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Four Day Eastern Cape Battlefield Tours
| Battlefield Tours Day 1: - Port Elizabeth to Double Drift
Reserve. |
| Our battlefield tour starts in Port Elizabeth at the
headquarters of Prince Alfred's Guard, one of the older
traditional regiments of South Africa. Here the scene is set
for our battlefield tour of the Eastern Cape. |
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After a visit to nearby Fort Frederick (the
oldest British stone building in South Africa) and .. |
| the Donkin Memorial, a tribute to Elizabeth
Donkin after whom the city was named … |
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We drive East along the scenic Sunshine
coast via Alexandria and the holiday resort of Port Alfred … |
| to the rustic Settler village of Bathurst,
little changed since its founding in 1820. |
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After refreshments at the old Pig 'n
Whistle, where ghosts are still said to wander… |
| we visit some of the local sites including
the village church of St. Johns, where Settlers took refuge
in the wars of 1834/5, 1846 and 1850/3. |
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We then drive through typical Settler country
to the old Fraser's Camp signal tower and a picnic lunch. |
| Via Trompeters Drift, the scene of numerous
ambushes on wagon trains… |
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we visit Fort Peddie, besieged and attacked
by 8000 Xhosa in the 7th Frontier war of 1846/7… |
| and the site of the Battle of the Mgwangwa
River, where the 7th Dragoon Guards launched a cavalry
charge against a large Xhosa force killing some 600. |
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We overnight in the Double Drift Game
Reserve in comfortable chalets on the banks of the Fish
River. |
| Battlefield Tours Day 2: - Double Drift Reserve to Hogsback. |
| After an early breakfast, we head North East
to the site of the Battle of the Ridge. Here, on 29 December
1850, some 220 British Infantry and Cavalry conducted a
fighting retreat to Fort Hare after an abortive attempt to
rescue Sir Harry Smith, besieged at nearby Fort Cox. This
little known battle has been compared to the famous Defence
of Rorke's Drift which took place 29 years later. |
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We then visit the site of Baillie's grave
where, in the war of 1834/35, Lt. Charles Baillie and his
patrol of 30 men were surrounded by Xhosa warriors and wiped
out to a man. |
| Passing through the Rabula Valley, we reach
the site of the Battle of Boomah Pass. On Christmas Eve
1850, a British column of 600 men was ambushed, signalling
the start of the 8th Frontier war. |
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We now head South to the site of the Battle
of Burns Hill. In 1847, Xhosa warriors attacked a British
wagon train, capturing and destroying 60 of the 120 wagons
and carrying off the wine and regimental plate of the 7th
Dragoon Guards. |
| On Christmas Day, 1850, Xhosa warriors,
flushed with earlier successes, attacked and destroyed three
military villages in the picturesque Tyumie Valley, killing
some 60 of the male occupants. |
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After an eventful day we overnight at
comfortable lodgings situated in the lush mountain forests
of the Hogsback. It is said that this beautiful setting
inspired Tolkien to write "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the
Rings". |
| Battlefield Tours Day 3: - Hogsback to The Waterkloof. |
| After breakfast we spend an hour or so
visiting some of the places of interest in this quaint
mountain village including the tiny chapel of "St. Patrick's
On the Hill". Our route then takes us over the mountain,
down Michels Pass, through the little villages of Seymour
and Balfour to Fort Armstrong. |
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Built in 1837 on a promontory in a loop of
the Kei River, it was described by Sir George Napier as "a
real little Gibraltar". Its purpose was to protect the Khoi
settlements in the Kat River Valley. In the 8th war. These
same Khoi rebelled against the British and occupied the
fort. On 22 January 1851, British and Colonial forces
attacked, killing some 120 of the defenders before the fort
was taken, one of the rare occasions where the British had
to attack one of their own forts. |
| Our route now takes us South through the
picturesque Kat River Valley, then West up Fullers Hoek Pass
in to the Fort Fordyce reserve. It was in these mountain
forests that British and Colonial troops struggled for
fourteen months against the Xhosa warriors and Khoi rebels,
learning the bitter lessons of guerrilla warfare. We visit
some of the sites of these long ago battles. |
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From Fort Fordyce we drive through the Bush
Nek pass which is on the route take by General Smuts when he
invaded the Cape Colony during the latter part of the Anglo
Boer War. Our destination is Molweni, private game reserve
where we will overnight, either in the comfortable bush camp
or one of the old refurbished farm houses. A day or night
game drive is included in our itinerary. |
| Battlefield Tours Day 4: - The Waterkloof to Port
Elizabeth. |
| After breakfast we head for Sipton Manor,
one of a large number of fortified farms built during the
wars as protection against attack. Here we are given a live
demonstration of the weaponry in use during the frontier
wars. |
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We then head South toward Grahamstown,
stopping briefly in the old frontier town of Fort Beaufort,
Fort Brown on the banks of the Fish River and through the
rugged Ecca Pass. On the heights overlooking the town we
revisit the Battle of Grahamstown where, in 1819, 10 000
Xhosa warriors attacked the small garrison, being repulsed
with 2000 killed. |
| We do a short city tour of Grahamstown known
for its typical old English architecture and its many places
of worship, education (including Rhodes University) and as
host city for the annual National Arts Festival. Our tour
includes some of these old buildings, Fort Selwyn and the
1820 Settlers' Monument. |
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We now head back to our starting point, Port
Elizabeth, but detouring slightly to pass through the Settler
village of Salem, besieged in the war 1834/35, where the
women and children sheltered in the rustic old church. |
| Our arrival at Port Elizabeth marks the end
of a typical four day Battlefield Tour, one of any number of
permutations on offer. An experience we know you will long
remember. |
Customised day and overnight battlefield tours, historical tours and
conducted tours in the Eastern Cape are available
on request.
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