Our original plan for today was to head for Vryheid and visit the battlefields at Hlobane and Khambula where one of Deb’s relatives was actively involved. However we finally decided, after consulting with Foy, that we would be better served by postponing that plan until such time as we could book a guide to show us the battlefields. Instead, based on a chance comment on Facebook, we headed back the way we had originally come, towards the Royal Natal National Park (Yes, I am still hopeful of seeing where Zulu was filmed!) and followed the turn off which would take us to Spioenkop.
I didn’t know much about this particular scrap before I got there but the signage and information boards at the site soon put that to rights. The battlefield itself is, as the name suggests, on a hill top, to get to which you travel about 10k’s down a dirt road. The site is managed and costs R30 per person to get in. (That’s just under 2 quid with the current exchange rate!) The entrance gate was apparently paid for by the MoD, which is nice. Once through the gate you can drive right to the top of the hill although the road is a little steep in places and I wouldn’t have wanted to meet anyone coming the other way!
Once you get to the top there are a series of information boards identifying the key players, setting the scene and taking you through the main stages of the battle. You can then follow a well laid out path which walks you around the site and takes you through the action in the correct order for everything to make sense. It took us about 2 hours to get all the way round but I guess it could be done more quickly if you don’t stop every couple of minutes to take pictures. (This is probably harder to do than it sounds. We were there on a clear day and the views from the top were absolutely stunning.) I you do ever find yourself here I would definitely recommend taking plenty to drink with you as on a hot day like we had you will need it.
Having spent much more time here than we had allowed we decided that our best bet was to look for somewhere to stop overnight and head to Royal Natal the following day so as to have plenty of time there and not have to rush. We were lucky enough to get rooms at a lodge/hotel just outside B?... where we not only had fabulous accommodation but also an amazing view of the Royal Natal and of the Drakensberg Mountains as we looked from our room.
