Military History Comes Alive at Babanango

Babanango Game Reserve has launched guided day trips to renowned battlefields in KwaZulu-Natal including Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, where Zulu warriors faced off against the British Army in the 1870s.

The reserve lies in the heart of the region that legendary leader Shaka transformed into the Zulu Empire between 1816 and his death in 1828. His military innovations — like the short iklwa stabbing spear and buffalo horn formation — were used by the Zulu long after his demise.

They helped the Zulu defeat a British forced armed with rifles and rockets at the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana, about 30 miles west of present-day Babanango.

Nearby Rorke’s Drift was the site of a smaller skirmish that unfolded that same day, as 150 British soldiers repelled a force of an estimated 4,000 Zulu warriors. Michael Caine starred in the 1964 movie portrayal of that battle.