Beltzer
Race Dog
- Joined
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- Wolmerboom Suid
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- Honda TransAlp XL700V
Thanks for the RR, beautiful photos, some brings back good memories
Bikes, battles and blomme!
- Thread starter DD650
- Start date
DD650
Race Dog
Hubby is especially interested in the battles and battle sites and that was part of our reason for visiting the Dundee area. We want to learn more about our beautiful country and its history and thus took an organized tour to the Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift battle sites with Bushbaby Tours. If you are interested to gain more in depth knowledge about our country, then I would most definitely recommend this. Not only was our guide Eddy, very knowledgeable about the sites we visited, but he knew the overall South African history very well and we learned quite a lot of new things about our country’s history on this tour. What were also very interesting were all the significant areas he pointed out as we drove along. We started looking at the surrounds and scenery with completely different eyes and this just added so much more depth and meaning to our trip. Really great!
The first site we visited was the Battle of Isandlwana which took place on 22 January 1879. This was the first major encounter between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom in Britain’s attempt to invade Zululand. This battle was a overwhelming victory for the Zulus with the British Army suffering its worst defeat against a technologically inferior indigenous force. The Zulus used their traditional assegai spears, knobkierries, cow-hide shields and a number of muskets and old rifles (of which they weren’t trained to use) against the state-of-the-art (for that time anyway :ricky: ) Martini-Henry breech-loading rifles, two 7 pounder artillery pieces and a rocket battery used by the British.
This church is at the small museum complex. Being Sunday, we listened a bit to the ceremony – not willingly but clearly the congregation were very bad that week and the way the preacher was carrying on, we were sure he was busy condemning them to hell for all their sins!
We really do hope all his screaming and shouting helped them to lead a better life the next week.
The battle site in the distance at the mountain. The more than 4,000 British troops made camp on the side of the hill, overlooking the valley. The Zulu force, about 20,000 strong, attacked in their traditional buffalo formation with two columns going around to the left and the right, forming the horns and encircling the enemy from behind, while the main column (the chest of the buffalo), attacks from the front. The buffalo chest or main column of Zulus came over the hill where the church is and moved towards the mountain and the British troops.
The British camped on the side of the mountain towards the left and made two very big mistakes – they didn’t make a laager and also did not follow standing orders to entrench as Lord Chelmsford, who was in charge of the British army, thought it would take too long.
British scouts sent out by Chelmsford encountered some of the Zulu left horn warriors which Chelmsford then mistakenly believed were the lead of the main Zulu force. These Zulus were however only there to divert him from their main force. Lord Chelmsford was so overconfident in the British army’s military training and firepower that he took about 2,500 of his best men, including half of the British infantry contingent, to find the main Zulu force with the intention of bringing them to battle, so as to achieve a decisive victory. It never even occurred to him that the Zulus were busy out-maneuvering him.
The Zulus diverted Chelmsford and his men over these mountains in the distance where they no longer had a view over their campsite and 1,300 or so men and 2 guns that were left behind to defend the camp.
The battle started at around 12:00 and lasted until around 15:00. A number of messages, each one more urgent than the previous, were sent to Chelmsford to inform him that the camp is under attack and to plea for urgent help but Chelmsford was still convinced that they were moving towards the main Zulu force. He was at long last convinced of the seriousness of the situation but by that time it was too late. They arrived back at the camp at sunset when the battle was long over.
Of the 1,700 or so force of British troops and African auxiliaries, more than 1,300 were killed, mostly Europeans. The Zulus had been commanded to ignore the civilians in black coats and only kill the soldiers in red coats. This meant that some officers, whose patrol dress was dark blue and black at the time, were spared and escaped. Stone cairns all over the site mark where the bodies of the fallen British soldiers were buried. Over 100 bodies were buried under some stone piles.
Some 1,000 Martini-Henry rifles, two cannons, 400,000 rounds of ammunition, three colours, most of the 2,000 draft animals and 130 wagons, impedimenta such as tinned food, biscuits, beer, overcoats, tents and other supplies were taken by the Zulu or left abandoned on the field. Of the survivors, most were from the auxiliaries.
Today beautiful Nguni cattle roam the area, oblivious to the tragedy that took place here.
A memorial was erected at the entrance to the site to commemorate the estimated 1,000 fallen Zulu warriors. The main feature of the memorial is in the form of a bronze necklace. Exceptionally brave Zulu warriors were permitted to wear a necklace which they generally carved themselves. The necklace is mounted on a circular base that symbolizes unity and is reminiscent of Zulu kraals and huts. The lion claws represent royalty and high ranking Zulu officers.
The four bronze headrests set in the wall represent the four Zulu regiments deployed in the battle. It also reinforces the theme of ending violence and honours the ancestors who play an important role in Zulu culture.
It is customary for the souls of departed Zulus to be ceremonially “swept” to their appropriate resting places with branches of the ‘Wag-‘n-bietjie’ thorn tree, planted next to the monument.
This site is not only historically very interesting but also depicts the futility of war. Very moving and definitely worth a visit.
If interested to read more, a full recount of the battle is available on a number of sites of which Wikipedia is very comprehensive.
The first site we visited was the Battle of Isandlwana which took place on 22 January 1879. This was the first major encounter between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom in Britain’s attempt to invade Zululand. This battle was a overwhelming victory for the Zulus with the British Army suffering its worst defeat against a technologically inferior indigenous force. The Zulus used their traditional assegai spears, knobkierries, cow-hide shields and a number of muskets and old rifles (of which they weren’t trained to use) against the state-of-the-art (for that time anyway :ricky: ) Martini-Henry breech-loading rifles, two 7 pounder artillery pieces and a rocket battery used by the British.
This church is at the small museum complex. Being Sunday, we listened a bit to the ceremony – not willingly but clearly the congregation were very bad that week and the way the preacher was carrying on, we were sure he was busy condemning them to hell for all their sins!
We really do hope all his screaming and shouting helped them to lead a better life the next week.
The battle site in the distance at the mountain. The more than 4,000 British troops made camp on the side of the hill, overlooking the valley. The Zulu force, about 20,000 strong, attacked in their traditional buffalo formation with two columns going around to the left and the right, forming the horns and encircling the enemy from behind, while the main column (the chest of the buffalo), attacks from the front. The buffalo chest or main column of Zulus came over the hill where the church is and moved towards the mountain and the British troops.
The British camped on the side of the mountain towards the left and made two very big mistakes – they didn’t make a laager and also did not follow standing orders to entrench as Lord Chelmsford, who was in charge of the British army, thought it would take too long.
British scouts sent out by Chelmsford encountered some of the Zulu left horn warriors which Chelmsford then mistakenly believed were the lead of the main Zulu force. These Zulus were however only there to divert him from their main force. Lord Chelmsford was so overconfident in the British army’s military training and firepower that he took about 2,500 of his best men, including half of the British infantry contingent, to find the main Zulu force with the intention of bringing them to battle, so as to achieve a decisive victory. It never even occurred to him that the Zulus were busy out-maneuvering him.
The Zulus diverted Chelmsford and his men over these mountains in the distance where they no longer had a view over their campsite and 1,300 or so men and 2 guns that were left behind to defend the camp.
The battle started at around 12:00 and lasted until around 15:00. A number of messages, each one more urgent than the previous, were sent to Chelmsford to inform him that the camp is under attack and to plea for urgent help but Chelmsford was still convinced that they were moving towards the main Zulu force. He was at long last convinced of the seriousness of the situation but by that time it was too late. They arrived back at the camp at sunset when the battle was long over.
Of the 1,700 or so force of British troops and African auxiliaries, more than 1,300 were killed, mostly Europeans. The Zulus had been commanded to ignore the civilians in black coats and only kill the soldiers in red coats. This meant that some officers, whose patrol dress was dark blue and black at the time, were spared and escaped. Stone cairns all over the site mark where the bodies of the fallen British soldiers were buried. Over 100 bodies were buried under some stone piles.
Some 1,000 Martini-Henry rifles, two cannons, 400,000 rounds of ammunition, three colours, most of the 2,000 draft animals and 130 wagons, impedimenta such as tinned food, biscuits, beer, overcoats, tents and other supplies were taken by the Zulu or left abandoned on the field. Of the survivors, most were from the auxiliaries.
Today beautiful Nguni cattle roam the area, oblivious to the tragedy that took place here.
A memorial was erected at the entrance to the site to commemorate the estimated 1,000 fallen Zulu warriors. The main feature of the memorial is in the form of a bronze necklace. Exceptionally brave Zulu warriors were permitted to wear a necklace which they generally carved themselves. The necklace is mounted on a circular base that symbolizes unity and is reminiscent of Zulu kraals and huts. The lion claws represent royalty and high ranking Zulu officers.
The four bronze headrests set in the wall represent the four Zulu regiments deployed in the battle. It also reinforces the theme of ending violence and honours the ancestors who play an important role in Zulu culture.
It is customary for the souls of departed Zulus to be ceremonially “swept” to their appropriate resting places with branches of the ‘Wag-‘n-bietjie’ thorn tree, planted next to the monument.
This site is not only historically very interesting but also depicts the futility of war. Very moving and definitely worth a visit.
If interested to read more, a full recount of the battle is available on a number of sites of which Wikipedia is very comprehensive.
DD650
Race Dog
After the battle at Isandlwana a few Zulu regiments that were not involved also wanted to share in the success of the Zulus and continued on to Rorke’s Drift hoping to have another triumph in capturing the British base at the Rorke’s Drift crossing on the Tugela. The base was a mission that belonged to the Reverend Otto Witt. The church had been turned into a store by the British Army and his house was now a military hospital.
Some of the men that did manage to escape the massacre at Isandlwana informed the group at Rorke’s Drift about the defeat and that the Zulus advancing towards the mission station. They decided that they would not be able to leave the mission as they would be out in the open and slowed down by the injured patients from the hospital.
The old store room, now a church.
The layout of the smaller enclosure can be seen in front with the kraal to the left.
A party of Durnford’s unit arrived from Isandlwana and was posted forward to hold the Zulu advance as long as possible, while the rest of the men started fortifying the mission station by linking the store (now the church) and hospital with walls of mealie bags. Durnford’s unit however soon returned to the mission station and then left for Helpmekaar, together with the company of Natal Native Infantry, leaving about 140 regular British troops and some Natal irregulars together with 11 patients to defend the mission station. The remaining men hurriedly built a shorter perimeter line of biscuit boxes to accommodate the greatly reduced numbers of soldiers.
This model shows the layout of the site and the battle.
The battle started at around 16h30and the Zulu contingent of around 3,000 to 4,000 men soon concentrated their attack on the western end of the enclosure at the hospital. Patients had to be evacuated by breaking holes through the walls of adjacent rooms and pulling patients through to the next room as the rooms only had outer facing doors. The Zulus soon set the roof alight and all had to be evacuated to behind the biscuit box line. Only 2 patients and four defenders died.
The Zulus continued their attack on the British for 10 hours until 2:00 in the morning when their constant attack was replaced by harassing fire until 4:00 in the morning. The British were exhausted by now and almost out of ammunition with only 900 rounds of the 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission remaining. By dawn they could see that the Zulus have left, leaving only the dead and severely wounded. The Zulus lost around 500-600 warriors, with the British casualties amounting to 17 killed and 10 wounded.
Eleven Victoria Crosses and four Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded to the brave soldiers.
A memorial to the fallen Zulu warriors was later erected, showing a leopard on top of a pile of 50 bronze shields and surrounded by ‘wag-‘n-bietjie’ trees. The bronze shields suggest how the dead men were covered with shields by their comrades on the battlefield. Many were later buried in two marked mass graves.
Some of the men that did manage to escape the massacre at Isandlwana informed the group at Rorke’s Drift about the defeat and that the Zulus advancing towards the mission station. They decided that they would not be able to leave the mission as they would be out in the open and slowed down by the injured patients from the hospital.
The old store room, now a church.
The layout of the smaller enclosure can be seen in front with the kraal to the left.
A party of Durnford’s unit arrived from Isandlwana and was posted forward to hold the Zulu advance as long as possible, while the rest of the men started fortifying the mission station by linking the store (now the church) and hospital with walls of mealie bags. Durnford’s unit however soon returned to the mission station and then left for Helpmekaar, together with the company of Natal Native Infantry, leaving about 140 regular British troops and some Natal irregulars together with 11 patients to defend the mission station. The remaining men hurriedly built a shorter perimeter line of biscuit boxes to accommodate the greatly reduced numbers of soldiers.
This model shows the layout of the site and the battle.
The battle started at around 16h30and the Zulu contingent of around 3,000 to 4,000 men soon concentrated their attack on the western end of the enclosure at the hospital. Patients had to be evacuated by breaking holes through the walls of adjacent rooms and pulling patients through to the next room as the rooms only had outer facing doors. The Zulus soon set the roof alight and all had to be evacuated to behind the biscuit box line. Only 2 patients and four defenders died.
The Zulus continued their attack on the British for 10 hours until 2:00 in the morning when their constant attack was replaced by harassing fire until 4:00 in the morning. The British were exhausted by now and almost out of ammunition with only 900 rounds of the 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission remaining. By dawn they could see that the Zulus have left, leaving only the dead and severely wounded. The Zulus lost around 500-600 warriors, with the British casualties amounting to 17 killed and 10 wounded.
Eleven Victoria Crosses and four Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded to the brave soldiers.
A memorial to the fallen Zulu warriors was later erected, showing a leopard on top of a pile of 50 bronze shields and surrounded by ‘wag-‘n-bietjie’ trees. The bronze shields suggest how the dead men were covered with shields by their comrades on the battlefield. Many were later buried in two marked mass graves.
JACOVV
Race Dog
Interesting :thumleft:
MillionMiles
Pack Dog
Wowy kazooy ...nice history lesson
Malibu
Bachelor Dog
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Really enjoying the read... ;D
Pietcoke
Race Dog
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Thanx for sharing :thumleft:
uncaged
Puppy
Your photos really capture the freedom that adventure biking offers.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
DD650
Race Dog
And so the last day of the trip dawned as a beautiful, sunny, perfect bike riding day. We have decided that we are not going to just get on the shortest tar road and gun it to get home. That is normally such an anti-climax if everyone is just racing to get back.
We first took a detour to Wasbank as we heard there was quite a nice scenic pass on the way there. It was a nice road, but the pass wasn’t that scenic and very short! And it was tar. The tar road then took us the rest of the way through Glencoe, Hattingspruit and Dannhauser until we crossed the N11 to take the road running along the Chelmsford Nature Reserve. We were at first quite disappointed that this was also a tar road, but what a beautiful road! Nice twisties, beautiful scenery and hardly any traffic!
We got onto the N11 again just after Newcastle, getting one more chance to do Laingsnek Pass – another stunning, twisty road and loads of fun! We made a quick turn past O’Neill’s cottage, the last battle related site we visited.
This cottage, a national monument, is on the slopes of Majuba Mountain and was originally the home of Eugene O'Neill. The cottage was used as a makeshift hospital for British soldiers during the battle of Majuba and many of them are buried here. The peace treaty ending the war between British and Boer forces was signed here after the Battle of Majuba. This peace treaty also restored Transvaal’s independence.
Charlestown and Volkrust were quickly behind us and before we could get too frustrated with the endless stream of cars, we were in Perdekop where we turned onto the gravel once again. The cosmos were waiting there to welcome us back! :ricky:
Fields of crops lined with cosmos were broken by a lonely windmill every now and then.
The roads were stunning and we rode all along first the Kaalspruit and then later the Vaal River before we got to the Grootdraai dam, were the locals had their fishing rods in the water, hoping to catch some dinner.
Everything was now becoming flat and we knew we were back in the good old Transvaal. Luckily the cosmos accompanied us all the way back to Pretoria, keeping the last stretch of tar beautiful and interesting.
We got home tired and hungry, but very happy and content! What an awesome weekend!!! Absolutely stunning roads, amazing scenery and the best company ever! Thanks to hubby for making it possible to explore our beautiful country this way!
Thanks to all for reading.
The end.
We first took a detour to Wasbank as we heard there was quite a nice scenic pass on the way there. It was a nice road, but the pass wasn’t that scenic and very short!
And it was tar. The tar road then took us the rest of the way through Glencoe, Hattingspruit and Dannhauser until we crossed the N11 to take the road running along the Chelmsford Nature Reserve. We were at first quite disappointed that this was also a tar road, but what a beautiful road! Nice twisties, beautiful scenery and hardly any traffic!
We got onto the N11 again just after Newcastle, getting one more chance to do Laingsnek Pass – another stunning, twisty road and loads of fun! We made a quick turn past O’Neill’s cottage, the last battle related site we visited.
This cottage, a national monument, is on the slopes of Majuba Mountain and was originally the home of Eugene O'Neill. The cottage was used as a makeshift hospital for British soldiers during the battle of Majuba and many of them are buried here. The peace treaty ending the war between British and Boer forces was signed here after the Battle of Majuba. This peace treaty also restored Transvaal’s independence.
Charlestown and Volkrust were quickly behind us and before we could get too frustrated with the endless stream of cars, we were in Perdekop where we turned onto the gravel once again. The cosmos were waiting there to welcome us back! :ricky:
Fields of crops lined with cosmos were broken by a lonely windmill every now and then.
The roads were stunning and we rode all along first the Kaalspruit and then later the Vaal River before we got to the Grootdraai dam, were the locals had their fishing rods in the water, hoping to catch some dinner.
Everything was now becoming flat and we knew we were back in the good old Transvaal. Luckily the cosmos accompanied us all the way back to Pretoria, keeping the last stretch of tar beautiful and interesting.
We got home tired and hungry, but very happy and content! What an awesome weekend!!! Absolutely stunning roads, amazing scenery and the best company ever! Thanks to hubby for making it possible to explore our beautiful country this way!
Thanks to all for reading.
The end.
Malibu
Bachelor Dog
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Fantastic RR!
Thank you for taking the time to write it! ;D
Thank you for taking the time to write it! ;D
Buzzlightyear
Grey Hound
8)
JACOVV
Race Dog
That was a good story!! It also takes time to do a RR like this. Wel gedaan :thumleft:
Nicobie
Race Dog
Very nice report. I have not seen a report of this area before, and I want to explore it myself during July. This makes me even more keen to do it.
What would be nice is to have tracks to ride along the paths of the warriors, but I don't find any on any map so far.
What would be nice is to have tracks to ride along the paths of the warriors, but I don't find any on any map so far.
Bleddie goeie werk. Dankie vir die moeite met die RR, die geskiedenis....peekchas en lekker storie. :thumleft:
Paar van ons dreig nou al so rukkie om al die passe te gaan ry in die Memel omgewing. Ons was kwansuis daar net na nuwejaar en het belowe ons kom binnekort terug......ping Laurika...Tweets.....
En o ja....ek was nog nie by die Bloedrivier site nie....dink ons moet dit sommer ook deel maak van die trippie.
Paar van ons dreig nou al so rukkie om al die passe te gaan ry in die Memel omgewing. Ons was kwansuis daar net na nuwejaar en het belowe ons kom binnekort terug......ping Laurika...Tweets.....
En o ja....ek was nog nie by die Bloedrivier site nie....dink ons moet dit sommer ook deel maak van die trippie.
Kelevra
Race Dog
Hey DD650 awesome RR, I would realy like to go see some of those sites. Do you have the GPS route available please?
Regards,
Dave.
Regards,
Dave.
DD650
Race Dog
Thanks for all the positive feedback, it is much appreciated! We have enjoyed this trip so much, we are sommer going back again end of the month. :ricky: But we will do a different area and hopefully visit some other interesting battle sites.
I will clean up the routes a bit and post later on.
I will clean up the routes a bit and post later on.
