About - African Battlefields

We pay tribute and celebrate the courage of the many British and Commonwealth soldiers, the sacrifice of the Boer forces and the warriors of the mighty Zulu empire who gave battle on the frontier of Queen Victoria's British Colonial Africa, we travel into the Battlefields of the South African Wars of the 19th century of the British, the Boers and the Zulu's.

Welcome, I am Bob Wood owner of African Battlefields a South African based specialist tour operation.

Originally from the UK and was lucky enough to have traveled most of the country never missing the opportunity to visit places of Historic significance of which there is abundance.
I started researching the South African Battlefields about 1984 and later had the chance of moving to South Africa at the end of the 1980's during the political changes.

All of our Battlefields Tours are personally conducted by myself with complete impartiality; the Battlefields are not just an interest but a passion.

Our clients are supplied with personalized information packs of the Battlefields that we visit; the documentation is from my own research none of which has been published.

There are of course many hundreds of books available about the Battlefields of Africa, although these historic sites are of a bygone age walking in the footsteps of 19th century British Colonial Africa can still be very emotional to the descendants of those men in red and khaki who where guarding the frontier of Victoria's Empire.

"The more I learn the more I realize how little I know"

Bob Wood.
Battlefields Historian.
African Battlefields is a division of Interface Travel cc.
South Africa.

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African Battlefields Client Testimonials

TripAdvisor - African Battlefields
One of the BEST tours ever! For those of you who love history and traveling to places off the beaten path, this is the tour for you. You'll never find a more professional tour guide than Bob. He provides individualized tours and services for his clients that truly go above and beyond, complete with a personalized tour itinerary and brochure complete with historical timelines and descriptions of the Boer and Zulu War battlefields you will be visiting on your trip. I went by myself this past July, and Bob met me at the airport and gave me a personalized individual tour throughout KwaZulu-Natal, visiting the battlefields that I wanted to see, while throwing in a few extras as well. I had a great experience, learned a lot, and would highly recommend this tour to anyone.

Victor Cass (USA) - July 2019

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10 Day Tour
We are a family of 4 who traveled to South Africa for the Christmas holidays. We had a fantastic time on our 10 day tour which included Blood River, Pilgrims Rest, Blyde River Canyon, Kruger Park, St Lucia and Dundee. My 2 boys had an amazing time as along with many other things they had the opportunity to see the big 5, milk a goat and stroke a baby crocodile. The tour was very well planned and informative thanks to Bob.

Irgi Family (UK) - December 2015

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Isandhlwana & Rorke's Drift Tour
We had a superb time with Bob on our 3 day tour to the Zulu battlefields which culminated in a boyhood dream coming true for me with a visit to Rorke's Drift. Our time with Bob was thoroughly enjoyable from the moment he picked us up at the airport to the drop-off at the next stop on our tour of South Africa and we would recommend his services to anyone who wants to experience South Africa's many historical sites and other places of interest without having to do so via the usual mass tourism market. Throughout our time with Bob he was attentive to our needs, very informative, patient, helpful and amusing whilst not being intrusive in any way - a perfect traveling companion who we would happily travel with again should the opportunity arise. Bob's knowledge of the history of the South African battlefields is immense and his easy going manner and presentation of the facts brought the story to life in a way I doubt could have been bettered by anyone. In addition to that the experience of sharing stories over dinner and a beer in the Garrulous Griffin after our days of sightseeing were an added bonus. A fantastic experience which we will never forget and we would like to thank Bob for making our visit so enjoyable and wish him every success with his future ventures.

Mike & Carol Lewis, Abercrave, South Wales (UK) - April 2014

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Memories of a lifetime
Coming from the USA, I was quite insecure about travel in South Africa. I had read about the Anglo-Boer and Anglo-Zulu wars and was anxious to visit the famous battlefields in the area. When I found Bob Wood's website, he settled all my insecurities about safety, travel, money, subject matter expertise and lodging. His responsiveness to my enquiries was first rate and immediate. None of the other tour options I contacted were as responsive as Bob. When I arrived in the country, all the anticipated care and education actually came to pass, much to my surprise because I thought Bob's promises through emails were too good to be true. Bob took great care of me and gave me a first rate education on the overall conflicts and the specific battlefields. His tour guide expertise was first rate and his knowledge as a historian was everything I could want. He paints a clear and exciting picture of events in the 1800s through early 1900s that were so important in forming South Africa's culture and history. I even added a one day tour of Pretoria to help flesh out even more of the history of the country. My tour lasted 6 days and it was filled with information and memories.
I can sum it up in one word...Fantastic!
Thanks Bob!

Lon Bruso (USA) - May 2013

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Bob's Knowledge makes the tour great
We had a great three days with Bob, his knowledge and professionalism were exemplary. We came away from the tour having enjoyed ourselves whilst learning and appreciating the true history of the sites. Bob could not have been more helpful, from our initial contact, to being picked up, driven carefully across SA, to giving us a customized information pack. He could not have been more helpful.
He is highly recommended.

Jo and David Frost (UK) - January 2013

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South African Battlefields with Bob Wood
We deeply appreciate our tour of Anglo-Zulu, Anglo-Boer, and Boer-Zulu battlefields with Bob Wood, who was an exemplary guide in terms of his breadth and depth of knowledge, his detailed accounts of battles bringing alive the iconic sites, and his consideration of his clients' needs during the trip. He prepared a customized packet of information for us and included stellar museums and local insight as well. We have long wanted to experience in person this significant part of South Africa's history and were delighted to have found an excellent guide who exceeded our expectations. Just bring your comfortable clothes and shoes, binoculars and camera - Bob will take it from there! Highly recommended!
Thanks again!.

Dick and Cheryl Mendoza (USA) - October 2012

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I really enjoyed your tour - you were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, cheerful and unfailingly helpful throughout. The pre booking arrangements were also very efficient and flexible. Happy to recommend your services to anyone and everyone!

Malcolm Johnson (UK) - June 2012

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This is just a note of thanks for making the recent trip to the battlefields most enjoyable. I think you pitched it just right from my own personal perspective and I enjoyed your company very much.

Adrian Whitehead (UK) - June 2012

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Thank you so very much for your exceptional service given us not just in the detailed and thoughtful planning of our tour, underlined by the care put into the welcome package given at the outset, illustrating where our journey would take us, and the background history to it, but the personal attention to us that made us "Royalty" for six days of fascinating insight to the British campaigns fought in South Africa in such close chronological order.

Whereas we requested a tour of the Anglo-Boer battlefield with perhaps a Zulu site thrown in, you gave us a walk through the whole history of it all, from the very beginning at Elandslaagte to conclusion in Pretoria, an overview that exceeded all expectation, and with much humour too! We are so pleased to have your extensive notes to keep as a reference work in our library in Gower.

Richard and I are most grateful to you for giving us a trip the likes of which we will not be able to replicate, and which will remain ever a highlight of our lives.

Heather and Richard Laurie (UK) - December 2011

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Bob, thank you very much for the Zulu Battlefields tour you organized and led for us 13-15 March.

Visiting Isandhlwana, Fugitives Drift and Rorkes' Drift were life long objectives for me. Your grasp of South African history and professionalism as a guide were first rate. Although the tour was our objective, the perspective you shared with us on life, politics and the economics of South Africa were perhaps equal in importance to us.

I will recommend you as a tour guide to any of my friends that may travel to South Africa in the future.

Major Coghill - (Canadian Armed Forces) - NATO Contingent

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Hi Bob, Thank you for a wonderful visit to the Battlefields we all had a really enjoyable and informative few days with you.
I have been reading up on your notes and checking out various web sites and 'You Tube' film clips on the areas we visited which have spurred me on to read more about this fascinating period in our history.

The arrangement you made could not have been improved upon and we will certainly have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone considering visiting any of the battlefields. I hope your trip back from Scottburgh was without problems and you managed to get all the way back home to Pretoria OK.

I'm starting to put together a disc of all the photos from our trip, including of course all those taken with you, and as soon as it's finished I'll mail you off a copy so you can look at it when you are old and gray and past running around the country like you do.

Good luck with the business you deserve all the success you can get.

Best regards
John Young (UK)

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Bob Greetings----received your DVD OK on Monday and JY is currently viewing it--many thanks.

May I add my own thanks also for our tour --it was excellent and your knowledge and company made it all the more worthwhile---

I have already passed this info on to our Rotary Travel Agent friend and will put it on the appropriate web sites.

Regards
Alistair Cheyne OBE (UK)

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