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Hluhluwe + Zulu/Boer Battlefields + Berg (self-drive)
DCE10D

10 NIGHTS
FROM $1,352
International flights and car hire quoted separately
If you are interested in visiting both the Zulu Battlefields and the Anglo Boer War Battlefields, chose this self-drive safari of KwaZulu Natal - which includes Durban, Hluhluwe Game Reserve, Drakensberg Mountains and the Zulu Battlefields at Isandlwana & Rorkes Drift - as well as key Boer War sites such as Ladysmith (where there is a small museum) & Spioenkop.
HIGHLIGHTS
Self Drive Holiday Durban Drakensberg Zulu Battlefields South Africa Car Hire Durban Car Hire
• Durban • Hluhluwe • Game Drives • Rhino
• Zululand • Isandlwana • Rorkes Drift • Ladysmith
• Spioenkop • Drakensberg
Day 1
Arrive at Durban Airport, collect your hire car and drive 30-minutes to your hotel on the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal, renowned for its wonderful beaches and reliably warm holiday weather all year round.
  
Check in, settle in and relax on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Day 2
Today we recommend an optional Durban City tour, including the City Hall and Botanical Gardens.
 
We recommend continuing to uShaka Marine World situated in the old harbour area that is being extensively re-developed. Here you have the opportunity of viewing large indigenous sharks of the Indian Ocean and a wide variety of other marine animals, including the opportunity to interact with dolphins, seals and penguins (pay entrance fee locally).
Day 3
Today drive 3-hours to Hluhluwe National Park in Zululand, renowned for its outstanding wildlife.
 
Check into your KZN Wildlife rest camp, where game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this famous game sanctuary. Hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe, as well as several of the Big Five, on your self drive safari.
Day 4
Rise at dawn to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day, as you enjoy a thrilling self drive safari in the famous Hluhluwe National Park, which saved the rhino from extinction. One of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks, Hluhluwe is home to all the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino - as well as the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered rhino. Hope to see many interesting species before returning for breakfast.
    
The rest of the morning is free to relax at camp, before setting out again into Hluhluwe National Park for a full afternoon of game viewing. Hope to see giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. With over 300 different bird species, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed!
 
After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.
Day 5
Today drive 3-hours from Hluhluwe to the Zulu Battlefields.
 
On the way we recommend stopping at St Lucia for an optional boat ride on the estuary where you can hope to see hippos and crocodiles. Forming part of the iSimangaliso St Lucia Wetlands, this area has been declared a World Heritage Site because of its importance to marine conservation. With over 600 different bird species in the region, it also offers one of the greatest bird watching experiences in the world.
  
Continue to the remote battlefields at Isandlwana in rural Zululand. Check in to your lodge and enjoy dinner, whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom.
Day 6
Today we recommend an optional guided tour to the poignant battlefield at Isandlwana, where in 1879 the mighty British army suffered the greatest defeat in its history following its controversial invasion of Zululand. See for yourself the events portrayed so passionately in the film Zulu Dawn, as the regiment was wiped out almost to a man by 25,000 Zulu warriors.
 
Continue to Fugitives Drift, where a handful of survivors fought valiantly to save the Queen's colours and Rorkes Drift, where the following morning honour was restored as a small contingent of 100 British soldiers (many of them sick) held off over 4,000 Zulus earning no fewer than 11 Victoria Crosses – unforgettably brought to life by Michael Caine in the film Zulu.
 
Recommended Reading:
Brave Men’s Blood – Ian Knight
Day 7
Today drive 3-hours from the Zulu Battlefields to the Boer War Battlefields in the Natal Midlands.
 
Drive through Dundee and visit Talana Hill battlefield and museum, where the first battle of the Boer War of 1899 took place shortly after the conquest of Zululand, as the British Empire turned its attentions to the lucrative Transvaal goldfields. Khaki was worn here for the first time.
 
Also visit the small museum in Ladysmith, which was besieged during the Boer war, before continuing to your hotel near Spioenkop.
Day 8
Today enjoy an included tour of the battlefield at Spioenkop, where the most futile and bloodiest of four Boer War battles took place in vain efforts to relieve a besieged Ladysmith.
  
Visit the mass graves atop fateful Spioenkop Hill and see for yourself how poor military decisions affected the outcome of the battle. See the site of General Buller’s camp, as you ponder the utter futility of war. In the late afternoon, enjoy a game viewing boat ride on Spioenkop Dam.
 
Recommended Reading:
Boer War – Thomas Pakenham
Day 9
Today drive 1.5-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for its vast collection of San Bushmen rock art paintings.
    
Known locally as the Barrier of Spears the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains form the backbone of Southern Africa, running all the way down from the Great Rift Valley. If staying in the Central Drakensberg, we suggest visiting Didima Bushman Rock Art interpretative centre, before checking into your mountain resort in this area of unspoilt natural beauty.
Day 10
At leisure to relax in the Drakensberg Mountains and enjoy the facilities of your resort, with superlative scenery and fresh mountain air making it ideal for walking holidays at any level of fitness. Your hotel will organise guided walks each day – typically one short walk and one long walk, or a walk to a San Bushmen painting.
  
The mountains also offer an outstanding location for bird watching – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.
  
Your hotel has a swimming pool and offers many activities in or near the resort including golf, horse riding in the mountains, fly fishing for trout, tennis, lawn bowls, badminton, mountain biking, table tennis, darts and pool.
Day 11
Drive 4-hours through the farmlands of the Free State to Johannesburg Airport for your flight home.
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