As a rather bold move, Fugitives’ Drift decided to host a mountain biking weekend. What a wonderful occasion it turned out to be. Thanks largely to the efforts of David Evans and Francois Reyneke the Lodge and Guest House were full.
Craig Gillies, true to form, was beautifully organised. He arrived in a helicopter; his bicycle kindly transported by Gillies Senior and Evans Carriers. Little wonder Craig had the energy, along with Craig Carter, to pedal all the way up a demanding ascent at the end of both days’ rides.
Saturday morning saw the cyclists departing at 8.00am with the temperature at 3°C. We all warmed up quickly, particularly Craig Carter who towed his 6 year-old son, Aidan, up all the hills! There were four “casualties” before the 7km mark - some riders opting to return to the Lodge.
Once the group left the gravel road, the cycling was glorious, passing through farmland. David Creasy, who had come all the way from Nelspruit, had a pin fall out of his suspension. Fortunately, we were able to find the pin, secure it with cable ties and resume cycling. David Evans cycled off alone at this point and put in some serious extra training for Tour de Tuli by taking a long circuitous route back to the refreshment vehicle. Needless to say, we were all very relieved when David finally turned up!
All in all, a 43km ride and great fun was had by all.
On Sunday we cycled 25km through the Isibindi Game Reserve, thanks to the kindness of the owner, Dennis Gehren. Wonderful game viewing and some demanding descents through valley thorn-veld. Special thanks to Craig Carter and Francos Reyneke for their help in plotting both our routes.
It must be a testament to the difficulty of the riding the most cyclists chose to return home via the road?! The atmosphere around the dinner table was fantastic with a great deal of banter and recollections of a wonderful weekend together.
A sincere thank you to all involved for a magic experience.
3 NIGHT SPECIAL AVAILABLE IN AUGUST
Fugitives’ Drift is offering a 3 night stay at either The Lodge or The Guest House between the:
9th and the 31st August 2010.
Lodge rate is: R2600 per person per night
Guest House rate is: R1800 per person per night
Cottage (Annex) rate is: R1400 per person per night
All rates include English breakfast, buffet lunch, 5 course dinner, tea & coffee, all tours and taxes.
Applies to new bookings only.
The itinerary for this three day special is:-
Day 1:
Arrival approx. 4pm.
Day 2 AM:
Tour to the Battlefield of Isandlwana.
Day 2 PM:
Guided walk to the Fugitives' Drift and graves of Melvill and Coghill VC
Day 3 AM:
Guided tour to Masondo, where the Zulus crossed the Buffalo River to attack Rorke's Drift.
Day 3 PM:
Tour to the Battlefield of Rorke’s Drift
Day 4 AM:
Depart
LECTURE AT THE RGS NOW CONFIRMED
We are very pleased to announce that Rob Caskie has been afforded the honour of speaking at the Royal Geographic Society in London on Wednesday 29th September 2010.
On behalf of the David Rattray Cycle Team, I would like to thank you sincerely for your generous sponsorship. Thanks to your kind donation, the Team raised an incredible R56,000 in private sponsorship and R15,000 from corporate sponsorship.
This is a truly remarkable figure. The money will go a long way to helping the David Rattray Foundation in its efforts to support the schools in the area around Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana.
Despite strong winds on the day of the Argus, the team all finished in good time and enjoyed the day enormously.
We truly appreciate your help and support.
Yours,
The David Rattray Foundation Argus Cycle Team
THE DAVID RATTRAY FOUNDATION CYCLE TEAM
Riding on the success of the annual RattRace, my son, Peter Rattray and a group of his friends have decided to form a cycle team in order to raise money for The David Rattray Foundation.
The team members are: Peter Rattray, Trent Key, Matt Kiely, Alain Walker, Hadley Finnucane and Steve Boraine.
The Team’s first challenge is the Argus, taking place on the 14th March 2010. The race follows a 110km route around the Cape Peninsula, beginning and ending in Cape Town’s CBD.
However, the individual team members are hoping to raise further sponsorship for their valiant efforts in the Argus. This sponsorship will go directly to the Foundation and will go a long way to helping the Foundation’s remarkable efforts in the communities around Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana.
Please sponsor Peter and support the efforts of this enthusiastic group of youngsters who have taken the initiative to make a difference, by going to his page on DoIt4Charity:-
Alternatively, you can make a deposit into the Foundation’s account. The details are:-
David Rattray Foundation
Standard Bank
Acc No: 060148330
Branch Code: 057725
SWIFT CODE: SBZAZAJJ
Please put: “yourname/Argus” as the reference.
COTTAGE RENOVATIONS COMPLETE
The renovations of the Cottage at the Lodge are now complete. Please have a look at our Lodge Photo Gallery to see some pictures.
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS NOW AVAILABLE
After much demand, Fugitives’ Drift is now pleased to offer for sale prints of William Whitelocke Lloyd’s remarkable watercolours, painted during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. There are six limited edition prints available – 500 prints of each painting will be produced. All these paintings are featured in David Rattray’s last book A Soldier Artist in Zululand.
William Whitelocke Lloyd was an officer of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot and saw active service during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. After leaving the army, he served as the official artist for the P&O and Union Castle Lines and serveral books were published of his artwork. His artwork from the Anglo-Zulu War lay unpublished for more than a century until they were found in an attic in England and shown to David Rattray.
Prints can ordered through Fugitives’ Drift Lodge, as can David’s book.
RATTRACE 2009
The 2009 RattRace was, as ever, a resounding success. With the support of SATIB, this year’s main sponsor, the RattRace went off without a hitch and R42,806 was raised in support of the David Rattray Foundation.
The race was won by Craig Carter in 1 hour exactly. He was heavily fined afterwards, not only for winning, but also for being so confident of victory that he made a few cell phone calls along the way. He won three nights for two at Umngazi River Bungalows.
Sixteen local Zulus rode this year; unfortunately two suffered mechanical failure. The first Zulu home was Thokozozi Mkhize who came in sixth with an excellent time of 1 hour and 13 minutes. He won this year’s race on the bicycle he won last year; he’s gathering quite a collection!
The board members of the David Rattray Foundation would like to thank all those who took part, as well as SATIB for their generous sponsorship of the event. A huge amount of fun was had by us all, but more importantly, a fantastic sum was raised which will go a long way in supporting the Foundation’s efforts in the area.
The following is from Nicky Rattray:-
Dear All,
Thank you all once again for your support and enthusiasm at the RattRace last weekend. I really appreciate the effort you all make to be here but most importantly, thank you for entering into the spirit of the weekend as you always do. And thank you for paying your fines with such good grace!
We had a few tense moments during during the thunder storm on Friday afternoon, but luckily the weather cleared and the Night Race went ahead as planned; congratulations are in order to all those who dressed up and particularly to Tanya McKensie who won the dress-up contest with her "Dotty" outfit. Responsibility for organising the route again fell to David Evans and Tanya McKensie, without whom this enormously enjoyable race would never take place. Thanks to their yearly efforts, the Night Race has become a permanent fixture in the RattRace weekend.
We raised R42,806 this year. A great acheivement, particularly considering there were slghtly fewer cyclists than last year. Thank you to Andrew Murray for his bid to retain possesion of his bicycle (and for not losing his sense of humour!) and to Malcolm McCullogh and Mark Read for their efforts to stop him! Once again, special thanks to Chris Harvie, who berated, cajoled, joked and fined his way out of favour with everyone; he achieved this without complaint and we are, as ever, enormoulsy grateful.
I would also like to thank this year's sponsors of the prizes, t-shirts, beaded bikes and water: SATIB, Umngazi River Bungalows, Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, Hotel Izulu, Al and Lynley Clarke, Charlie's Spar and Jowetts Cycles.
The date for next year's RattRace is the weekend of the 24th September.
We will be giving preference to all those who took part this year, so if you would like to book for 2010, please contact me at nicky@fugitivesdrift.com before the end of November. It should also be noted that all those who took part in 2008 and were not present in 2009 will be receiving a hefty fine; the same rules apply next year!
With kindest regards,
Nicky
COTTAGE RENOVATIONS
We at Fugitives’ Drift continue to concentrate on offering our popular and fascinating lectures on the Anglo-Zulu war, delivered by our world-class guides. While the newly completed Harford Library now forms the centre-piece of the Lodge, attention has now turned to our Cottage. The Cottage, or Annex, at the Lodge is an ideal choice for families or small groups and has always been popular. However, it has always been felt that the Cottage did not quite meet our high standards.
In that light, the Cottage is currently closed and will remain closed until the middle of November 2009 in order to renovate and improve upon what has always been sought-after accommodation.
When the Cottage reopens, it will be made up of two luxury twin rooms, both en-suite, and a sitting-room. This improvement will be accompanied by an increased rate of R1290pppn as of November 2009.
On the 15th April 2008, Dr. Peter Rattray received an honourary Doctorate from the University of KwaZulu Natal on behalf of his son. Dr Rattray said the degree was one of the best tributes to a man "..who loved South Africa unreservedly. David had lived among Zulu people most of his life and was steeped in Zulu history and could speak the language."
On presenting the honorary degree, vice-chancellor Professor Dasarath Chetty said David Rattray had been a brilliant and extraordinary orator who shared his deep love and passion for the environment, Zulu culture and the country through his work. "The University of KwaZulu Natal is privileged and takes immense pride in honouring this unique individual, whose work symbolised the very essence of African scholarship."
David's mother, Gillian Rattray, his wife Nicky and three sons Andrew, Douglas and Peter were also present at the ceremony. Nicky said she was "extremely proud that the university saw fit to honour David in this way."
A Year On, The Legacy Continues
For us at Fugitives’ Drift, 2007 was an emotional year. With the death of David Rattray on 26th January 2007, life for us changed quite dramatically. David touched the world in so many different ways, not least of which was his remarkable and unrivalled talent for telling the stories of the Anglo-Zulu War. As Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP remembered David during the Service of Remembrance in London: “he had uncommon courage, penetrating intelligence, humour and grace”. It need not be said that David will always be missed and never replaced. However, with Nicky Rattray at the fore, David’s drive, determination and direction will always be with us here at Fugitives’ Drift. Nicky will continue to maintain the remarkably high standards in all aspects of the Lodge and Guest House which she and David strove for nearly 19 years ago. She also now oversees the work of the David Rattray Foundation which has been established in David’s memory in order to continue his work supporting the local communities, particularly in the field of education.
The battlefield tours continue with aplomb. Rob Caskie leads a team of lecturers who continue the highest standard of lectures both in South Africa and abroad. At 7.30am each morning, Rob, Joseph Ndima or George Irwin roll off towards Isandlwana, continuing to captivate our guests with these remarkable stories of these remarkable battlefields. While Rob has recently undertaken trips to the UK to continue his popular series of talks (there are more to come!), the main focus of our efforts here is on the fields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. These two remarkable battles between the British and Zulu Empires, one a fantastic Zulu victory, the other a remarkable British one, are well-known and well documented; our knowledge though, is ever changing. New discoveries, demonstrated by David’s final publication, A Soldier Artist in Zululand, are as important to us as they are to any historian. Indeed, for us, this history is our passion. We believe this passion is evident to all of our guests. We believe this is what sets Fugitives’ Drift apart.
These battlefields, indeed the whole region, are characterised by the most remarkable geography which, to quote David, “literally leaps out of the pages of She and Nada the Lilly…”. This geography, which was certainly enough to inspire Sir Henry Rider Haggard, is just as awe-inspiring to our guests today. Thanks to the remarkable terrain in which we find ourselves, while Rob, Joseph and George take our guests out onto the battlefields, Fugitives’ Drift can offer so much more. Both the Lodge and Guest House lie within a 5,000 acre game reserve which is teeming with wildlife. We have over 250 species of birds on the property, ranging from the Purple-crested Lourie to the Yellow Weaver, many of which can be seen from the comfort of your veranda. Our nine horses are as comfortable around our ten giraffe as they are around our zebra and wildebeest; a horse ride through the reserve will offer the most fantastic views of this remarkable property and its flora and fauna. Equally, if our two swimming pools are not adventurous enough, a walk down to Fugitives’ Drift on the Buffalo River will afford an opportunity not only to swim in pools and rapids, but also to try your hand at a spot of fishing.
A year on, the legacy continues.
DARATONGUS RATTRAYI
A new species of millipede has been discovered by Michelle Hamer in the Nkandla Forest in Zululand, south of Fugitives' Drift. Michelle has chosen to name the millipede Doratogonus Rattrayi in honour of David Rattray.
This honour is particularly fitting as David had a deep interest in entomology - he held an Honours degree in Entomology from the Univeristy of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. He would also have been particularly pleased that this new entomological discovery was in Nkandla - David spent much time over the years exploring Nkandla and the Mome Gorge where King Cetshwayo is buried.
Below is an extract from Michelle Hamer's paper regarding Doratogonus Rattrayi:-
Type material: Holotype: NMSA 21970, 1 male, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º43’38.592”S, 31º07’58.281”E, 1121 m asl, found in forest along dirt road, 19 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray. Paratypes: NMSA 21791, 1 male, 1 female, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º43’38.650”S, 31º08’00.155” E, 1121 m asl, 19 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray. NMSA 21792, 1 male, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º44’44.639”S, 31º08’34.279”E, 1040 m asl, Forest, on trunk of Iphahla tree in forest, 21 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray.
Etymology: Named for David Rattray, world-renowned Ango-Zulu War historian, and promoter of the oral history tradition of the Zulu people, who through his story-telling inspired people of all ages and from all walks of life. Rattray was murdered at his home, Fugitive’s Drift, in January of 2007.
Diagnosis: Gonopods of D. rattrayi similar to D. avius Hamer, 2000 and D. major (Lawrence, 1965). These three species certainly closely related, sharing serrated process on the median margin of the anterior gonocoxal fold, dense, long setae covering distal region of the anterior gonocoxal fold, broad femoral process curved through 360º, and lamellate, folded proximal region of postfemoral process. In addition, all three species large-bodied, with yellow legs. Doratogonus rattrayi distinguished from other two species by serrated distal margin of femoral process, less curved postfemoral process, and longer, less curved apical, median spine on anterior gonocoxal fold.
