Many years ago, George Macdonald Fraser wrote a book called The Hollywood History of the World, which showed how our perception of history has been shaped by popular films.

The Americans, for instance, have neatly appropriated all the glory of World War II, whether they deserve it or not.  In fact, if Hollywood can be believed, Americans have won every war ever fought, even those during Greek and Roman times before America was even invented.  That’s the power of the movies, we suppose. However, one war that owes its world-wide popularity mostly to an English film called Zulu Dawn is the Anglo-Zulu War or, more specifically, the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.  Films have not been made about the victory at Isandlwana, but Zulu Dawn was made about the return match at Rorke’s Drift – and for once the events at that battle are so astonishing that the film did not need to embroider or change history much to create a thrilling story. Historians find it a matter of snobbery to know exactly which events in history are real and which are invented, but apart from taking a few liberties with the truth in the film, the twin battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift are more real and thrilling than any film can make them. The best way to immerse yourself in the adventures of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift is by starting off at Isandlwana Lodge.  The Lodge, which celebrated its first decade this month, is perched on a ledge of rock overlooking the brooding mass of Isandlwana.  Built in the shape of a Zulu shield, with soaring glass windows, thatch, stone and wood, it is an organic expression of the strength of the warriors who met on the field below. The lecture begins on the stone verandah of the Lodge looking across the huge plain of grass to the crouching hill where the first battle took place.  It was a defeat to the British invaders that would reverberate around the world and would establish the Zulu nation for ever as a force to be reckoned with. Resident historian Rob Gerrard delivers the lecture and subsequent talks on both battlefields, going through the waves of action in an almost eye-witness delivery.  He barks out the tale in the same tone that a British officer would use to a private with a dirty face, and it is surprisingly effective to be given a tale of military bravado in a sort of army shorthand. It does not matter if the listener has no connection to the people concerned – there is something universal about tales of desperation and bravery.  It does not matter either who the combatants were or on which side they fought, the only thing that matters is the extraordinary valour and foolhardy courage that battles tend to bring out. While the battle of Isandlwana covered an area of 337 sq km and is breathtaking in its range, Rorke’s Drift covered an area of four tennis courts.  Rob’s telling brings home the sweep of battle of the plain, the subsequent flight to Rorke’s Drift, the claustrophobia, the heat of the burning buildings, the desperation of 400 men facing 4 000, and the suicidal bravery of the Zulus, who kept throwing themselves against an army just as desperate as themselves.  There are quite a few occasions when one has to blink hard to dispel the emotion and perhaps the matter-of-fact telling makes it even more poignant.  And perhaps a little, but very telling, touch is that at sunset every day a member of museum staff goes out and lowers the flag, and in one’s imagination you can hear the Last Post. It is very difficult, both in pictures and in words, to capture the atmosphere of Isandlwana Lodge.  One can talk about the tasteful furnishings and understated luxury, look at pictures of the well-appointed rooms and stone bathrooms, walk the wide stone verandah or the narrow stone stairs, but this is only part of the magic.  I loved the Queen-of-Sheba-type bathrooms, the peace of the early morning pearly-pink views, the sound of cowbells, the smell of smoke and the chatter of children going off to school from the valley below. What really leaves an impression is the expanse of tawny plain to the crouching mountain, the silence of the wind in the grass.  It is easy, in the early-morning mist, to imagine the hundreds of warriors leaving their prints as they run over the ground and into the history books. Apart from the battlefield stories, the Lodge also offers dramatic visits to a Sangoma and local homesteads, to get insight into the traditional rural way of life.  The people in the valley are keenly aware of the benefits that tourism brings them, and they call Pat Stubbs, the driving force behind the lodge, as their ‘gift from Heaven’ as she has brought tourism prosperity to the valley. For a taste of the lodge and its experience, go to 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwPlfnEl4z0