Subscribe To This Site
The Big Five TreesWith the Kruger National Park being so vast it naturally has an amazing botanic diversity.Simplistically the Kruger National Park can be divided into 16 macro ecozones with the northern half of the park, north of the Olifants River, being predominantly mopane veld, while south of the Olifants River the ecozones are thornveld. There are 336 tree species in the Kruger Park with the following trees being put into categories for easy identification... The Kruger Park's Big Five TreesBaobabFever Tree Knob Thorn Marula Mopane These trees are ranked according to their being most common in the Kruger areas. The book 'Sappi tree spotting - Lowveld', however, lists the following 3 categories of trees:
The Big Six TreesWherever you are in the Kruger you should be able to see at least one of these trees if not more. They are the tallest or the most common trees in the park...Apple-leaf Knob thorn acacia Leadwood bushwillow Marula Mopane Silver cluster-leaf For example, north of the Olifants River you will see miles and miles of Mopani trees and shrubs - literally as far as the eye can see! The Mopani trees are also found in Etosha especially around Halali camp. You will know them by their distinctive butterfly-shaped leaves...
Trees that Greet You (due to their uniqueness)Baobab TreeFever Tree acacia Lala Palm Umbrella Thorn Acacia Wild Date Palm These trees cannot be missed due to their distinctive shapes or color. The lala palm is tall, is found mainly north of the Olifants and has hand-shaped leaves. There used to be many lala palms in the south Kruger around Orpen Dam but the last drought in the 1980s and fires destroyed them. The wild date palm is different to the lala palm - is is short, it has fern-like leaves and is found only along rivers and in dry river beds, mainly south of the Olifants River. There are many wild date palms around Satara along the Sweni road.
Trees that Greet You (due to them being seasonally striking)African wattleBroad-pod albizia Flame climbing bushwillow Long-tail cassia Pride-of-de-kaap bauhinia Purple-pod cluster-leaf Red spike-thorn Tree wisteria Zebrawood Al these tees have striking features but for just a few months each year, such as bright red flowers, long pods, purple pods and pungent white flowers that smell like dirty socks!
The Photographic Big Five TreesThe above lists are nice to have but as photographers we want to find and photograph trees that make pleasing pictures, so Jenny and I have settled on the following five trees as our Photographic Big-Five Trees...
1. Baobab Tree
2. Fever Tree
3. Lala Palm
There are also many lala palms in Etosha around Namutoni camp. 4. Sausage Tree
There are some nice specimens in camps such as Letaba, Olifants and Skukuza. If you aprk your vehicle under these trees you may end up with a dent if the suasage fruit falls! 5. Umbrella Thorn Acacia
These photographic big five trees are photogenic because they are so distinctive. They also make good silhouettes, especially the lala palm, umbrella thorn and baobab trees. Return from Big Five Trees to The Big Five page New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Please leave us a comment in the box below. |
Would you like to return home from your Etosha safari with amazing photos? If yes, then this eBook is for you...
-Don Stilton, Florida, USA
"I highly recommend the book to anyone visiting Etosha National Park to photograph the animals - or anyone considering an African photography safari in the future."
-Anne Darling, Cognac, France
"If you’ll soon be boarding a plane and heading off to Namibia, don’t leave home without this eBook!"
-Luba Fedus, California, USA
"Overall it is a great book that I highly recommend."
-Lovelyn Bettison, London, UK