Last night I was convinced that I actually could hike the 3.5 miles to the largest Baobab tree on the island, having been promised a ride back in an ox cart. So off we went at 7:00am on the village and island paths that serve as the streets. Everybody walks. There is an ambulance vehicle, which is a pickup truck, belonging to the clinic. There is a taxi service, which is a pickup truck without any seats that will haul your heavy bags of maize meal from the dock, as well as your other mainland purchases. I saw no bicycles. We passed fields of maize, sorghum, sweet potato and pumpkin. After 1.5 hours we reached the tree. It was large enough to carve out a path for a vehicle to pass through. Someone had punched iron rods as steps. People used the tree as target practice and there were lots of bullet holes. But we didn't see the point since there was no way you could miss. The Baobob is also called the upside down tree because half the year it has no leaves and the massive trunk makes the branches look small and like roots. It is actually a succulent and is full of water. Elephants will try to eat it in dry season and after a few years of working on it, they can kill the tree. Sometimes when it is as huge as this one, the middle is hollow. They say that sometimes they make a door and put prisoners inside. I have always been intrigued with this tree and am glad we got to see one so majestic. It is estimated to be 1,500 or more years old.
Disney's Animal Kingdom put baobob trees in the African area. I assume they didn't grow to that girth in only a few years, so they are typical Disney creations. But looking back on that experience and the real thing, they did a good job of creating the landscape, however fake. There were even termite mounds.
Tonight was our last chance to catch a tiger fish. David, Steve and I had one boat, Tom, Denise and Crystal the other. Our guide took us to the Kasai Channel, between the Chobe and the Zambezi rivers. He put bullfish on a two hook thing with a wire leader because the tiger fish has sharp teeth. We cast out into the river and then drift with the current. The fish will nibble, then tug, but you have to wait until it pulls it away before you yank the pole up and start reeling. You cannot give it any slack. Tigers will swim upstream making you feel like it was lost. It is at this point that you will lose it if you don't keep reeling. I know because I lost two that way. However, Happy Days! I finally caught a tiger fish.
David caught the first one in the boat, then Steve, then I, then then David caught one just as we were leaving.
The sunset coming back through the papyrus and tall reeds on the banks was awesome. There is no high ground. In fact one side of the banks will be under water in a couple months as it is a flood plain. This makes the sky look huge when it is as clear as it was last night.
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