#Musings: The iLembe Tree – one of South Africa’s ‘Champions’
'Champion Trees' are protected trees across South Africa, one of which is the tallest on the continent.

When I asked my girlfriend for her New Year’s resolutions, I have to say I was surprised to hear ‘finding foreskin’ was among them.
Luckily, after scratching my hungover ears on the first day of 2025, I was glad to hear she meant ‘Fourth Kin’, the tallest tree in Africa and the tallest planted tree in the world.
We were in the lovely misty mountain town of Haenertsburg, Limpopo – halfway between two of the hottest places in the country in Polokwane and Tzaneen.
While you can grow almost anything in Tzaneen, Haenertsburg is primarily avocados, blueberries and endless lines of towering tree plantations, many of which have been growing for a century.
A few of the first plantations in the area, by forestry pioneers AK Eastwood in 1906 and AJ O’Connor in the early 1930s, have now grown to maturity and reach dizzying heights.
One of those giants is the aforementioned ‘Fourth Kin’, a Sydney Blue Gum from Eastwood’s stand that was last measured by a team from Stellenbosch University at 83.7 metres.

It really was quite impressive to stand next to and, with its root system exposed, only mildly less phallic than the original resolution I had misheard (see photo).
Within a few square kilometres of forest, there was a 60 metre-plus stand of Coastal Redwoods and some record-breaking pines, all of which are protected as ‘Champion Trees’.
Champion Trees are essentially trees (or groups of trees) of significance, either for their size or cultural value, that have been government protected since 1998. There are 93 across the country and, truthfully, I had never heard of them until doing my ‘Fourth Kin’ research.
Perhaps that is because the Western Cape has more Champion Trees (47) than the rest of the country combined, and KwaZulu-Natal’s eight are mostly split between the botanic gardens in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

iLembe does have its own champion, however, a massive Sycamore Fig tree near Kranskop, standing 23 metres tall and very wide.
Called ‘The iLembe Tree’, the tree was nominated for champion status for being a “very large tree in rural landscape, known as a local landmark from a century ago.”
The tree is split and leaves a shaded opening at ground level which was rumoured to have been used as a makeshift kraal, big enough for seven or eight cattle.
I have not yet had the chance to go, as it is a two-hour drive each way from Ballito, but the location can be found by searching for ZA Champion Tree – Ficus Sicamorus on Google Maps.
If you have visited or plan to visit, please share some photos and any information you may have with james@northcoastcourier.co.za.
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