KLEIN BOLAYI

The Venda call this granite dome Tshamavhudzi, “the one with no hair”. Others in the area know it as Klein Bolayi, a name whose origin remains uncertain. Rumour has it that it was once used as a place of execution, which gives this bare dome an added unease within the landscape around Mapungubwe.

Set among sandstone outcrops, Tshamavhudzi is a rare granite form, striking in its simplicity. On its side stands a rock fig tree, believed to be around 2,000 years old, rooted deep into a fracture in the stone. In this dry Limpopo landscape, its survival seems almost impossible. Fig trees and fig wasps depend entirely on one another for survival, a remarkable mutualism that has evolved over millions of years, making the endurance of this lone tree all the more extraordinary.

I passed this koppie several times between Musina and Mapungubwe, usually under brutal heat and cloudless skies. Then, returning from Musina one afternoon, I saw the aureole of cloud beginning to gather. I ran ahead and reached Klein Bolayi just before Nimbus arrived. The clouds held long enough for twelve frames, then vanished again into the sun.