Read about Ron & Viv's journey so far through Africa - Late February - early March 2007.

 

 

South Africa flag .

The impressive laager of bronze wagons at Blood River .

 

The piles of stones mark the graves of the fallen British troops at Isandhlwana.

 

The impressive monument to the Zulus is a bronze of a leopard on a stock of Zulu shields.

 

 

AFRICA TRIP

Late February - Early March 2007

South African Battlefields

Back in South Africa we headed for the famous battlefields in Kwa Zulu Natal, where we stopped just north of Dundee at Battlefields Country Lodge on Springfield farm (GPS 28°7'56”S   30°17'22”E – ph: 082 976 3447; www.battlefieldslodge.co.za). This was a well set-up and comfortable lodge that provided a range of accommodation as well as a little camping. The lawn was thick and soft and the facilities included a bar/restaurant and pool – the cost was R60 for the vehicle and R10/person

Next day we headed to Blood River and its fantastic monument of bronze wagons, circled in the laager where the famous battle was fought. We watched the movie - it's possible that the story that surrounds it is more legend than fact, but none-the-less this Boer-Zulu battle was an important point in South African history. There's camping here but it's not a great set-up.

From there we cruised south on a dirt road thru a near continuous scattering of huts with their adjoining subsistent farmland to hit the black top north of Nqutu which we reached soon after. While Fred was getting fuel we took a few pics – one of the shop keeper and her young child – I ended up buying lollies and giving a couple back to them while the rest were given to a few young kids wandering past. A couple of women who saw us taking pics came up and wanted their photo taken, which we did. They were very pleasant and wished us well before wandering off. They told us it was a busy market day as the market would soon close for the weekend so everyone was getting supplies. The young man filling Fred's car wanted him to get a job in the USA!

Headed to Isandhlwana (pronounced Issan-dwana ) and stopped at the info centre before heading over to this Anglo-Zulu battlefield – which was the greatest defeat ever suffered by a British force against a native Army. It's a poignant place with the white piles of stones marking the graves of the fallen British troops, scattered over the battlefield.

It was bloody hot and after checking the monuments erected to the fallen we headed to Rorkes Drift (GPS 28°21'27”S   30°32'08”E) and had lunch under a couple of sparsely shady trees just inside the entrance to this famous battlefield, which saw 11 VC's being awarded to the 100 odd men who repulsed an attack by thousands of Zulu – the day after the British defeat at Isandhlwana. Checked the great little museum out and then walked around the site and the cemetery. A great monument to the Zulu who died here is just up the hill from where the hospital stood. This was a bronze of dozens of Zulu shields stacked on top of one another in a oval shape of about 15', while a leopard lay on top. Behind the leopard was a tree, which had been planted in the centre of the pile of shields. It was a great looking monument and had been erected in 2006.

Return to main Trip diary page

FOR MORE PICS - SEE PICTURE GALLERY PAGE ON SOUTH AFRICA, SANI PASS & LESOTHO

 

South Africa Map