Battlefields


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Africa » South Africa » KwaZulu-Natal » Dundee
July 10th 2007
Published: August 9th 2007
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We drove from Eshowe to the Battlefields area, stopping first at The Battle of Blood River. This was the site of a famous battle between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus. The museum suggested the Voortrekkers "miraculous" victory over all the Zulus that bombarded them was intrepreted by some Afrikaans people to be a sign of their destiny to rule South Africa. Hmmm...Well, we had fun playing on the bronze monument of the "laager", a defence formation of cattle wagons (not the amber nectar!) that was key in protecting the small group of Voortrekkers from all the impi which descended upon them. (Please note we are not historians so if our story is a load of rubbish, don't blame us!).

Talana Museum
In the afternoon we drove on to Dundee and visited the Talana Museum. This was a great museum and well worth a visit. Our primary purpose was to visit the military displays and get clued up on the battlefields history, which we found incredibly informative, but we also had a good laugh terrorising the dumbies in the coal mine. How childish! Jase was in his element because he could play with the earth moving machines, the tractors and his
LaagerLaagerLaager

Looking along the bronze laager monument
favourite the steam train.

Dundee
The town doesn't bear much resemblence to its namesake back in Scotland - neither are particularly pretty! It was a good base for our tour of the battlefields and Battlefields Backpackers is highly recommended, especially as they supply you hot water bottles to keep your tootsies nice and warm. We went into Dundee for dinner at Buffalos, which is also highly recommended for yummy food at bargain prices. Rach was a happy bunny because she discovered Malva Pudding, which is a delish sponge pudding similar to Sticky Toffee or Treacle Sponge, but not too sweet. It was so divine we had to go back again for more the next night! Think about squeezing into a wedding dress! Back at the backpackers one of our friendly neighbours Jez invited us into the tiny lounge area for a drink with him. He was a good laugh but at first we thought him slightly mad because he was drinking pints of sherry. Yuk!

Rorkes Drift
Today we visited two famous battlefield sites from the Anglo-Zulu war. Rorkes Drift was the famous defence of a field hospital by only a 100 or so British soldiers to 4000
Playing Wagons & HorsesPlaying Wagons & HorsesPlaying Wagons & Horses

Having fun on the bronze laager
Zulus - the battle immortalised by Michael Caine in the film Zulu. Apparently Zulu was actually filmed against the stunning backdrop of the Drakensberg rather than by the battlefield site. It was fantastic to stand in the museum which is built on the site of the hospital, the walls of which the British soldiers tunnelled through to evacuate the injured soldiers convalescing there. There was a model of the site with little British soldiers and Zulu warriors to demonstrate the sheer number of Zulus storming the hospital. Famously, 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded to recognise the bravery of those men, although some cynics said it was a propaganda move to distract from the embarrassing defeat at Isandlwana only days earlier.

Isandlwana
We drove down the road to visit the site of the famous British defeat to the Zulu. The scene was incredibly evocative with the huge hill towering over the sweeping plain, dotted with painted white cairns, representing the soldiers who fell there. We are certainly not experts on military history but the general consensus seems to be that it was all silly old Chelmsford's fault that the British camp was left wide open and vulnerable to attack from
Down t'mineDown t'mineDown t'mine

Rach crawling through the mini mine
the Zulus. The ambush must have been absolutely terrifying! It was nice to see there was also a monument to all the Zulu warriors who died on the battlefield. We drove up to the rather posh Isandlwana Lodge, for the great view from its balcony that overlooks all the battle ground.


Additional photos below
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Mick the MinerMick the Miner
Mick the Miner

Making friends with the local miners
Getting very friendlyGetting very friendly
Getting very friendly

Oops Jase tripped! (see appropriate sign in background)
Poop poop!Poop poop!
Poop poop!

Jase pretending to be a train driver
Jase & The Choo ChooJase & The Choo Choo
Jase & The Choo Choo

Jase and the steam train
Rorkes DriftRorkes Drift
Rorkes Drift

Battefield at Rorkes Drift (and our car!)
Field HospitalField Hospital
Field Hospital

Museum depicting how the soldiers tunnelled through the hospital walls
IslandwanaIslandwana
Islandwana

The battlefield at Isandlwana
British MonumentBritish Monument
British Monument

Monument to the fallen British soldiers at battlefield at Isandlwana
Zulu MonumentZulu Monument
Zulu Monument

Monument recognising the fallen Zulu warriors during the battle


9th August 2007

Ooolloollloooolllooooolllll
I remember the film.

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