Zambia is a country blessed with some magnificent trees and miombo woodland that makes for parkland like landscapes. This particular tree is in South Luangwa National Park, one of the world’s wildlife treasure spots. (Do not believe the tales that Africa has no wildlife left. It is absolutely untrue.)
Here is more of the tree that wouldn’t fit in the square. The damage on the lower trunk is probably due to elephants and/or other other grazers:
Tish Farrell 
Crazy looking trees!
I love that they are so unlike much else.
That is a very impressive specimen. I wonder how old it is?
I have never seen a Baobab in real life.
However, I do have a painting of one the wall of my office. A nice tale, if you’ll permit?
Painted by a long standing blog pal, Amanda Feldgate.(did you ever ‘meet’ her? )
She used to live in Spain and occasionally posted a pic of her work which I simply adored. But she never publically displayed her paintings which I said was a shame and after much goading (in the form of compliments for her work) she eventually began to show a few of her paintings, and even sold a couple.
Then one day I popped over to her blog and she had announced to someone in the comments that her next piece was for Ark!
It arrived in South Africa a month or two afterwards. It is a treasure.
I did meet Amanda – through you in fact _ and followed her blog while she was blogging. But it’s lovely that you have such a personal work of art from her. And that you encouraged her to show her work.
I don’t know how old this Zambian baobab is. Perhaps not very – by baobab standards, though it must have had some good rains at some stage to grow so tall. The really wide ones can be up to 3,000 years old – which is utterly mind-boggling. Also, now I think of it, I can still feel the sensation of touching a baobab – absorbed into my finger ends, Their outer skin feels incredibly dense, almost iron-like, which is at odds with the fact that the bark is so easily mashed by eles etc.
I love baobab trees! In Tanzania the ones I saw looked like stalks of broccoli! 😀
Lovely post! And thanks for sharing the “whole” tree – I have been rather vexed that some of my tree photos don’t fit into a square, and I never thought of simply including the uncropped photo below the square!
Stalks of broccoli, that’s such a good descriptions. Also v. happy you liked my non-square solution. Some trees just won’t be confined! 🙂
extra no squares are always allowed if there is at least one square!
I did a double take! That is so big, and the way the trunk has been nibbled at. What a tree
The safari truck looks so tiny beside it. But what a spot for a lunch-time picnic.
That was why I did the double take. I kind of looked at the tree, and thought yeah that’s quite large. Then glanced at the truck and thought hold on, that can’t be that small! Just incredible
and yay for picnics
This is now known as the “big baobab”, just off the main murram road from the main gate to Chichele Presidential Lodge. I will send you some more recent pictures of you like, Tish
Good to have some recent local knowldege, Ian. Thanks for the pix.
Very different and interesting. Although I’ve been doing “trees” as squares a good part of the month, some trees just need a vertical rectangle to show to best effect. 🙂
what a gigantic tree!
It is fabulous, isn’t it.
Wow, what a tree! Love it’s unkemptness
Wonderfully random 🙂
I also wondered about the tree’s age, and was astounded to read your comment saying they can be up to 3000 years old. I suddenly feel very young and insignificant. Thanks for sharing this with us.
And one does so appreciate ‘a suddenly feeling young moment’, doesn’t one!
haha, too true, Trish! I don’t have many of those any more.
That is one crazy looking tree!
Wow, thanks for sharing 🥰
And I thought the Joshua tree in CA was the oldest type of tree living. This is an amazing tree. I would love to see elephants grazing on it’s trunk. I’ve never seen anything like it, Trish. 🙂
Happy to provide a new tree specimen, Marsha. Baobabs are very extraordinary. The ones that grow in Madagascar are even more astonishing.
The age is also so astonishing, Trish. Thanks for sharing. I’m slowing getting around to visiting all the Trees posts.
These have got to be the most remarkable trees in the world. Every time I see a picture of one, I’m awed. In the real sense of the work. AWED.
They are indeed awe-striking 🙂