Ga-Modjadji (Rain Queen's Land) in South Africa is home to a supersized Baobab tree. The Baobab is indigenous to the semi-arid part of Africa. Any distribution to the dry parts of Africa is thought to be the work of humans.
The Baobab is a huge tree, growing up to 82 feel tall and 39 feet in diameter. It's grey, smooth bark is used by the native people to make ropes. The wood of the Baobab is pulpous with no growth rings. Known by species as 'Adansonia Digitata' it sports large, scented, white flowers with purple stamens. From these white flowers a long, woody, hairy fruit is produced which earns it the name of 'Dead Rat Tree'.

The needles on the fruit of the Baobab tree are known to itch and irritate human skin. Yet the natives harvest the fruit and mix the white pulp (which holds the seeds) with sugar and water to make a sweet natural drink. Seeds found in the pulp resemble a hard black nut and these are dried and ground into a powder that is used in a soup called "chereh". The fruit shell is cleaned by rubbing sand over it, causing it to resemble stone. This shell is used as a fuel for preparing meals.

There isn't much information about this tree being used for building, but one family has made a "Bar In A Baobab" providing a whole new concept in home recreation areas.

On the Van Heerden farm in Go-Modjadji is a 6,000 year old Baobab that is about the size of an average dining room. Baobab's are known to reach an age of 1,000 to 2,000 years old, but this one is of exceptional age. In fact, the Ripley's Believe It Or Not TV show recently claimed it to be the oldest living thing in the world.

When the Van Heerden's carved open the Baobab, they found a great hollow inside. Now, we all know how you can see things in wood and the Van Heerden's saw a bar in their Baobab. Even though they have installed electricity to service and light the bar, the tree is still very much alive. Every Spring, it grows leaves and then sheds them in Winter. Just to the right is a shot of the interior of the Baobab Bar. (Sounds like a popular night spot doesn't it?)

The Bakgaga people of South Africa claim that the land the Van Heerden's live on is theirs. The Van Heerden's reply that they are prepared to give up the land, because they want to do the right thing. But, before they relinquish their rights, they want the tree to be declared a national heritage or maybe a world heritage. That sounds like a great plan to insure that a wonderful world treasure is not lost.