Zululand Tour day 11 -Isandlwana day 2 Fugitives Trail & Chelmsford picnic

Today we walked 5km of the fugitives trail ,it is hard to comprehend how awful it must have been to be pursued over such hard terrin with Zuls bearing down upon you and men and horses dying all around you ,we struggled with the heat and hard going I suffered 3 cuts from an aloe plant and many bruises and we had a guide and we were  taking our time .The first 200 yards or so are fairly easy going and cairns are visible from the start and are dotted all the way along ,we visited the Donga where the RA limbers came to grief ,this is almost filled in with debris washed down the hill but the cairn is still visible and Ian Knight had the oppurtunity to excavate the area a few years ago proving this was the spot where the men and horses met their fate .We were also lucky to visit 2 graves off the normal trail ,Paul our tour manager had arough idea where they were and disapeared into the bush for a while before shouting us up where a marked grave marks the spot where G.T.Macleroy of the Natal Carbineers was buried ,his father requested his sons body be left where he fell but after his fathers death his mother had the body moved ,next to him is a large cairn which contains the remains of Surgeon Major Peter Shepard who stopped to help Macleroy and was caught and killed . It is sad that a lot of cairns have been broken into recently ,as human bones especially warriors are useful in magic and the politicians in the upcoming elections are paying people to rob graves to gain extra help in the elections ?. We found a few bones and Ian returned them to the neraest cairn ,it is easy to spot which cairns have been disturbed as the whitewashed areas have been putb back upside down .After the gruling walk we were pickerd up and taken to the area of the isidwaba Falls were Dartnell had his skirmish with Zulus the night before the battle the event that led to Lord Chelmsford taking half his force to engage the Zulus who had in fact bypassed dartnell in the dark and moved to Isandlwana ,alos this is where Chelmsford was having his picnic lunch when he first heard of the attack on his camp at Isandlwana .

The view of the mountain at the start of fugitives trail

Cairns are everywhere along the trail

This and the 2  below are views of what remains of the Donga where the RA limbers met their doom

The RA Cairn can just be seen next to the tree at the right 

at some points cairns are grouped together possibly last stands 

A line of cairns ,isandlwana can be seen through the trees

Surgeon Major Shepards resting place

Trooper Macleroys marker 

part of the deep gorge that trapped many fugitives

Human bones on a disturbed Cairn 

we crossed here a shallower and calmer than it was on the day 

Isandlwana from near the end of our walk 

The magnificent 7 Paul Marais , Andy ,Tim,Ian Knight,Rushton ,Elaine and Myself 

Heading to our transport 

A deserved rest atfer along hard march 

The area of Dartnells meeting with the Zulus

Isidwaba falls ,

Chelmsford stopped here ,the hill is where he sent Milne to view Isandlwana

Beautiful but dangerous scenery 

roughly the spot where Hamilton Brown saw the attack on Isandlwana taking place and he informed Chelmsford the camp had fallen, to which Chelmsford called him aliar and stormed off .

One of the Dongas that delayed Chelmsfords Artillery 

The infamous mountain ,the camp and fighting could be seen from here  by Brown 

Ian brings the story of the battle to aclose telling us about the grusome night  Chelmsfords men spent in the destroyed camp amongst the dead .