venda tribes eat the fruits and uses them at medicinal purposes (diarrhoeas, malaria, dysenthries) but also to make baskets and cords. It is also an excellent acidulous soft drink. The children, while coming back of the school come to collect the fruits to sell them to the tourists, for a maudic amount of money. Normally, you set out again full of seeds, what to make grow some small Baobab trees.
Each evening it is possible to see the marvellous flight of thousands of named birds " Sunny Birds ". They sleep in the immense cavity of the trunk in company of the wasps. I also slept the night under beautiful star, in my Malagasy hammock, which is manufactured with fibre of Boabab. It was one unic, intense moment to contemplate under the gleam of full moon, this gigantic Baobab, seeing only its massive silhouette. More than three thousand years were held under its shade.
The Baobab tree of Glencoe Farm (Adansonia digitata)
This one also grows since several thousands of years in Hoedspruit,
in the province of Limpopo, not far from the Krüger National
Park . It is a private property and it is
necessary to ask an authorization to see it. Its trunk is difficult to
measure, because undoubtedly more than one century ago, the immense trunk was lowered on
the ground while being divided in several parts. That did not prevent it from continuing
its crusade of eternity. But it would measure more than
fifteen meters in diameter. The scale of its foliage is thirty seven
meters in diameter. We can climb on his foliage and interpret the thousands of writings
engraved on the bark. Animal forms can be observed there.What a better way to know its
history. Mrs du Plessis, the former owner, was enchanted to tell us her 30 years of
stories at the foot of this venerable tree.
The Baobab tree of Duiwelskloof (Adansonia digitata)
This Baobab tree of the farm of Platland has a pub inside the trunk. It is also the attraction of too many tourists and its environment does not enable him to extend. Indeed a concrete slab was made on its roots! And a barbecue patiently awaits the tourists right under the foliage of this venerable tree. Look how was it before!
A few years ago, it was surrounded by only the savanna. Imagine, it does not have there so long time ago, the wild animals struting themselves at its foot. Now these animals are in parks and it is a farm with bungalows and a swimming pool which surrounds it.
Its double trunk measures approximately thirty seven meters of circumference. But how old would be it really? Eventual studies with Carbon-14 would have been realized and the researchers would have deduced that it would have more than 4000 years (gloups....) That is still difficult to prouve.
I would like that the owner breaks the concrete and builds a wood boardwalk manually. It is necessary to recreate an environment much more natural to preserve this venerable Baobab tree. (And the travellers will enjoy more the place!)
Isak Van der Merwe of DWAF, drove me under the " Wonderboom " (Ficus salicifolia) of Pretoria. This tree was dated with Carbon-14 and it would have more than thousand years. It consists of three concentric circles, formed by sixty fourteen trunks. Its foliage has a surface of 2233 m2.
The Podocarpes
Podocarpus belong to the oldest conifers of the Earth. They were already present at the time of Gondwana, well before this old continent is not detached and forms the current continents: South America, Africa, the Antarctic, Asia, Australia, Madagascar...
Podocarpus continued their growth and evolution on our actual continents and it is possible to see in South Africa some vestiges of rain forests, constituted of Podocarpus falcatus and latifolius.
Letaba South Africa Mount Kenya
Without being an expert and observant, it is difficult to differentiate the rainforests from the mountains of Kenya and South Africa. Only a few two hundred and fifty million years separate the actual forests to the original forests of Gongwana and yet almost identical... For Paleobotanists like Dr. John Anderson, they are every day great steps towards the past for better understanding the future!
It is thus significant to preserve these remaining forests, vestiges of thousands of years of evolutions.
In the forest of Knysna, the famous Podocarpus falcatus is Edouard VII. It would have between six hundreds and thousand years old, and it measures two meters twenty of diameter with a thirty-nine meters height. In the forest of Tsitsikamma (western Cap), there is " Big Tree " (Podocarpus falcatus), which measures two meters seventy of diameter with a thirty seven meters height.
In the area of Limpopo, close to Tzaneen, Northern Drakensberg has some small pockets of rain forests, hung
all in top of the valleys. In one of them, in Letaba, a Podocarpus
falcatus lives. It is less known by tourism and a good half-day is
necessary to cross the mountains of Northern Drakensberg. This one is thirty six meters
high for a circumference of five meters sixty. It is also difficult to know its age but
undoubtedly more than 900 years old. Also there, I asked to my friends Louise
Steytler and her son, that I will be happy to see a fungi as this one in
Tasmania. Look this one!! I was lucky!
Close to Grahamstown, an other Podocarpus grows in the forest of Hogsback, where the writer Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) would have been inspired to write his fabulous stories.
The Tree " Post Office " of Mossel Bay
The Sideroxylon inerme of Mossel Bay is undoubtedly the most famous historical tree of South Africa. It was declared National Monument in 1938. It grows at the seaside, where the first Portuguese navigators accosted at the 15th century, to fill their sailing ships with fresh water. The tree was already present when Bartholomeu Dias, a Portuguese explorer and navigator, explored for the first time the coasts of the West Cape into 1488. This tree or iron wood have its name of " Post Office Tree " because 07 July 1501, Joa de Nova, found in an old shoe attached to the branches of this tree, a letter coming from the team of a preceding sailing ship, telling the adventures and expeditions of Cobral, and the sad disappearance of Dias and his boat. This venerable tree would have more than five hundred years.
PORTRAITS:
Cédric Pollet is a young photographer of
Nice, France specialized in the details of the barks of trees. It is amazing to see his
research task, also exploring the Earth. In fact he show to the public some "oeuvre
d'art", themselves showing other "oeuvres d'art" of the Nature which are
the trees.
Cédric accompanied me during fifteen days in South Africa. We rented a car and TOTAL South Africa provides the gasoline. We could discover all these places.
Dr. John Anderson or the relativity of time:
Before leaving for China, I returned to the Institute of Botany of
Pretoria and I asked to meet Dr John
Anderson. An eminent paleobotanist, specialized in Gondwana.
Two other paleobotanists work with him (Heidi and Keith). I had asked him
to receive me a few minutes and he granted ten minutes to me (on a human
scale). In the
final analysis, we worked together during three weeks (scale of the
Universe...) to establish an immense concept for
the World Summit of the Sustainable Development (WSSD 2002); to create my photographic
exhibition in life-size binding the old tree, the child and the moms of the Earth. The goal being to hang these photographs on the buildings at the time of the World Summit
2002, in South Africa, for finally make aware general public about the protection of the
Earth. We had good synergy with different organism and NGO, but it was to late to
find the sponsors... Why not now?
Norbert Hahn:
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South Africa conceals beautiful landscapes and a significant variety of plants. When I was in Soutspanberg, in the area of Limpopo, close to Louis Trichardts, Sarah Winter made known to me Norbet Hahn. He is the owner of three thousand hectares in Soutspanberg. This small paradise of Africa has a very significant biological richness and Norbert, as a taxonomist experienced, has created his own herbarium. He is also an excellent photographer and a webmaster. He is a man out of the commun run having many knowledge. He would wish to make more to preserve the Earth against human idiocy.
Sarah Winter:
Sarah is an engineer forester at Louis Trichards, in the province of Limpopo and she accomodated me with her husband Casper so cordially at their home. I asked her who she preferred: The human ones or trees? The answer was direct and understanding: " I am a trees' lover, not has human' lover!" She accompanied me to see the immense baobab trees, while being pregnant. We made hundreds of kilometers. We also photographed the Modjaji Cycads. They live over there since million years and were already present at the time of the dinosaurs! Their species survived until our days but with the urbanization and pollution, they are not in good health.
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REWARD My Old TECHNIKA LINHOF Folding Camera had been Stolen! This Linhof Camera, more than 80 years old had been stolen in Pretoria, South Africa, in July 2003 into the house of a Paleobotanist. It was a gift from a friend photographer. Anybody who can give me a real prouve of where will be my Linhof camera, will be rewarded. Also 4 lenses are with it, and a 135 mm ZEISS lens for Contax Camera. Most of my pictures were taken with this camera. So please help me too find it. Thank you. |
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