We had a lie-in this morning until 6 o'clock! After our breakfast we boarded our coach and headed to meet our 'Battlebus'.
When we had crossed into Zululand, Mike explained the importance of rituals to the Zulus and the rite of passage of boys who at 17 would be sent into the bush and on their return would be circumcised without anaesthetic and often with unhygienic knives which could result in septicemia and death. Think that made our group squirm a bit.
We arrived at Isandlwana for a toilet stop (an interesting experience) and met our Zulu guide, Dalton. Dalton gave us a very colourful, informative and, at times, slightly scary talk about the lead up to the battle, the battle itself and the immediate aftermath. Unbelievably as we were a long way away from habitation, Graeme's phone rang. These scammers never leave you alone, do they?! 🤣. We then had some free time to see the memorials to the soldiers who died there and the cairns where some of the fallen were buried.
We then moved onto Rorke's Drift which we had some awareness of through the film Zulu. Even if it was not 100% accurate with some artistic licence, it did at least give us some awareness of it.
We had another excellent talk from Dalton who definitely enjoyed doing his Zulu chants and pointing his cane/pseudo spear (assegai) straight at us two much to the amusement of the others. He was such an amazing guide - so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject. Like many battlefields, it was a beautiful and peaceful place and it's always hard to imagine the terrible things that happened.
We then walked around the site and spent time in the interesting small museum.
After saying 'goodbye' to Dalton we set off on the bumpy ride to our late lunch/early tea stop at Miner's Rest where we had a glass of wine and a buffet. We were all a bit weary, so after eating we headed back to the hotel to chill and prepare for our flight to the Western Cape and The Garden Route tomorrow. Whilst we were getting sorted we watched the first part of Zulu which now held even more meaning for us.
We had had a very late lunch so didn't need anything else to eat, but we did meet our fellow travellers in the bar for a nightcap or two!
Unbelievably Leeds v Newcastle was on TV in the bar. Even more amazing was that Leeds were on fire and won 4-1. Happy days and a brilliant end to another wonderful day.
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Buffalo River. Now entering the Kingdom of Zululand. |
The church at Isandlwana. Near here was fought the Battle of Isandlwana, the second of three battles in the Anglo-Zulu War of the late 1870s. This battle was a crushing defeat for the British.
Dalton - our Zulu guide
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The defining image of the battlefield |
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What a desolate place to die |
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Drift in Rorke's Drift means a ford and this is the river concerned - Buffalo River |
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Dalton's real name! Click on the pic to enlarge it |
Later that day - my new Facebook friend!
