Off the BT/TLjul09v1pp28-32:T&L 20/7/09 11:15 Page 29
offthebeatenTRACK
KWAZULU-NATAL
H
a
r
p
e
l
a
e
a73 Zulu dancers
e
r
d
R
o
g
a73 Rorke's Drift
memorial
d
e
g
a
r
P
e
t
e
r
E
l
l
p
e
H
a
r
a73 Isandlwana
l
a
battlefield site
d
e
a73 Rorke’s Drift
P
e
t
e
r
E
l
l
e
g
a
r
d
R
o
g
e
r
whohadactuallyfoughtthere.Theneareye- Zulu battlefields dutysoldierandkeenamateurhistorian.
witnessaccountshadbeencollectedbyhis- The Anglo-Zulu War battlefields were TherearemanyZuluandBoerWarbat-
torianDavidRattray,whospentmanyhours amongthehighlightsIhadbeenlooking tlefield sites you can visit, particularly
sittingoverlookingthebattlefieldaswedid, forward to seeing on my trip to South aroundLadysmith(famousforitssiegein
talkingtoanelderlyZuluchief. Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, other- 1899) and Dundee, the nearest city to
Tragically, the man locals called the wiseknownastheZuluKingdom.They Rorke’sDrift.ProvincialcapitalDurbanis
“whiteZulu”waskilledinarobberyatthe morethanliveduptomy respectively235kmand173kmfromthem,
Fugitives’Driftlodgeheranwithhiswife expectations and I aboutthreehoursorsobyroad.
Nickyandthreesons,nearRorke’sDrift,in would highly WithDurbanoneofthehostcities
early2007.Wehadlunchatthelodgelater, recommend
andmetNicky.IwassorryIdidn’tgetto anyonethink-
meetherhusband,especiallyhavinglistened ing about
tohisspellbindingnarrationfromarecorded visiting
radioserieswhileenroutetoIsandlwanaon there to
thebus. includethem
Onthewaytothelodgewehadspentan onatouritin-
all-too-brief20minutesatRorke’sDrift. erary. Months
HavinglistenedtoDavid’sgraphicrecorded later, I did just
portrayalofeventsthere,thegraveyardand thatwhenIwasina
museumwerejustasemotionalanexperi- pub in the middle of
ence,eveniftheoriginalbuildingsnolonger nowhereinScotland’sTrossachsregionand
survive.Perhapsthemostpoignantsightwas overheardthepeopleonthenexttablebeing
thebronzeZulumemorial,consistingofa toldabouttheBattleofIsandlwanabyan
leopardrestingonastackofwarriorshields. enthusiasticmemberoftheirparty,anoff-
Roger de la Harpe
July/August 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 29
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76