The battlefields of KwaZulu-Natal are located mainly in the hinterland of the Zulu Kingdom, an area which stretches from the mighty Drakensberg north to Volksrust and east to Stanger and Gingindhlovu. Numbering approximately sixty three sites, these are haunting reminders of some of the bloodiest encounters in history. These were the battles between Voortrekker and Zulu, between Zulu and British and between Boer and British.
Apart from the main players in these wars, a number of other famous persons put in an appearance. To mention but a few, Louis Napolėon, the twenty four year old Prince Imperial of France died in a remote donga in Zululand on June 1st 1879 shedding the last drops of blood of the Bonaparte dynasty. Winston Churchill was captured by the Boers when General Louis Botha's forces derailed an armoured train near Colenso in November 1899. He was later to escape and participated in the Battle of Spioenkop. Winston Churchill was not the only famous twentieth century figure present at Spioenkop, for Mohandus Karamchand Gandhi was also actively involved as a humble stretcher-bearer, as he had been at the Battle of Colenso.
This tour offers an opportunity for tourists to relive the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. Following the failure of the Zulu to comply with the demands of the ultimatum issued by the British Government on the banks of the Thukela in December 1878, three British columns under the control of Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford crossed the Thukela and Buffalo Rivers and invaded Zululand.
On 22 January 1879, the Zulu Army of King Cetshwayo comprising some 20 000 Zulus overran the British camp situated on the slopes of the Isandlwana Hill slaughtering more than 1300 officers and men. This tour provides a fascinating insight into the many facets of this battle as the history of this remarkable site covered with monuments and stone burial cairns unfolds.
On the night of the Battle of Isandlwana, no more than fourteen kilometres away, Rorke's Drift, a Swedish Mission Station, used by the British army as a hospital and commissariat was gallantly defended by a small garrison of British forces. Here a force of 4000 Zulus was repelled by members of the 24th Foot with the help of some Commissariat officers and hospital patients. No less than eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded; the most ever awarded to a regiment in a single military engagement.
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Worldcup 2010 Special
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Attractions
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Tour map
WORLD CUP FOOTBALL 2010 SPECIAL
The Anglo-Zulu Battlefields Tours will be run weekly throughout the World Cup 2010 on the following Sundays
June 6,13,20, & 27
July 4,11 & 18
TOURS WILL LEAVE THE DURBAN BEACH FRONT AT 7:00 AND RETURN AT APPROX. 20:00
BOOK NOW (R999,99 FOR WORLD CUP 2010)
- Relive the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift.
- Be entertained by a specialist tourist guide.
- Visit the museum at Rorke's Drift.
- Enjoy a relaxing picnic lunch in historic surroundings.