Technical Difficulties

Please stand by as we are having technical difficulties.   The reason we love where we are in South Africa is its remoteness from major population centers.  The downside is that the Internet does not always work or if it does, cannot do all that we ask of it.  I have been trying for several days now to download images to the Blog but cannot get this done for some reason.  While we wait for this to improve, here is a bit of history from this amazing region where Rita and I are staying.

Zululand

Zulu Nyala Safari Lodge is located in KwaZulu-Natal Province in the Eastern part of South Africa.  However, the largest part of the Province, including the Big 5 animal reserves where we are staying, is taken up with what is called Zululand.  The people are called amiZulu meaning “People of Heaven” and they represent the largest ethnic group within South Africa today.  Many call Zululand the real Africa as it is very rural with lots of wilderness, small farms and no large population centres.  Today tourists come here mainly for the wildlife viewing or adventure activities such as sport fishing, surfing, trekking, bungee jumping, etc. The West has been fascinated with the proud amaZulu ever since the first British settlers arrived here in 1824 and were granted permission by King Shaka to trade with his people.   Shaka was born in 1787, the illegitimate son of a Zulu Chiefs wife and was banished, along with his mother, from the tribe.  However, by 1819 he had conquered all 13 Zulu tribes and forged them into the largest single nation ever seen in southeastern Africa.  In 1828 Shaka was murdered by two half-brothers who then fought each other for the throne. Dingaan survived and became King.  He distrusted the “White Wizards” who were coming into his territory more frequently and in 1838 ordered the massacre of the Boer Trekkers who had arrived from Cape Town to look for new farmland.  Retaliation for the Boers came 10 months later at the Battle of Blood River where such a massive loss of lives created a split of the Zulu nation that lasted a generation.  In 1873, the Zulu nation was reunited again under King Cetshwayo.  But the British, who had established very profitable goldfields in his territory, wanted to place him under the supervision of the English Governor.  Cetshwayo refused and the British declared war against the Zulu’s on January 22, 1879.  The Battle of Islandwana was England’s most crushing defeat in the region.  Nine months later 5,000 British redcoats advanced on the King’s Kraal (his ruling encampment), raised it to the ground, captured the King and exiled him to England.  In 1883, Cetshwayo was reinstated as a puppet King with no real powers and the Zulu empire was finally broken.  After South Africa became a democratic country, the amiZulu people reinstated the monarchy within Zululand.  Today they freely celebrate their traditions and rituals including the annual Zulu Kings Reed Dance where some 15,000 young amiZulu women congregate to dance for their King in the hopes of being chosen as one of his wives.   

 

Hopefully I will be back with my trip updates and images in the very near future.  Thanks for your patience.  Oh, and yes we are having an incredible time over here.