African trees to climb

Greetings tree climbers. I have a question which I hope someone can answer for me. I want to know which trees in Africa (east and south) are the best ones to climb. These should be trees which can be climbed fairly easily without using any equipment. Are Jackalberrys good to climb? I guess the many African Thorn trees are not. This is not a frivolous question but something I need to know for some research I am embarked upon. Gabrielle

I ALWAYS wanted to climb a Baobab.

love
nick

Oh yes! baobabs are marvellous trees, but I have in mind something that can be scaled without equipment. Gabrielle

You might try contacting Friedrich Alpers who spends a lot of time in trees in Tanzania, he is mentioned in this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3983481.stm

I have a neighbor whose brother is also in Tanzania. He's an avid tree climber but I've heard that the prevalance of venomous tree snakes such as the Boomslang and Black and Green Mambas is keeping him out of the trees in his area. I will try to get his contact info.

Consider learning some basic rope technique so that you can give yourself a margin of safety while you're climbing. For instance a rope can be useful to get yourself out of a tree quickly if you need to. Good luck!
-moss

I agree with Moss, Gabrielle. It's not only venomous snakes that hang out in trees, but also boas and others. Not to mention the probable gazillions of insect species, and, if you're in the right sort of trees which elephants find fruit on, you could get shaken out of a tree in a hurry. Yup, best to learn rope and harness climbing rather than taking the risks of free-climbing in an environment you don't know well.

Patty

Thank you folks! I had not thought of dangerous snakes in the trees as in Oz tree snakes are harmless and sometimes kept as pets. I am still wondering which trees are considered the best ones to climb - Jackalberrys? Marulas? Grenadillos? Are all acacias too thorny to climb? G.

I looked up the article on Freireich Alpers - it was very interesting, the only tree actually named was a Tamarind which was helpful but I would still like to know about other suitable African trees if anyone can help please. Gabrielle

hi there
and why not to climb the biggest Baobabs of the Earth in South Africa (38 meteres of Circumference). Kids do it every day there.
I had been there and it is important to climb them without shoes, like that you will feel the skin of the baobab. His bark is fragile.

You have also the baobab of Madagascar, why not to climb the Allée des Baobabs, or the largest ones (23 meters of circumference)

You can climb also the old trees near Captown, in the Dragensberg too...
In kenya you have great Camphor tree.

Take care
Jerome