Fugitives’ Drift Lodge

Fugitives’ Drift Lodge, set in a 5000 acre game reserve with 22 km of river frontage, is a place where the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 is brought back to life. Overlooking both Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, the reserve includes the site where Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill lost their lives attempting to save the Queen’s Colour of their regiment.

Fugitives’ Drift is world-renowned for moving, passionate and remarkable battlefield tours to Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana. The tours to the battlefields were first conducted by David Rattray in 1990 and have captured the interests and imaginations of countless people for generations, as they did in Victorian Britain.

Fugitives’ Drift Lodge is the original establishment built by David and Nicky Rattray in 1989, and rebuilt and refurbished in 2017. Each of the ten spacious guestrooms has an en-suite bathroom with both inside and outside showers, air-conditioning, and a veranda with views of the plains flanking the Buffalo River gorge. There is also a sparkling swimming pool, with fantastic views out over Isandlwana and Rorkes’ Drift.

The dining room at the Fugitives’ Drift has always proved a huge asset to the warm atmosphere of the lodge and houses a remarkable collection of Zulu War memorabilia. Here delicious meals are taken communally around the long table, or- weather permitting out on the deck. Complementing this are the recently built Harford Library and the excellent Fugitives’ Drift Museum.

As well as the hugely popular battlefield tours, including those for children, the lodge also offers mountain biking, guided walks within the Reserve and fly fishing.