Quest for the perfect avo

More than 500 kinds of avocado in the world, and what do our South African shops offer us? 4, 5 different kinds ? Fuerte, Hass, Pinkerton, couple of others ? Easiest to find – though not necessarily the cheapest – is the one that only reveals its inedible black threads & black bruises once you cut it. Show me a fruitarian who hasn’t bought a box of those…

Many, many years ago I found what I still think is the perfect avo. The size of a rugby ball – yes, literally, no exaggeration. Found them in the Lowveld – now Mpumalanga. Deep yellow buttery, nutty flesh. I have a vivid memory of an evening in the bushveld, sitting on the rocks high above the Olifants River, and eating a slice of one of these. It was my whole supper and I had trouble finishing it. Although that might have had something to do with a small drama involving red-checked underwear & a couple of bats – but that’s another story.

Anyhow – ever since that time I’ve been on the track of those avos. Needless to say: not commercially available. Then I met someone who remembered seeing the rugby-ball avos at a Lowveld wedding reception. She knew a Greek guy who used to be married to someone who had a friend who owned the farm which produced the avos. But then the Greek guy wasn’t talking to his ex anymore, so that trail went cold.

And then an internet-trawl produced this:
"Giant avocados, large enough to make three gallons of avocado soup or two pounds of guacamole, are about to go on sale in Britain. Fourteen inches in circumference and as large as a water melon, the naturally grown pears are eight times the size of a normal avocado and will feed a family of six. The monster fruit are all descended from a single, ancient tree at Devil's Cliff, a town in South Africa's Northern Province. At the time of the Dutch Settlers, the tree was discovered to produce bumper-sized avocados, probably the result of a genetic mutation."
An item in a 5-year old British newspaper. Not too useful. But still - a clue in Duiwelskloof.

Then, couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Essie Honiball – and she also remembers those exact same avos. Many years ago she had in fact propagated one of these wonder fruits, but just as her little tree was bearing its first massive fruit – not ready to pick – she had to move. They heard later that the tree had had to make way for some development.

So here is a Cry from the Heart: Is there anyone out there who can put me on the track of these gigantic avos? And to all fruitarians: please do yourself a favour & start searching. If you have in fact personally encountered these avos before, you won’t need me to tell you why; if you haven't – well, you’re just going to have to take my word for it. I'm not even going to TRY to describe the flavour.

In the mean time: some extra motivation for growing our own avos:
* In one year a single California avocado tree can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven 26,000 miles.
* Two mature avocado trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four.
* One avocado tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year.
* A one acre avocado orchard removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year.

And to Karin: Of course! Wouldn't that be something: both of us on the Augrabies Xtreme. Bearing in mind that you're about half my age, I would have absolutely no hesitation in using the fact that I helped to nurse you through the measles when you were 4, to blackmail you into carrying my pack over the highest dunes !