Wanderings in South Africa - 2 - The Boer & Zulu Battlefields

---

The next section of our tour of South Africa found us centred on the now peaceful rolling grassland hills of KwaZulu-Natal in and around Dundee to follow the 'Battlefield Tour'. Initially we had a fairly long drive to Ladysmith to find out about the siege of the town, when 12000 British troops were besieged for 118 days by the Boers in 1899. The small museum was informative and presented the history very well. We travelled on to Spioenkop, a 4810ft high hill, covered with tussocky grass and large boulders, where the British forces suffered a decisive defeat to the Boers. We could easily see how the British soldiers had dug poorly positioned trenches in the dreadful terrain, which partly led to their downfall. Many monuments and graves were scattered over the summit as a grim reminder. Liverpool FC flags and scarves were present at the small entrance gate in recognition of the many Liverpudlians who lost their lives on Spioenkop and which has subsequently giving the name to the famous 'Liverpool Kop'.

The next day saw us visiting Zululand. We were accompanied by an ex-army Sergeant-Major who was to be our guide and who provided us with a fascinating insight into the military strategies employed in the Battles between the British Forces and the Zulu warriors at Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift. He was a wonderful story-teller and really brought to life the mistakes made and the resulting horrors of Isandhlwana and the triumph and courage at Rorke's Drift resulting in the award of 11 Victoria Crosses.

Weather - Hazy, sunny, cloudy & occasional showers!!

Accommodation - Battlefields Country Lodge Dundee

---

Photos

The Siege Museum at Ladysmith
British Naval long range 12-Pounder gun - the 'gun which saved Ladysmith'

Isandhlwana
Sire of the battle between the British and Zulus

Comments

[Rob & Liz Castree]

Excellent Blog
Thank you for sharing your excellent, informative blog with us. Enjoy the remainder of your adventure x

[Helen and Bob]

Wanderings 2
Interesting to get a glimpse into that period of history. Glad all is going so well. Xx