We are not really into battlefields, but as the Battle of Blood River in 1838 is an important part of South African history, we decided to have a look. Especially as there are 2 museums, each for one side of the conflict, on their respective sides of the river where the battle was fought.
At the museum of the Boers, we learned, that this battle would not have taken place if the Zulu King had honoured the agreement that he had made with the Voortrekkers to live together peacefully. The Zulu king knew that they outnumbered the Voortrekkers and decided to overthrow them and that led to the Battle of Blood River, where 464 Voortrekkers , led by Andries Pretorius, fought against an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Zulu warriors. 3,000 Zulu died, 3 Vortrekkers were wounded.
The Blood River Memorial consists of 64 replica Voortrekker wagons cast in bronze, forming the defensive laager, which was formed for the battle, an impressive site.
On the other side of the river, lies the museum of the Zulu, where we learned a little about the Zulu culture, but the battle and the reason for it was not really mentioned. At the end of the tour, the guide just said: “In case you don’t know, we lost that battle”.
We continued to the Drakensberg that day, where we want to go on some hikes.