Local tour guide, Lindizwe, in international bid to kick-start battlefields tourism
"That will be a good platform to pass on the message that South Africa and in particular Northern KZN is the ideal place to visit and learn about the past."
Lindizwe Dalton Ngobese is tracing his heritage back directly to the Zulu heroes of Isandlwana! He travels to England this week in a bid to get battlefields tourism back on track following the Covid-19 lockdown.
Ngobese is a special guest and speaker at the ‘Clash of the Empires’ exhibition, hosted in London by the Royal Philatelic Society from July 12-15.
He will be staying with renowned British military history author Ian Knight, who is also a regular visitor to Northern KZN’s famous battlefields.
The ‘Clash of the Empires’ exhibition showcases the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War (AZW) museum exhibition and is a four-day symposium that focuses on a wide range of topics related to the Anglo-Zulu War. The speakers include experts in the field from the UK, USA, Australia and South Africa.
Ngobese will be covering the topic ‘Modern-day Zulu impressions of the AZW legacy’ and will also be part of a panel discussion following the screening on the fourth day of the iconic 1963 movie ‘Zulu’, that did much to catapult the Zulu War into mainstream culture.
Born in Nquthu, in the eSgubudu area, Ngobese schooled at both Ncepheni Primary School and Gadeleni High School, where he matriculated in 1995.
“My subjects included History, but I wanted to study Law. However, that dream did not materialise due to financial reasons. In 1999, I got involved with the iSandlwana Lodge, owned by two American ladies, Pat Stubbs and her partner, Maggie Bryant. There, I found that history is the main reason why people come to iSandlwana,” he told the Courier
.
Later, he began to lead some of the tours to the battlefields and got registered as a tourist guide.
“I worked alongside the late Rob Gerrard as the lodge’s resident historian. Then there was a need for the Zulu side of the story of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.”
He is a descendant of iNkosi uMehlokazulu kaSihayo, who played a very important role in the outbreak of the war. kaSihayo was a junior commander of the regiment that fought on the left-hand side at iSandlwana. He fought a number of the Zulu wars and survived. He only died in 1906 in what was to be known as the Bhambatha Rebellion of 1906.
These family ties inspired Ngobese’s love for history.
“I found that their names were very high among those who fought in these battles, defending the Zulu Kingdom and what they believed was their right.”
The Covid-19 lockdown hit the tourist industry hard, with many accommodation establishments in the area being forced to close.
“We hope that this exhibition in London will rekindle the interest (in military history) and again attract overseas visitors to our famous battlefield sites. I hope the trip itself will be a highlight in my life and will help to spread the word to those who will be attending. We have so many enquiries regarding the event. That will be a good platform to pass on the message that South Africa and in particular Northern KZN is the ideal place to visit and learn about the past.”
