Species Canthium oatesii

The Baobab tree is one of the curiosities described by Oates in his journals: "The tree was perfectly gigantic in girth, thickening as it got higher, though of no great height. It was swolen and bloated in a most extraordinary manner ... Though still flourishing, it was a mere shell, and, looking in at a hole in the side, I saw that it was open to the sky at the top. Inside is a good-sized chamber, strewed with minute bones of rats or some small mammalia. No doubt generations of owls have long had their abode here; one flew out at our approach."

The final leg of Oates' journey took him to through western Matabeleland to Victoria Falls. Delayed by poor weather and the hostility of local tribes, he finally reached the falls on 31 December 1874. Oates was one of the first few Europeans to see the falls in full flood. He died of a fever on 5 February, while returning to Tati.

 Camp in the Veldt: An engraving based upon a watercolour by Frank Oates.

Oates' legacy, a voluminous set of journals and letters home, was collected and edited by his brother, Charles George Oates and published in 1881.^[2] This work contains detailed descriptions of flora and fauna plus drawings and detailed maps based on Oates' observation. There is a permanent exhibit dedicated to Frank Oates at The Oates Museum at Selborne in Hampshire.