Mapungubwe Heritage Tour and a Bonsai Baobab

After another delicious lodge breakfast, we whizzed off on our bikes for a short ride before we split up. The plan was for Chris to drive to Mapungubwe with Katrina and myself and Lizzie to continue cycling with Jane and Andrew.

By now we were getting quite blasé with the deep sand and ploughing through it quite nicely albeit with some slight steering difficulties. We were still unsuccessfully looking for the “bonsai baobab” that was allegedly about 2000 years old and extremely stunted because it was growing on a rock and because the leaves were constantly being nibbled by impala and kudu that visited the waterhole where it grew. Again, we did not find the baobab but we had fun on the ride and Chris took us on a short cross-country excursion over some rocks and through some bushes. Exhilarated by the ride and with a few scrapes from thorns we returned to the lodge for a super-quick shower and then we set off for Mapungubwe whilst the others saw us off on our tour and then got back on their bikes.

We got to Mapungubwe well on time for the 10 AM tour of the Heritage Site. Along the way I thoroughly enjoyed the amazing colours of the Mopane and the rocks all blending into a beautiful scenery of green, yellow, brown and red.

By the time we had climbed into the open vehicle with two other guests from New Zealand and our tour guide Cedric, it was getting quite hot.  The scenery we passed through on the way to the archaeological site was stunning and even more dramatic than what we had seen the previous day. Huge rocky outcrops and cliffs, tumbled boulders, rock figs clinging to the bare stone surfaces that had to be extremely hot by now. Along the way, our guide spotted some wildebeest and Kudu as well as a family of Klipspringer that bounded over the rock surface as if they were on level ground.

Cedric parked the vehicle in the shade of a few trees and then led us to the excavation site where he explained the various levels of earth that the archaeologists had dug up and the secrets that they revealed. He spoke very eloquently of the lives of the people who stayed in this place roughly a thousand years ago. How they made pottery from clay and lovingly decorated it with distinctive pattens, how they traded beads and gold, how they smelted iron and made arrowheads for hunting. Also, he showed us where huts had been burned down because people believed that evil inhabited them and explained that new huts had then been built right on top of the old ones, resulting in the layers of hut floors that were visible.

After this we climbed up the wooden staircase to the top of Mapungubwe Hill. Here Cedric showed us where earth that was all carried by women by hand had been distributed on the huge rock so that a few crops could be grown there. He showed us where the kings and their closest family had been buried sitting upright and facing West. Some of the huts had been built up on the rock, their support poles had been anchored in the rock itself by means of holes scraped into the actual rock surface. All around there were grinding stones which had been used to mill grain, mostly sorghum and millet, for food.

For a few minutes we stood on the edge of a precipice, looking down a deep drop onto the valley floor. Cedric explained that this was “proposal rock” and that women who declined to marry the man who asked them were pushed or made to jump off this cliff. He told us all this with a very straight face but fortunately turned out to be teasing us.

Later he showed us where the two double rows of dips for the game that is played all over Africa. Again he teased us and said that what we all took for a game was in fact a useful tool as these dips were all egg holders for chicken eggs with a larger one on the side for an ostrich egg!

We had a bit of fun with that, then climbed back down the hill to the vehicle.  On our way back to the gate we saw a family of three klipspringers and watched them for a while.  Once back at the bus we had a bite of lunch and then returned to the lodge to find the others draped around the swimming pool in relaxed postures. We went to change and then joined them. It was good to do nothing in particular for an hour or so except chat and enjoy.

Shortly after 3 pm we changed and fetched the bikes for another short ride. This time Lizzie knew exactly where the bonsai Baobab was and led us there in a bee line. The ancient little tree was amazing! It had a massive, thick root and trunk. Its limbs were gnarled and stunted to short stumps with a very few tiny leaves emerging from the tips. The fact that it had leaves in the first place was interesting because all the other big Baobabs were still completely bare. I attributed this to the fact that this bonsai was growing on the edge of a water hole and thus had a constant supply of water which the others probably didn’t have. Its root had cracked a huge slab of rock and lifted it a good 25 cms off the ground. What a strong and ancient little tree and what stories it would be able to tell!

We didn’t have much time so we rode a little tour through the bush after leaving the bonsai, then returned to the lodge to wash and change for our sundowner drive.

We drove to a different rock this time and climed up to the top. Another magnificent view of massive Baobabs towering above the Mopane scrub, of whaleback rocks bathed in soft evening light. Shorty (who isn’t short) showed us some beautifully patterned pot shards on the top of the rock that indicated habitation here, too, about a thousand years ago. He said that the pattern was distinctive and of Shona origin. We sipped our drinks and chatted until the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the lights of Beit Bridge twinkled in the distance. Then we climbed back down and returned to the lodge for another delicious dinner.

All the following images today courtesy of Katrin Philipp.

Ready to start out on our morning cycle

Off we go into the bush

Running repairs

Offroad cycling on rock

Back on the track

Cleaning ladies having a laugh at our antics

Filling in indemnity forms at Mapungubwe wearing Katrina’s glasses

On the vehicle ready to start on the heritage tour

Mapungubwe scenery

Rocks and trees

Amazing scenery at every turn

More rocks and trees

On the walk to the excavation site

View near the excavation site

Listening to our guide

Cedric demonstrating Mapungubwe Hill on the map

On the way to Mapungubwe Hill

Climbing up Mapungubwe Hill

Scenery on top of the hill

Learning about the life here 1000 years ago

Grinding stones, all shapes and sizes

Listening intently

View from the edge of Mapungubwe Hill

Back down in the valley

More rocks and trees and fascinating scenery

Visiting the bonsai Baobab

The bonsai Baobab

The bonsai Baobab, small but powerful

More offroad cycling

Leopard tracks

Ready for sundowner drive

View from the hill

Baobab in sunset

Pot shards on the farm

Sunset

Enjoying the last sunlight together with local stories

Baobab in last light

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