Isandlwana Lodge Package

Experience Isandlwana as well as Rorke’s Drift tours and sleep at a palace fit for kings and commanders at the Isandlwana Lodge. This is a historic spot where the Chief Commander of the Zulu Army Ntshingwayo Ka Mahole Khoza commanded the Zulu regiments to victory on 22 January 1879 at Isandlwana. Familiarise yourself with the names of all the commanders of the 12 regiments of the Zulu Army and the British Army.

Accommodation in a standard room per night including the 3 tours, extra lunch and short lectures @ R3940.00. Price includes transfers to and from the Lodge from Dundee.

Accommodation in a deluxe room per night including the 3 tours, as well as extra lunch during the tours @ R4570.00. Price includes transfers to and from the Lodge from Dundee.

Package valid 1 July - 30 September 2009

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The History of the Battlefields Route

The battlefields are strung along a few main roads and some side turnings. The principal roads, on a rough north-south alignment, are the N11 and N3, between Volksrust and Escourt (Anglo-Transvaal War and South African Anglo-Boer War), the R34 between Vryheid and Gigindlovu (Anglo-Boer War), and the R33 between Paulpitersburg and Greytown (Anglo-Boer War and Anglo-Zulu War). In addition several link roads – mostly tarred – lead to other important sites.

Ladysmith is the focus for visitors tracing the course of the Anglo-Boer War, just as the town was the focus of the British military effort between 1899 and 1900. The route of the force attempting to break the Boer siege was from the south and includes Escourt, Chievely, Colenso and Spioenkop, from the north. The Boers chased the advanced British force from Dundee via Elandslaagte.

The battlefield of Talana, on the outskirts of Dundee, marks the first serious clash of modern warfare supported by long range artillery. The battlefield is well laid out with a self guided trail and onsite museums. The greater concentration of battlefields, memorials and museums are in the Ladysmith vicinity. The Siege Museum is an essential call for detailed information of the many local battle sites, their corollary and the military cemetery.

Three columns of troops took part in the British invasion of the Zulu Kingdom in 1879. These battlefields are spread over a fairly wide front. In the south, there were battles at Nyezane River and Gingindlovu, while the British were besieged at Eshowe, where Fort Nongqayi (built in 1883) is now a historical museum. It was the fate of the centre column that attracted most attention to Isandlwana, where a modern British battalion was defeated by a primitive army at Rourke's Drift, which is also famous today for its craft’s centre.

It was while accompanying the second wave of the invasion that the Prince Imperial of France was killed in an otherwise insignificant skirmish. Slightly outside the nucleus of sites, but not to be missed are: Ulundi, where the war of 1879 ended, and Ithala, scene of a bitter clash in the Anglo-Boer War and now a popular game reserve.

Zulu Civil War sites tend to be on the eastern side, near Ulundi and Mkhuze. Ulundi itself, lying just outside the main site, marked the last major clash between the Zulus and the British in July 1879. A few years later, relieved of the threat of the Zulus, the Transvaal rebelled against British rule and the main battles of this war, Laing's Nek, Schuinshoogte and Majuba were fought close to the N11 highway in the vicinity of Charlestown.

But not all of the battle sites are on this route. There are many other attractions along the way, arts and crafts, hiking trails, cottage industries, roadside tours and many varied and attractive places to stay.

For more information about these Battlefield Routes please...