Some words, some names form pleasantly in the mouth and are nice to say. One such name being "Limpopo". It is South Africa's most northerly region and also the name of the thousand mile river that skirts that region in a great arc before heading sluggishly through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.
To reach Zimbabwe from South Africa you must first cross The Limpopo. It also demarks a long stretch of South Africa's north western border with Botswana.
The Limpopo is a lazy, languid river that is unsuitable for major shipping. In its upper reaches it dries out every year while in its lower reaches it is prone to flooding - the waters spreading out like a vast puddle - bringing sustenance to the land and the creatures that dwell thereupon.
Draining the Limpopo River basin, there are twenty significant tributary rivers that all feed in to the main Limpopo River. They include the Umzingwani River and the Mogalakwena River. Two more names that sound nice upon the tongue.
In the picture above, you can see a zebra group drinking from the Limpopo in their bar code pyjamas. Other creatures that the river supports include elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinos and crocodiles. It should also be pointed out that around fourteen million people live in the Limpopo river basin and their lives are also directly connected to the river.
Over the last 150 years there has been a great deal of mining activity in the Limpopo region and that continues to this day - sometimes clashing with the concerns of conservationists and naturalists.
Possibly, like me, you knew almost nothing about The Limpopo this morning when you sprang out of bed singing "Oh What A Beautiful Mornin'" from the 1950s musical - "Oklahoma". But now you know a little something. By the way, I struggled to find a simple map of the river's location in southern Africa so I used the one I found in an academic paper that focused on the survival of baobab trees in a lesser known national park called Skelmwater.
And now to finish this short blogpost about The Limpopo, here's an amateur African YouTuber covering her first visit to the river. I believe she is at South Africa's border with Botswana. Gentlemen should look away as she negotiates the wire fence...
Knowledge is power!
ReplyDeleteNow it is not just a nice-sounding name to me.
DeleteLove that photo of the zebras and the phrase "bar code pyjamas" -- so whimsically, yet accurately, descriptive!
ReplyDeleteThank you DSWS.
DeleteI don't know much about Africa so this is interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe have to keep learning.
DeleteI do remember that Kipling referred to it as 'The great grey green greasy Limpopo', and wasn't it surrounded by 'Fever trees'? or is that another poem?
ReplyDeleteKipling was great friends with Cecil Rhodes and visited South Africa a few times. Maybe he actually got to see The Limpopo - I don't know.
DeleteIt's a pretty river with all the greenery along the banks, but a shame that parts flood while other parts dry up. A dam or weir in a couple of places might help with that, but do they have the resources to build them? Love the zebras drinking.
ReplyDeleteThe last three hundred miles of the river could not really be tamed and besides -the land needs that annual flooding.
DeleteI've always liked the name. From the map I see it forms the border of South Africa and Zimbabwe, and partly Botswana. The zebra photo is brilliant. I wonder if American pronounce the word as zeebra.
ReplyDeleteI understand that Americans pronounce the last letter of the alphabet incorrectly. They say "zee" instead of "zed". I heard that The Current President has signed a proclamation outlawing the use of "zed" in the 52 states (Canada and Greenland recently added).
DeleteI just looked up Limpopo in the travel guides.
ReplyDeleteIt seems they have just suffered extreme rainfall and flooding in the region. Sounds awful for the people who live there.
They expect flooding every year in the eastern reaches of the river but the volume of water is much greater in some years than others.
DeleteI learn something new every day.
ReplyDeleteI'm having fun with the pronunciations - Umzingwani, Mogalakwena, Limpopo. My husband's giving me the here-she-goes-again look.
ReplyDeleteHer voice is so, so beautiful. I, too, find some words just delicious. When I read Alexander McCall's books about the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency I often stop and say the names of the characters silently in my head because they are so pleasing. Those books are set in Botswana so I imagine that Mma Ramotswe sounds very much like the lady in this video.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of the zebras drinking and interesting video. The Limpopo is a name that tends to crop up in "Carry On" type films as a source of humour, so it's good to see that it really exists!
ReplyDeleteI found the video very interesting and thought she did a wonderful job of presenting lots of good information.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I just went back and watched it on YouTube so I could subscribe to her channel. I want to encourage her to keep making more videos.
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ReplyDeleteLove her voice and accent, the river is new to me. I'll be singing in my head "The Horse in Striped Pajamas" today. Of course I grew up watching Captain Kangaroo.
ReplyDeletefor similarly no reason - i love to see and point out the okovanga delta
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