Cheers, Y'all!

Saturday, May 21

On Saturday morning, we packed up our bags and said goodbye to the friends we had made at Sand River Hills Game Ranch.  We were off to see a little more of South Africa...only this time we were only looking through a camera lens and not through a rifle scope.

After packing up the car and trailer, the Erasmus family put on their tour guide hats and began showing us the land they love.

Our first stop was in Modjadijiskloof.  (Say that five times fast!)  We were touring the Big Baobab tree at Sunland Farms.  In case you are wondering what a baobab tree is, think back to Disney's The Lion King.  It is the tree where Rafiki lived.

Only this one was bigger!

Much bigger!  (47 meters in circumference.)

That is Jim and I standing where the tree splits.  And you can't even see the top of the tree!

There is even an opening in the side of the tree.

In 1933 some brave soul not only entered that opening...but they decided that this would be a great place to meet up with friends after a long day in the bush to grab a drink.

That's right, there is a pub inside the tree.  At least there used to be.  It wasn't in operation while we were visiting...but you can see for yourself.

Jim and I were standing in front of the bar.  You can actually go behind the bar...but the opening was stuck and I didn't want to crawl underneath to get there!

There is even a place to sit and discuss the weather...or politics...or the Springboks Rugby match.

And in case of emergency, there is a fire extinguisher.  There have been five fires recorded in this tree...and yet, it is still standing.

There were copies of newspaper articles from all over the world posted at the gift shop...some dating back to a time before I was even born.

Once upon a time, they dated this tree to be 6,000 years old...with new technology they are now saying close to 2,000.  Whichever it is, it is OLD  and BIG.  And it was a wonderful sight to behold!  But I was even more staggered by the sights we beheld later that day.  Come back tomorrow to find out where we went next!