No . 135
The Trusty Servant
Patrons ’ Trip to South Africa
Nigel Maclean ( E , 63-68 ) writes :
On Monday , 30 th January 2023 , a small group comprising of Patrons , their wives and other guests , drawn from within the Wykehamical community , gathered at the start of the 13 th Wykeham Patrons ’ Trip . The itinerary was to include guided tours of the battlefields of both the Zulu and Boer Wars and the laying of wreaths in memory of Old Wykehamists who had fallen in some of those battles .
First stop was Fugitives ’ Drift Lodge , set in a 5,000 acre game reserve and overlooking the battle sites of Isandlwana and Rorke ’ s Drift . Under the longstanding ownership and management of the Rattray family , it has become world famous for its pioneering of heritage tourism in South Africa .
After the rigours of travel the day before , there was a gentle start on the Tuesday , with an introductory talk on the background history of the events leading to the conflicts , given by the renowned South African guide , Ron Gold , who was to continue to enthral his audience throughout the week . Duly briefed , the team then set off for their first excursion - to the site of the Battle of Blood River , where an army of Zulu warriors , estimated at between 10-15,000 strong , were repelled and heavily defeated , when attacking an encampment of ‘ Trekkers ’. History relates that only 4 Trekkers were wounded , whilst 3,000 Zulus lost their lives . An impressive circle of 64 full-size bronze wagons , there to recreate the ‘ laager ’ ( encampment ) and the focal point of the battlefield beside the Ncome River , was unveiled in 1972 . A picnic lunch was taken in glorious sunshine and overlooking the wagons , but any purchases in the onsite museum shop afterwards were limited to cash only , as one of the frequent ‘ outages ’ ( planned power cuts ) had rendered the card machine useless !
A smaller concurrent excursion had a more energetic start to its journey to the spectacular mountaintop battlefield of Hlobane , where Redvers Buller ( a character spanning both the Zulu and Boer Wars ) won his VC .
Wednesday was the biggest of the three days whilst we were based at ‘ Fugitives ’, involving expeditions to the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke ’ s Drift . With the latter ’ s association with the film ‘ Zulu ’ making it better known , it was perhaps the description of events at Isandlwana in the morning that stole the show . Not only was the scenery surrounding the battlefield stunning , but the account of the battle was given by another fine guide , Mphiwa Ntanzi , who brought the whole disastrous defeat of the British to life , with a passion gleaned from stories he had been imbued with throughout his childhood , as both his great grandfather and grandfather had been on the Zulu side at Isandlwana . The poignancy of the battle and loss were emphasised by the scattered cairns of white rocks , highlighting the graves .
At the end of the morning , some intrepid members of the party made it halfway up the mountain of Isandlwana and others trekked the Fugitives ’ Trail , whilst the remainder returned to the Lodge for a less energetic , splendid cold buffet lunch , served in the Harford Library , with its spectacular panoramic outlook over the Buffalo River and the surrounding terrain .
The company assembled , with the iconic Isandhlwana hill behind .
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