Yesterday's distance was 535km. We have a lot of ground to cover on this "research" trip, but it is s pity. There is so much to see and to enjoy along the route!!
After paying (R220) and enjoying our last views of the distant Drakensberg Amphitheatre, we finally got away from our campsite by 9h30. We were heading for Ladysmith, which is a significant town to visit on a Battlefield tour, since the town was besieged for 118 days by the Boers during the AngloBoer War. We drove past the Royal Hotel where the infamous Doctor Jameson was nearly hit by stray bullet during the siege. The bullet hole can still be seen. We parked on the terrain of the new modern mall behind the City Hall and I quickly went to check if the Siege Museum was still operational. Although the area around the City Hall was rather run down, I was pleased to see that the museum was still "in good order" and there were a few visitors too. "Castor and Pollux", the two British field guns used during the siege were also still standing outside, as were replicas of Boer Long Toms. We quickly popped into ShopRite to buy a few things and then we were on the road again. As we approached Dundee, our Garmin decided to " lead us about the bush" and it got us on a completely wrong road. After a u-turn we headed back the way we had come and soon got to the Talana museum. The usual name and registration number had to be filled into the book. Then disaster! The restaurant seemed to be closed. We made use of the toilets and just before leaving I went to see what the restaurant looked like. It was not closed after all. We could eat there after all. It was very quiet so the ladies had closed the doors and were doing jigsaw puzzles. Apparently the last month had been bad for business, especially seeing it was school holidays. We ordered omellets and chips and coffee and hoped for the best. It was excellent and the portions huge. Some local ladies also arrived for lunch, so maybe business would not be so bad today after all. After lunch we popped into some of the exhibits. The Talana Museum is regarded as one of the best museums in the country and one could spend hours there. Apart from the actual Anglo Boer and other local battle history, there is an amazing collection of relics of the past, including the old machinery of the coal mining days.We had decided to camp and braai at Blood River, so we went back to town to fill up and buy wood. We could only find a downtown service station with slightly cheaper diesel, but they didn't have wood so we headed to the Superspar in town where Marianne even found milktarts. Then we set off to on the R33 towards Blood River. The gravel turn off was initially bad, but improved after a T-junction and thereafter was quite good. We were well received by the young Afrikaans (obviously) girl at reception and walked to the laager of bronze wagons. As things closed at 16h00 we were in a hurry to get the Ncome museum (Zulu version of the battle) across the river, crossing by the Reconciliation bridge. It is about a 500m walk and on the way the wind came up. The museum was good, setting out the battle from the Zulu point of view. The rest of the buildings- library, hall, restaurant, tourist shop and administrative office were hardly functional and a lot of money was wasted here. Back across the bridge we looked at the laager which is very impressive. Then we went back to reception and watched a video of the battle that was also very good. When we went to look at the campsite we realized it was terribly exposed to the wind and we decided not to camp there after all. It was very disappointing as there must be spirits lurking in the shadows and walking around the wagons at night and it would have been quite an experience.
But it was not to be and we headed back to the Battlefields caravan site we had seen earlier. The gravel road seemed much shorter going back as is always the case. It was a short distance back on the tar to Battlefields and were met by Mike Scheepers who showed us around a really good campsite. It even had a sheltered spot for us to stand. Marianne soon had an excellent supper prepared. We sat inside while the wind whined through the trees above us and battled with pindat. Then it was time for showers (very hot). Marianne got our writing edited while waiting for me, so we are almost up to date!

Geschreven door Leartravels