16 Sept, 2008

Dead Tree Island's stark, dusty landscape forms part of its unique appeal.

This evening in the Moremi Game Reserve, Ngamiland, Botswana, we decided to make the most of the full moon and took a drive to Dead Tree Island, one of the most beautiful islands in the Moremi Game Reserve. This island is just north of our camp, and is a beautiful open space littered with dead leadwood trees, caused by the fluctuating floodwaters over the past few decades.

There is a dramatic and eerie feeling to Dead Tree Island. The ground is powdery white and dusty, caused by water beneath the surface being drawn up and slowly evaporated, leaving behind sodium carbonate, or mineral salts, on the surface of the ground. This process leaves a small "pond" of dark red-brown saline water, in which plants and vegetation cannot grow. This is the likely scenario on Dead Tree Island, and is the reason for its characteristic stark, dusty landscape. A form of prickly grass is the only vegetation that seems able to survive on the fringes of these salt-encrusted zones, and a thin layer of it covers specific areas on the island.

This salty white island is met by a lagoon and shallow swamp water which eases its way between the dead trees as the floodwaters rise. This area attracts plenty of birdlife and lechwe, as well as giraffe, elephant and hippo who come to drink from the swamp and graze on the lush reeds which grow around the edge of the lagoon. Elephants in particular use this piece of water as a crossing point to get onto Sedudu Island, which lies further north, and has abundant bulrushes and reeds on which the elephants feed.

As we sat on this beautiful island, dwarfed by the towering dead trees, we watched two bull elephants make their way out of the Mopane forest and through the dusty island. For such huge animals it was amazing to see how they too were made to look small and insignificant in comparison to the lofty graveyard of leadwoods. They weaved in and out of the trees, grazing on the layer of prickly grass that lay beneath them.

The gentleness of these massive creatures is quite amazing. They seemed so peaceful and content, and went about their business unhurried and unfazed by the squawking spurwing geese on the water’s edge. Both the bulls walked slowly towards the water, their feet caked in a layer of white powder while they grazed on the unsubstantial grass. They slowly made their way into the water and continued to graze on the more nutritious bulrushes that lay in the deeper areas of the swamp.

As the sun began to set and the full moon began to rise, the elephant activity continued to dominate the area. The lush areas of reeds were filled with herds of elephant sloshing their way through the water while taking advantage of the abundant fresh vegetation.

The full moon was incredibly dramatic, and rose from behind the dead trees. It was bursting with a bright orange fullness, and created enough light to enable the elephants to continue grazing throughout the night.

– by Julie King, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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