Day 1: (Sun) Isandlwana & Fugitive’s Drift (LD)
Make an early start from Durban and head inland towards South Africa’s famous battlegrounds, where more battles were fought in this remote area of KwaZulu-Natal than anywhere else in South Africa. Your expert Battlefield guide will recount the Anglo Zulu War Battle of Isandlwana, where 20 000 Zulu warriors took on the firepower of the British troops, and wiped out almost an entire regiment in about 2½ hours. Then on to Fugitive’s Drift, where many of the 402 soldiers who fled from the Battle managed to escape from Zululand into Colonial Natal. Several of the fugitives were killed after they had crossed the Mzinyathi (Buffalo) River and the graves of Lieutenants Nevill Coghill, Teignmouth Melvill and others lie on the hillside overlooking the River. Visit Rorke’s Drift, where a handful of British soldiers, outnumbered 35 to 1, fought off 4 000 Zulus for 12 hours, in a battle which saw 11 Victoria Crosses awarded, the highest number awarded to a Regiment (the 24th Regiment of Foot) in a single action. We continue, thoughts lingering about young lives lost and medals won, to our guest house for warm, country hospitality and a delicious dinner before retiring for the night.
Accommodation: Guest House or similar
Day 2: (Mon) Spioenkop (BL)
After a hearty traditional South African breakfast we make our way to the summit of Spioenkop Mountain. From here your guide will recreate the tragic battle between Boer and Brit which unfolded over 9 days in January 1900. The British occupying Spioenkop’s summit were in full view of Boer rifle and artillery fire, in this, the third and bloodiest attempt by the British to relieve Ladysmith. Incredibly, General Louis Botha (who became the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa), Winston Churchill, by then a Lieutenant serving in the South African Light Horse, and Mohandas Gandhi, then a stretcherbearer and later the Mahatma, witnessed the battle. We then continue a little further to visit the site of the armoured train incident, made famous due to the fact that Churchill (at that stage a correspondent with the Morning Post) was among those captured. After lunch, we take our leave of bloody battlefields and head for Durban, arriving in the late afternoon. |
