🌳 An Unforgettable Marvel of Nature and Hospitality
On Sunland Farm, nestled in the rolling hills of Limpopo Province near Modjadjiskloof, South Africa, stood a singular wonder of both nature and human ingenuity. Known variously as the Sunland Big Baobab, Platland Baobab, or colourfully as “Tree Bar” or the “Pub Tree”, it was a living legend: an enormous hollowed baobab tree containing within its colossal trunk a fully‑functioning pub and wine cellar.
Celebrated across travel guides and ecological journals alike, the Big Baobab was carbon‑dated to ages as high as 6,000 years, a claim that made it older than the pyramids. Although some scientific studies suggested a more conservative age of around 1,060 ± 75 years, its sheer scale—22 m high, 47 m in circumference, trunk diameter 10.64 m—made it one of Africa’s largest and most ancient baobabs (Wikipedia).
The Age‑Old Mystery: Carbon‑Dating the Giants
Baobabs (Adansonia digitata) are famed not only for their gargantuan size but also their astonishing longevities. Traditional methods of tree‑ring age estimation are impossible—baobabs often hollow out internally and lack clear annual rings. Scientists therefore rely on Radiocarbon dating of wood samples taken from inner cavities.
In a landmark 2011 study, researchers from Babeş‑Bolyai University and collaborators analysed the Platland tree’s stems. Stem I was dated at approximately 750 ± 75 years, while stem II yielded 1,060 ± 75 years. The complex branching hinted that one stem had fused into another some four centuries ago (BioMed Central). Yet anecdotal claims placed the tree’s age at 6,000 years, likely reflecting an over‑interpretation of local lore and older sampling results (My Modern Met).
Whether millennia or simply a millennium old, the tree stood as a monument: a living vessel of centuries of fire, wildlife, travel, and human cultural imprint.
Birth of the Tree Bar: From Hollow to Hangout
In 1993, owners Doug and Heather van Heerden transformed the tree’s interior into a pub and wine cellar. After clearing away compacted organic matter to reveal a floor roughly one metre below ground, they built a rustic bar inside the larger hollow, complete with wooden benches, draft beer, lighting, a music setup, shelves of memorabilia—and even a dart game on the interior wall. A secondary hollow became a wine cellar held at around 22 °C, courtesy of the tree’s natural ventilation (Wikipedia).
With ceilings soaring to some 13 ft (approximately 4 m), the interior could comfortably seat about 15 people. At times, up to 40 or even 60 attendees crammed inside for special events—testament to both the tree’s size and the owners’ convivial spirit (Earthly Mission).
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