A group of local women sing a Zulu hymn inside the small stone church which marks the last stand of the heroes of the battle of Rorke's Drift.
Their raw melody, unique to unaccompanied African song, hangs suspended in the stillness of dusk as we stand in silence, grouped around our guide. Drained by the passion of his presentation, he removes his hat and bows his head, reciting lines familiar to travellers predominantly from Europe.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them."
Today his tribute applies not only to Zulu warriors and British redcoats; our thoughts turn inevitably to the senseless death of international legend David Rattray.
Rattray was an exceptional orator and a passionate historian.
It must have been a daunting task for his young protégés to step forward to continue his insightful and impassioned tours of the battlefields of the Anglo-Zulu conflict which have entrenched Fugitives' Drift on the international tourist map. Reconciliation and compassion formed the cornerstones of Rattray's philosophy, and it is a fitting tribute to his mentoring skills that this message is in the safe hands of two exceptional young men whose potential he recognised and fostered before his death.
Rob Caskie and Joseph Ndima, of European and Zulu descent respectively, are highly articulate and steeped in the military strategies and tales of individual heroism that they learned from Rattray.
The visual and emotional impact of their descriptions, delivered at the exact location of battle-sites, far outstrips the special effects of any Hollywood drama.
Fugitives' Drift Lodge was established by the Rattrays on a Natural Heritage site overlooking Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, its grounds including the spot where two British lieutenants lost their lives while carrying the Queen's Colours of their regiment to safety after the battle was lost.
The lodge, a treasure-trove of Anglo-Zulu war memorabilia, is set in gardens tumbling down to the Buffalo River Gorge and caters predominantly for the European market. Since we were paying in rands rather than euros, we decided to spend the first night of our two-day battlefield excursion at the Royal Country Inn in Dundee.
This site is also steeped in history. Built in 1886, the gracious colonial building housed British soldiers during the siege of Dundee and features walls rich in artwork and photos from both the Anglo-Boer and Anglo-Zulu wars. Our room was dedicated to one of the recipients of 11 Victoria Crosses awarded at Rorke's Drift.
The green valleys of rural Kwa-Zulu Natal are still lovely beyond any singing of it, as we made our way to Blood River, the first site on our itinerary.
The museum at the Ncone-Blood River Heritage site is architecturally unique, taking its shape from the Zulu war-horn formation, initiated by King Shaka.
It gives a fascinating tri-language glimpse into the action on the December 16, 1838: the Battle of Blood River; Impi yase Ncone; Slag van Bloedrivier. There's an impressive display designed to give the tourist some insight into Zulu culture, as well as bronze replicas of Voortrekker wagons which played a significant role in the Boer victory, positioned on the original site on the western river bank.
Interesting as it was, it also showed us why the expense of the following night was justified. Visiting a battlesite under your own steam is not comparable to visiting one with the accredited guides at Fugitives' Drift.
The battlefield tours are timed to co-incide with the time of day at which they were fought. I was glad our lunch-time arrival at the lodge meant that we had a night to recover from the drama at Rorke's Drift before exposure to the massacre at Isandlwana. Both presentations made an indelible impression.
Rob Caskie met us at Rorke's Drift as the shadows lengthened after a hot afternoon.
It doesn't look much like a battle-field. Just two simple buildings and a solitary jacaranda, its purple plumage stark against the cloud-free blueness of the sky. I learned a lot about heroism and loyalty to Queen and country, by the time Caskie's dramatic portrayal of a long night of courage against daunting odds drew to a close.
Some details linger about the men serving in the 24th Royal Regiment of Wales. They were physically so small - an average height of 1,6m. They all seemed to be named either Jones or Williams - apart from Henry Hook the cook, that is. I remember how young they were. On average 22. A company of kids.
I can hardly bear to think of the maimed and bloodied hands of the one who clawed a desperate passage through the solid brick walls that separated him from freedom. The visual image of a solitary Zulu on a white horse who rode back at dawn to salute the courage of the survivors is unforgettable.
It seems fitting that we heard the story of the victory at Isandlwana from a Zulu. It's an unforgettable setting. An isolated sphinx-like hillock towering above a flat plain marked with mounds of white-painted rocks marking the graves of 1 300 British soldiers.
There's no record of the Zulu fatalities who were dragged from the battlefield on the shields of their fellow warriors and buried according to tribal ritual. This marked the most resounding defeat in British military history.
The sun was relentless as we toiled to the top of a vantage point on Isandlwana, which afforded an uninterrupted view of the plain where the battle was fought.
Ndima painted an unforgettable series of visceral images: The heat - 40°C in bright red uniforms, buttoned to the neck - a sea of white tents pitched by an army totally unprepared for the onslaught which lay ahead; the twinkling night fires of the Zulus which persuaded the luckless Chelmsford that he'd located the main body of the army; the first panic-stricken sighting of the real thing; 40 000 silent Zulus in full war regalia, hidden in a ravine beyond the plateau; the chilling war-cry uSuthu! ringing out from men eager for battle, relentless in pursuit of victory.
I was moved by stories of the notes and letters that amazingly survived the conflict, in tones ranging from hope to dread and unmitigated terror. Ndima spoke with justifiable pride of the brilliance of the Zulu battleplan, which is still used today as a model for planning in business schools: Don't underestimate the enemy; make use of the resources at your disposal; identify and exploit areas of vulnerability.
Zulu military strategies certainly passed the test of time.
It is indeed a tribute to the skills of our guides that despite leaving the battlefields with a strong sense of the futility and waste of war, we had also somehow been given a sense of hope for future days.
Caskie described a memorial service which was held in 1998: More than 3 000 Zulus arrived to honour their dead, wheeling the infirm from outlying regions in wheelbarrows. The congregation sang Men of Harlech, the signature song of the famed Welsh regiment. And then, after a moment's silence the Zulus began to sway and hum to the sacred Song of the Princes.
In over 100 years, there has never been an incident of graffiti on any of the monuments to either the British or Zulus killed in the two battles. A spirit of reconciliation in South Africa would be a fitting monument to everything that David Rattray stood for.
- The Battlefield Route is in northern KwaZulu Natal.
- Road maps to battlesites are available from The Battlefields Route Association along with accommodation options and activities from battlefield tours with accredited guides, to bird-watching and white-water rafting.
- Phone 082-802-1643, email [email protected] or battlefields.kzn.org.za
Fugitive's Drift
- Phone 034-642-1843
- Website:
The Royal Country Inn
- Phone 034-212-2147; e-mail: [email protected]