Anglo Zulu Battlefields

This tour is a great combination of mountain biking and history as riders explore the trails and wagon routes used by many of the soldiers and warriors when the British under Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand in 1879. Riders will get a taste of these epic battles complete with all the stupidity and heroism while riding on some amazing raw, natural trails.

This ride is for regular mountain bikers, who have a degree of off road experience. Routes include some moderate to difficult technical sections.

Colonization of the world by the British was fueled by a few arrogant, ignorant men, one of whom was Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere. He was an archetypical Victorian colonial administrator whose belief in the British Empire was as absolute as his disregard for its inhabitants. This attitude had disastrous implications in SA when he became High Commissioner in 1877.

Despite many years of Zulu and Brit living in relative peace and harmony, Frère had concluded that Natal could not exist safely and peacefully alongside the Zulu nation under King Cetshwayo. After some devious maneuverings, which failed to initiate war, he had an ultimatum delivered to Cetshwayo at the Ultimatum Tree. The demands were impossible by design.

Cetshwayo sent a message to Frere, in the words of historian David Rattray, “begging his British friends not to go to war, and warning him that if the Great White Queen sent her red soldiers into Zululand, his aMabutho would eat those red soldiers up. The die was cast.

The British invaded Zululand on 1st January 1879 in the first act of aggression of the Anglo-Zulu War and the battles of Isandlwana (22nd January) and Rorke’s Drift (23rd January) ensued.