Dundee

Dundee is one of the towns in the area of South Africa known as the Battlefields.  It is where many different wars occurred throughout South Africa’s history.

The Battle Of Isandlwana

From Dundee we drove to a battlefield area called Isandlwana. It was where a battle took place between the Zulu tribe and the British in 1879. The British were based at a camp at the bottom of a hill. A couple of British soldiers came over the crest of a hill to spot about 2000 Zulu warriors. They thought this was the whole group of them. Little did they know that another 20,000 or so where crouched down hiding in the tall grass. The Zulus decided to attack while they had the advantage and totally wiped out the unsuspecting British in a quick defeat. The site was dotted with many groups of white stones piled on top of graves where the British soldiers fell. It was an eerie  feeling to walk around the area where so many people lost their lives.

We didn’t get a chance to go to the other nearby battlefield of Rorke’s Drift where the Zulus did not have such a favorable outcome. The British killed many Zulus as they didn’t have a chance fighting with animal hide shields and spears against the guns and canons.

BBI Backpackers

We stayed in Dundee in a pleasant place called BBI Backpackers. It was a small one with only a couple of rooms and a common kitchen. There is an adjacent building with a nice sitting room. We ended up having the whole place to ourselves. We were given a warm welcome by the owner upon arrival.

Talana Museum

After breakfast we checked out and went to the Talana museum in Dundee. It is also the site of a battle. The museum was well done. It had a display of glass making, which used to be one of the main industries along with coal mining in Dundee. There were some beautiful examples of glass work.

There is a mock coal mine to go through, complete with sounds, etc. Some of the original farm houses were on the site, complete with the contents that the people lived with in the houses. The history of the battle on the site was also explained. There are many native artifacts and war memorabilia.

Battle Of Blood River

We then headed to yet another battlefield, this area is riddled with them. Apparently war/history buffs come from all over the world to see the numerous battlefields South Africa has to offer.

This one was called the Blood river site. It was between the Zulu and the Boers in 1838. This is one of the only places with two separate museums on its site. There are two accounts of what happened during this battle, the Zulu and the Boer version. Either way you look at it many Zulus lost their lives in this battle.