Sotondose’s Drift on the Buffalo River is not really a drift at all. Situated at the bottom end of an upside-down triangle with Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift comprising the other angles, access is down very steep rocky hillsides on either flank. At low water it consists of a difficult boulder-hopping crossing for foot traffic only. It is marked by a curiously shaped so-called “coffin rock’.
Coffin Rock (Talana Museum)
A couple of hundred yards upstream there is a large flat deep-water pool which is easily swimmable. That is, if one can swim in the first place, and is not dragged down by heavy clothing or equipment. I have always crossed the river here with my tour groups after a hot-and-sticky hike over the eight miles of the Fugitive’s Trail. Of course, we also took the precaution of rigging a lifeline across the river and had a Zodiac with an outboard motor and life jackets in case any person either got into difficulties or preferred a ride.
Curiously enough, there is also another large rock in the middle of this pool which, at full water level, also protrudes like a coffin. Readers who have watched “Zulu Dawn” will recognize the spot as where Lieutenant Vereker, lying pinned under his horse, makes a miraculous shot at a Zulu, triumphantly carrying off the Queen’s Colour, on the opposite bluff...
