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This South African Bar Is In A 6000-Year-Old Tree

This South African Bar Is In A 6000-Year-Old Tree

If you have ever felt nostalgic for your childhood tree house (or jealous of kids who had one), you can now relive those memories with a grown up twist – beer – by visiting the aptly named Big Baobab Tree Bar located in Modjadjiskloof, South Africa. The Tree Bar, as its name suggests, is a railway sleeper pub cozily nestled in the naturally hollow trunk of an ancient baobab tree growing on the Sunland mango farm in Limpopo province.

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(Photo: fielderontheorad.wordpress.com)

The Sunland “Big Baoba”’ is the largest of its species in the world, with a massive 47 metre circumference and a height of 22 metres. As if that weren’t amazing enough, it is also possibly one of the oldest – carbon dating has placed the Sunland baobab at 6000 years old. The trunks of baobab trees, which are widely associated with the folklore and myths of the San people indigenous to South Africa, begin to hollow out after the tree reaches its 1000th birthday, and the interior of this particular tree shows signs of human habitation dating back to at least the 17th century, giving it considerable historical as well as ecological importance.

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In 1993 the owners of Sunland farm, the van Heerdens, turned their Big Baobab into a bar, complete with draught beer, beautiful wooden benches, a sound system, dartboards, an outdoor restaurant area, and even a wine cellar below. Indoor seating can comfortably accommodate 15 people, but the van Heerdens claim to have once hosted a party of 60 inside the tree. Only a few hours outside of Johannesburg, Sunland runs tours for day visitors, accommodates overnighters in beautiful chalets, and even hosts weddings, so travellers on any schedule will have plenty of opportunity to stop in for a beer or three.

RELATED: 5 REASONS TO TICK SOUTH AFRICA OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST.

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(Lead image: Danforth1/Flickr)

There’s so much to see in South Africa. Fly there with Qantas.

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