LauraM recently commented on a photo saying it was her favorite tree. I thought it was a little weird to have a favorite tree, but I'm no arborist. Until now.
Attention world: I now have a favorite tree. It's not a type of tree. It's a specific tree. There is only one tree in the world cool enough to be my favorite tree.
That tree is in Limpopo, South Africa and there is a bar inside of the tree! Road trip!
A bar inside the trunk of a Baobab tree has tourists flocking from far and wide just to drink a cold brew in the amazing tavern. It was fashioned inside a massive 72 foot (22 meters) high tree in a garden in Limpopo, South Africa, for thirsty locals.
More than 7,000 visitors come from all over the world to see the grandiose Baobab every year and have a drink in its pub, which has 13 foot (4 meter) high ceilings and comfortably seats up to 15 people.
“One year we had a party and squashed 54 people inside, but I wouldn’t recommend that.” said Mrs. van Heerden.
She and her husband Doug came up with the brainchild to set a bar up inside when they found a natural hollow in the Baobabb shortly after they bought the farm in the late 1980’s.
“When Baobabs are more than 1,000 years old, they hollow naturally.” said Mrs. van Heerden.
While clearing out the hollow centre of the tree trunk, the van Heerdens found historical evidence of Bushmen — indigenous people of the Kalahari desert — who may have once lived in the tree, and artifacts belonging to the Voortrekkers, the Dutch pioneers who travelled through South Africa in the mid-1800’s.
“We found the remains of a Bushmen bed made from rocks, possibly in the 1700’s.” says van Heerden. “We could also gather that a Voortrekker once lived here who repaired ox wagons for the Great Trek because we found tools and wagon pieces.”
The Bushmen of the Kalahari have long had a unique relationship with the peculiar looking tree, which stands leafless for the better part of the year, with its branches resembling a mass of roots pointing upwards to the sky.
Called the ‘Tree of Life’, the Baobab is capable of providing shelter, food and water for the animals and humans alike of the African savannah. Hundreds of birds, insects and small animals live in the tree whose fruit — called “monkey bread” — is an important source of vitamin C for many.
Many myths and legends are told about this king of all trees. “The Baobab is a sacred tree in African culture. If a baby drinks a mixture of its bark and water, it is said to grow up mighty and powerful.” van Heerden explained.
Africans also believe that anyone who dares to pick a Baobab flower will be eaten by a lion. But if a person drinks water in which the tree’s seeds have been soaked, he will be safe from a crocodile attack.