Kokerboom Forest Kenhardt

The kokerboom is an aloe, Aloidendron dichotomum, that grows into a tree with a thick fibrous trunk and a crown of forking branches, and it does not form forests in any normal sense - it grows scattered across rocky desert. Kenhardt has one of the few places where several hundred stand close together on one hillside, which is why it is called a forest. The name means quiver tree: San hunters hollowed the light fibrous branches to make quivers for arrows, and the practice is the origin of both the English and Afrikaans names. The trees flower yellow in winter, which brings sunbirds and baboons to the nectar. Individual plants live a couple of centuries and grow very slowly. Climate warming is pushing the species' range southward, and northern populations have been dying back - which makes the surviving stands more significant than they were.

What you actually see

• The dense stand - several hundred quiver trees together, unusual for a scattered species.
• The quiver origin - hollowed branches used by San hunters, giving the tree its name.
• The winter flowers - yellow blooms drawing sunbirds and baboons.
• The range shift - a species dying back in the north as the climate warms.

When to go

April to September; the trees flower in winter. One hour.

Honest expectations

It is a roadside stop of an hour, not a destination in itself. There are no facilities. Summer heat is severe and the site is unshaded. Do not climb or cut the trees - they are protected and very slow-growing.

Nearby

Kenhardt is the nearest town; Upington and the Orange River are north-east.