Zululand Tour day 10 -Isandlwana day 1

With a lot of excitement and after a hearty breakfast our intrepid group set off to the mecca of the zulu war Isandlwana , I think by this point we had all taken dozens of pictures of the infamous mountain from our rooms and the terrace at Isandlwana Lodge ,we would take many more over the next 2 days there is something very powerful and moving about it from all angles .We started by visiting the spot where Lt Raw first saw the zulu impi ,quite well done in the movie zulu dawn , you can imagine Raws mens thoughts as they looked down onto the Zulu army ,they then made a fighting withdrawal back to Isandlwana .,Next we walked to the top ofm the ridge above the Isandlwana Lodge where on the day the zulus looked down onto the British camp .Next we moved to the Isandlwana Museum on the site of St Vincemts church which was built shortly after the AZW , this lovely little place has some nice dispalys and artifacts dug up on the battlefield , agift shop and a small chapel which contains some great paintings and photos . We then went back to the lodge for Lunch before returning and starting the walk around the Battlefield ,which no matter how many books I have read I was not ready for ,the size of the field where the action was fought is huge ,you can see  why things went wrong so quickly ,we started near the nek where the troops fell back too in an attempt to reorganise and the few that made the attempt to escape also left from this point ,after Ians talk we went around the monuments and cairns a very solumn task knowing that each pile of whitewashed stones covered the remains of those brave redcoats ,falling in small groups the cairns reach from the fireing lins along the side of Isandlwana uponto the nek then out along what was to become known as fugitives trail .Meeting up again some of made the climb up isandlwana to the place where Younghusband and his company made astand then according to the Zulus made alast ditch bayonet charge to try and break through the Zulu warriors ,then up to the famous cave where again the zulus tell of a brave redcoat who fired on them from the cave until they managed to shoot him down .Next we walked back down and along the base of Isandlwana to the monument to the Zulu fallen and then onto the firing line .The present Zulu king has decided to build a Royal palace just in front of teh British firing line which managed to hide the contours of the ground which allowed the brave warriors to get close ,howeve the money putaside for this palace has disapeared ? and at the moment its just a fenced off building site ,unwelcomed by tourists and the locals as well .The length of the firing line amazed me and espoecially at the far end where the Britsi took up positions in and around the large stones which are scattered about , an image far from the lines of Redcoats shoulder to shoulder often portrayed . After this we headed down to the Donga where Durnford made a stand before falling back to the camp where he was killed trying to defend the road . A hard tiring day day but all of us remarked how much harder it was for both sides to fight over this ground and we all paid respects to the fallen of both sides .Tomorrow the much harder walk along Fugitives trail .

The early morning view from our room ZULU DAWN 

Ian points out Lt Raws first encounter 

looking down to where the Zulu Army where hiding 

The View of the valley ,the zulu army entered here and were discovered by Raws troop

Raw fell back along here ,firing at intervals to try and slow the Zulu

The site from the ridge above the Lodge ,what the Zulu commanders saw on the day 

Ian explains in detail what is going to happen

a panorama of the view from the ridge 

The fat bloke with another hat and still Elaine puts up with me 

some of the displays in the museum

a well earned lunch break 

back to the field ,note the cairns 

Petermaritzburg collage old boys 

the monument to the 24th 

This is the area where Durnford fell trying to defend the road 

looking down from Younghusbands last stand 

Then cairn marking the last stand 

our group having a rest before climbing further ,we are in front of the spot of Younghusbands stand 

The famous cave 

Ian playing the role of the Redcoat in the cave 

many cairns are spread along bthe mountain side 

The memorial to the Zulu dead ,it represents a Zulu bravery necklace

The Royal Artillery Monument

Isandlwana Lodge beneath the ridge where the Zulus appeared

Ian ,Elaine and myself at the centre of the firing line

The far right of teh firing line 

The Zulu boy sits on the rocks used as cover by the british line , the huts mark the line of the Zulu advance 

Zulu cattle have disagreements too 

looking back from the end of the line to Isandlwana 

Durnfords Donga 

Durnford held the extreme flank here until ammunition shortages made it impossible and he fell back to the camp