Swaziland, St. Lucia & The Battlefields

We left Kruger National Park and headed for Swaziland. This was only ever going to be a stop off to break the journey up so we don’t have too much to tell. We crossed the border at Jeppes Reef which took about an hour and involved 6 stamps and around £30, they also wanted you to list every piece of electric or valuable equipment you had and what your address would be in Swaziland... now call me paranoid but I figured that was info they did not need. One piece of advice, we did have to have written permission to take our hire car out of South Africa and this was checked so if taking this route it is important to make sure you have it sorted prior to venturing out this way.

We drove down to Mbabane which is the capital of Swaziland and stayed the night in an great place with the most amazing views out over the countryside.

The people of Swaziland were super friendly, and they walk everywhere (an alien notion to us)...even in the very hot weather,without breaking a sweat . School children walked up to 15km a day to school in 35° temperatures smiling and laughing all the way. Can't imagine I'd have a smile on my face! We stopped and shared sweets and colouring pens with them and were met with warmth and huge smiles every time.

We left Swaziland behind and headed to the World Heritage Site area of St. Lucia. Wow! What a beautiful place! There was such a great, laid back atmosphere here; we loved it. It reminded us very much of some of the lovely little coastal towns you find in Australia. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast called Parkers Cottage and felt like we had been taken in to the family home itself. It is something we have felt time and again on this trip; the South Africans invite you into their homes and then wrap you in warmth. Whilst in St. Lucia we visited the local beaches and took a cruise up the estuary to view Hippos and Crocodiles up close - sometimes a little too close, as one hippo took particular offence to our boat and charged us, mouth wide open...not for the faint hearted. The days were finished sampling some amazing local food whilst talking with some great locals. Human contact was important to us at this point, as Roman had started referring to people crossing the roads as herds; I think maybe we have spent a little too much time around animals!

We stayed in St Lucia for 3 nights and then headed up to Dundee to visit the Battlefields and take in a whole load of historical learning. Zulu was my younger brother's most played film growing up, so I was very much looking forward to visiting the actual sites.

I have to put a special mention here for the The Royal Country Inn where we stayed. Now this place looks and feels like it was last renovated around the battle times, but is however immaculately clean and the family that run it are amazing. They were absolutely fantastic and upon hearing how much Roman was missing the company of other children they arranged for him to attend school one afternoon with Liam, the owner’s grandson. Needless to say he loved it! I would not hesitate to suggest the place and would say give it an hour and the history, charming features and general feel will become the memories and quirks that make it hard to leave behind.

The Battlefields we chose to visit were Talana, Rorkes Drift, Isandlwana and Blood River. First off, Talana, which also hosts a great museum that teaches all about the history of the town and how it was built on the back of the mining industry by a couple from Scotland. It comes complete with its own steam train and original house that has been restored. it is located a just shy of 2km outside of Dundee itself. Talana is Zulu for ‘the shelf where precious items are stored’ which is a fitting name and is a great way to start the Battlefields tour as it gives you plenty of historical and contextual information about the places which follow.

From Talana we headed to Rorkes Drift, the site of the battle behind the 1964 Michael Cain movie Zulu. It is here that approx 139 men, the majority of which were British Army men, held off an attack by 4000 Zulu’s. The battle was a bloody one and it was humbling to stand in the very place it occurred. The most Victoria Crosses ever given during battle was here and totaled 11, with another being refused in favour of a commission. There is a simple cemetery and a memorial stone for the British losses and a newer Zulu memorial. The Battle for Rorkes Drift took place on January 22^nd 1839 and left 17 British dead, the true number of Zulu’s lost is not known but it is no less than 500.

Isandlwana was the next site we visited,situated just 20km up the road and actually where the battle above had started out. The Zulu’s had tricked the British army into dividing their camp and because of this they found themselves confronted by 20,000+ Zulus. The battle was fierce and resulted in the loss of 1300+ British and 1000+ Zulu’s, the white Cairns show the burial spots and points where soldiers died; these go on as far as the eye can see in varying cluster sizes. It was a very hot day when we visited and we could not be out of the car for long due to the need for the air-con, but the time we spent there gave you goosebumps and you could almost, if you listened hard enough, hear the swishing of the grass as the enemy crept closer to you. I would not like to spend a night up there that’s for sure.

We spent our final day in the Dundee area visiting the site that is the most famous battle and most important in the shaping of South Africa. Blood River as it I now known, was reached after driving 30km on roads that leave you wondering if you are on an outback 4x4 course.

The battle itself took place between the Zulu’s and the Voortrekkers andit was a huge battle involving around 10-15,000 Zulus against 470 Voortrekkers on 16^th December 1838. The Vortrekkers had prayed to the gods that if they were spared in this battle after suffering terribly at the hands of the Zulus they would declare the day a national holiday and build a church. The battle took place around a circle of wagons, the Vortkrekkers being inside and the Zulu’s surrounding them in their famous bull formation which resulted in a total surround of the enemy. Against all odds the Vortrekkers won the battle and suffered only 3 minor injuries; the Zulus lost 3000+ and the carnage turned the river blood red, hence the name of the battle Blood River. It is commemorated today by a true life scale replica of the 64 wagons from the battle set in bronze. A plate in the middle and a few rocks piled on top of each other show where 28 years after the battle the Vortrekkers and Zulu’s came together as friends to remember and to move forward as neighbours in peace.

We enjoyed our time amongst the battlefields and all it had to offer. We chose to concentrate on just a few, but we discovered that the total loss of life was much greater as many more battles were fought in the surrounding area. Notable people who were involved in the conflict include Ghandi and Winston Churchill and also the Prince Imperial of France and heir to the Napoleon Empire who was killed whilst serving alongside the British army, bringing to an end the Napoleon family and a great relationship with the British.

From here we traveled to Durban with yet another 350km drive and a 1 hour flight to Port Elizabeth. We had some serious problems en route with road works and made our flight with minutes to spare. We venture on now along the garden route; first stop Knysna and 3 nights to relax and see the sights. We look forward to telling you about it in our next chapter.