Monday 31 May 2021

Isandlwana & Rorke's Drift

Isandlwana Hill in the present day.

 We left the coast on 26th May for a two nights stay at the Rorke's Drift Lodge. It was an horrendous journey, filled with major roadworks & so many hills to climb in the Landcruiser pulling a trailer! The last 5kms was also on a narrow, twisting track. We arrived late afternoon & met our hosts, one of which would be our guide the next day. 

Dawn, looking from the lodge towards
 the battlefield site.

Normally this kind of subject matter would not make it on to my blog but me being British & Delana South African, it is part of our joint history. I think the very first movie in color I saw, was Zulu with my parents in the old cinema in Thorne in South Yorkshire. It made a big impact on me & I always wanted to visit the actual battlefield location. So when we both realized that it was virtually on our way back from the coast to Pretoria we took advantaged of a covid special, two nights stay at Rourke's Drift Lodge, complete with evening meals & a tour of the battlefield site. So here we were & it proved to be an excellent experience.

                                               Setting the scene, looking over the entire area.

                                                        Our terrific guide Peter explaining
                                                              how the action unfolded.

The battles of Isandlwana & Rouke's Drift were the first significant battles on the Anglo-Zulu War. They took place over January 22nd & 23rd 1879. Although the two battles can be considered as a continuation of the first encounter. In December 1878 the British Government gave the Zulu King an ultimatum, which was designed to be impossible to comply with. 

Buffalo River, which marked the boundary between
Natal & the Zululand Kingdom.


Consequently Lord Chelmsford in command of three columns, crossed the Buffalo River into Zululand in early January 1879. He established a depot at Rorke's Drift. He then moved cautiously eastwards further into Zululand. The Zulu King's policy was to withdraw his troops & try & avoid direct confrontation. He hoped to negotiate & in particular, he forbade his troops from retaliating by entering Natal. 

Isandlwana may be seen in the distance.

Notice how the topography is undulating, 
which was to play a major part in the 
outcome of this battle.



On January 22nd Chelmsford left around 2,000 men around the hill at Isandlwana. They were unlaggered, which meant they had no defensive fortification around them at all. Around 20,000 Zulus attacked & caught the British troops out in the open & around 1,300 men were massacred. This was the first time a British Army had been defeated by native troops.

The battlefield is protected today.

The monument to the British troops,
 which fell that day.

The rather more modern & tasteful, Zulu memorial.

Rorke's Drift.

Before the British Army took it over 
it was a trading post for the region.

Later that same day a second Zulu force, numbering around 5,000 men, attacked Rourke's Drift outpost which was defended by around 120 British troops. The defenders had been forewarned of the impending battle, by the few survivors of the battle at Isandlwana, so had time to make defensive preparations. The battle lasted over 12 hours throughout the night & was at times, intense hand to hand combat. At the end of the battle over 500 Zulu troops were killed & only 17 British troops lost their lives.

Today, the old depot has been restored &
 hosts a small museum.

The culmination of a long held boyhood dream!

Eleven Victoria Cross Medals were awarded to the defending British troops, (the highest awarded in any one single battle, in British Army history). Paradoxically this Zulu victory at Isandlwana brought about the Zulu Kings downfall, as once the terrible news reached British shores, the government sort to gain revenge & recover their prestige in the region.

The lounge in the nicely appointed chalet.




It was a terrific day out & Peter brought the whole epic battle (s) to life more than one hundred years later. The lodge is an excellent place to stay & one could use it as a base for further exploration of this region. An area of South Africa which I only know from the history books, but would love to explore further in the future. Delana & I then set out on the long drive back to Pretoria.













Mtunzini

We left on 23rd May for the drive south to Mtunzini. I was particularly pleased to be returning here after many years because had spent a great time here in the 1980's with the family. We were staying at the Mtunzini Forest Lodge, which proved to be quite good for birding & very comfortable. It is a very tropical, lush environment & the small town itself is delightful. It hadn't changed a bit! 

These palms were planted here
 in the 1880's.
Before this date there was no habitat 
for the Vultures.




Vervet Monkey.

Purple crested Lourie

White eared Barbet

Common in these coastal forests.


Yellow rumped Tinker Barbet

A very secretive species.


Olive Sunbird



We had two bird targets: Palm Nut Vulture (which should be easy here) & the elusive Mangrove Kingfisher in the nearby local nature reserve. We spent thee first morning walking in the Rafia Palm Monument which used to be a sure fire thing for the Palm Nut Vulture. Despite extensive searching & walking, nothing! I couldn't believe it, as it was here many years ago that I had ticked them & they were stuck on. They appear to have moved to the nearby residential golfing estate but they wouldn't let us in!



Habitat for the Kingfisher!

Mangrove Kingfisher

In the southern African region
this species is highly localised & 
difficult to observe.

Only found in these mangroves 
in the winter months.



Immature African Fish Eagle

Osprey with catch!


African Pied Wagtail




There is a good range of mammal species in the
 local nature reserve.

Red Duiker

Common in these coastal dune forests.



We enjoyed a nice few days in this area. It really would be a nice place to live in South Africa. Hope to return soon.






The Coastal Forests

Kosi Bay

We arrived at Kosi Bay on 17th May for a six night stay. We were lucky to get a campsite right on the lake & it was a comfortable camp. 

The view from the campsite


Our very pleasant & sheltered camp.

The lake walkway close to camp was an
 excellent spot for birding.

Brown Scrub Robin

Nice to see this species again.


Dark backed Weaver




Birding around the camp was quite good in quality of species, but poor on variety. Palm Nut Vulture; Osprey; Pink backed Pelican; Brown Scrub Robin & Dark backed Weaver were all seen well.

View from the camp at dusk.


Getting there was a little tricky!


One of the lakes just before the river mouth.

This is a World Heritage Site because of the 
traditional method of fishing.

This is the largest & one of the oldest
 fish trapping methods.




The fish are trapped as the tide comes in every day.

Kosi Bay River Mouth

The place is pristine & stunning!


We were joined on this leg of our trip
 by Annelle & Lourens

On the 18th May we drove to the Kosi River Mouth, it was an interesting drive as we had to ford a river! But once we got there there place was simply stunning! 

It is a beautiful stretch of coastline here.

Girls going snorkeling.

Samango Monkey

Dusky Flycatcher


Black backed Puffback

African Yellow White-eye


On the 20th May we moved camp the short distance to Madibi, a community run campsite set right on the beach. It is set in good forest & is a nice spot on the map. Quite a bit of time here was spent on the beach, not birding. 

Lake Sibayi

Crested Guineafowl

On the drive to the lake we passed through 
several nice patches of sand forest.


Pin throated Longclaw

By walking the slightly flooded lake margins
 we quickly found a pair of these beauties!

Hadn't seen this species for many years.





On the drier more sandy areas we found 
Yellow throated Longclaw.

Zitting Cisticola

We had an interesting time sorting out the
 Cisticola species along the lake margins.

Playback proved these to be
 Zitting Cisticola

All these birds were very pale.




Pale crowned Cisticola

Notice how heavily marked it is.

They were very vociferous & responded immediately
 to playback.

Notice the warm buff flanks.


It was nice to get close to this species,
 one I hadn't recorded for quite a while.


But we did enjoy a great birding day out at Lake Sibayi on 21st May. This area has great potential for birding having lots of micro habitats. However human disturbance is high. We had a good time here but never felt particularly safe in this area. Need to return with a larger group of birders.