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Writer's pictureAMCL Schatz

A Strange Kind of Forest

After a hearty breakfast, we set off to travel the rest of the Kalahari stretch.


Along the way, we passed by a trailer full of sheep parked in the curb in the middle of nowhere. We wondered what the trailer was doing here, until we saw the driver relieving himself on the road side. Our guide thought he’d do the same as we had a few more hours of driving and he had more than a little bit of coffee at our last stop. While he did his business, my husband and I got off and said hello to the sheep who were bleating in unison, as if commanding their driver to hurry up.

We then headed to the Quiver Tree Forest in Keetmanshoop in southern Namibia, a one-of-a-kind attraction.


The forest is actually a private farm where about 250 specimens of the quiver tree grow. The quiver tree is not exactly a tree, but a tall, branching species of aloe, indigenous to the Northern Cape region of South Africa and parts of southern Namibia.


The unusual look of these trees – stout stems topped by a beautiful crown of golden-brown scales with sharp edges and forked branches – make this area a popular tourist destination. At the tip of each branch is a spiral rosette of pointed, thickly-succulent leaves, and in the winter time (between June and August in the Southern Hemisphere, which was the time we were there), bright yellow flowers bloom drawing a lot of birds and insects. It is so named because native Bushmen used to make arrow quivers from its branches. In the Afrikaans language, it is called kokerboom trees. This forest was declared a national monument of Namibia.


Our guide mentioned that due to the other-worldly look of this “tree” that makes it seem upside down (because the crown actually looks like roots), it is tied to a lot of beliefs and superstitions. These trees are blessed and are said to bring good luck to anybody who worships and nurtures them. Others say that if anyone digs up a quiver tree, he will get diamonds in his lifetime (since Namibia is rich in diamonds), but so far, no one has dared because people consider these trees sacred.


We walked around the forest, inspecting the trees and taking photos. We also spotted some small animals, and I actually made friends with a little chipmunk that gamely played tag with me.

Photo Credit:

worldatlas.com, amusingplanet.com (Joachim Huber), quivertreeforest.com

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