84
By the Dart • Travel Advertising feature
ZULU SAFARI
A fascinating tour in a most beautiful and welcoming country
A
s a holiday destination South Africa is, perhaps, best
known for the wonderful safari opportunities the country offers. From the great value Government run game lodges in the National Parks of the Kruger or the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi to exclusive and expensive, private game reserves, South Africa can offer a safari experience to meet most budgets. Yet the country provides many other holiday experiences and historical tours are a growing area of interest that allow visitors to not only appreciate the country’s fascinating history but also to enjoy its diverse scenery and meet its friendly and welcoming people. During the long reign of Queen
Victoria (1837-1901), there was barely a year in which the British Army was not engaged in conflict in some part of the world. Afghanistan, Burma, New Zealand, India and, of course, South Africa all saw British troops in action against indigenous peoples. Of all these wars, skirmishes
and campaigns perhaps the best known today is the Anglo- Zulu War of 1879, fought in what is now the Natal region of South Africa. The 1964 motion picture “Zulu”, starring a young Michael Caine and Stanley Baker dramatized the British defence of the Mission Station at Rorke’s Drift by 100 troops against a Zulu force 4,000 strong. This film, with its many iconic images of heroism and defiance set against the backdrop of stunning scenery and a beautifully vivid blue South African sky, has captured the imagination of the British public and has ensured this conflict is the most recognised of all
of Queen Victoria’s ‘Little Wars’. Yet the Zulu War was so much
more than a tussle from behind a barricade of melee bags. Crucially it was a most brutal war in which Britain, set on territorial expansion into the Zulu kingdom, cynically orchestrated a reason to invade. With a complete disdain for the fighting abilities of the Zulus, the British Commander, Lord Chelmsford, split his invasion force into three advancing columns with the intention that these forces would converge on the Zulu capital at Ulundi. However, using their skills of concealment and speed of
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 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156
