Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

Just to the east of Kudiakam Pan, and south of Nxai Pan, is an impressive group of baobab trees, standing on the pioneers’ route to the swamps of the Okavango Delta. First painted by Thomas Baines, and inscribed with his name on 22nd May 1862, the trees are known as Baines’s Baobabs. Originally known as the Sleeping Sisters, this hardy clump of Baobabs was immortalized in paintings by artist and adventurer Thomas Baines on 22 May 1862. Baines, a resourceful self-taught naturalist, artist and cartographer, first came to Botswana in 1861, and travelled with trader and naturalist John Chapman from Namibia to Victoria Falls. He had originally been a member of David Livingstone's expedition to the Zambezi, but was mistakenly accused of theft by Livingstone's brother and forced to leave the party. Livingstone later realized the mistake, but never admitted it and Baines remained the subject of British ridicule. 

• Baines's Baobabs Baines's Baobabs
• Baines's Baobabs Baines's Baobabs
• Baines's Baobabs Baines's Baobabs
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