Bergville Travel Guide

 mvtouring Says:  Bergville is essentially a farming comunity. I took this photo of Brahman's at one of the farmstalls where we stopped. 

 mvtouring Says:  I love stopping off at farm stalls to see what they have on offer. this one had some very very nice biltong and droe wors, and we made a point of buying some for "padkos" 

 mvtouring Says:  This little "village" is approx 15km outside of Bergville. It is really a fun place to go and walk around. They have various shops here, a restaurant, playground for the children and they seem to turn everything into art. 

 mtncorg Says:  Another large mass grave can be found separate from those soldiers buried amongst the British trench. These men were mostly part of the Royal Lancaster Regiment. Losses were listed as about 343 British dead with another 563 wounded and 187 captured as opposed to 68 Boer dead... 

 mtncorg Says:  History is remembered in different ways by which outlook has. The British monument was put on the hill first - they lost the battle but won the war. But years after the war was won, Boers eventually reversed the results of the war. A second interpretation of the battle was... 

 mtncorg Says:  Approximately 70 Boers died here in the fighting and of the Boer graves on Spion Kop, none of the men were identified. Identification of dead soldiers after a battle is a fairly recent phenomenom. For example, during the American Civil War, soldiers would put pieces of paper... 

 mtncorg Says:  These little peaks on the northeast side of Spion Kop allowed the Boers - riflemen on the Aloe Knoll and several field guns situated on the Twin Peaks - to lay a wicked fire down upon the British positions atop Spion Kop. Boer flanking attacks from the Knoll were beaten off.... 

 mtncorg Says:  Effective Boer crossfire, Boer direct pressure, heat and lack of water forced the British slowly back from to their trench by noon. General Woodgate himself was mortally wounded and the British didn’t know who was in command for awhile. Heat and casualties began to wear on... 

 mtncorg Says:  The British Monument is located near where General Woodgate had his headquarters. The monument commemorates the sacrifices of the different units and men who fought here on the Imperial side. It represents the first interpretation of the battle - the British version, a... 

 mtncorg Says:  These mass graves are the final resting place for many from the Lancashire Fusiliers. After the battle, the dead were buried in what remained of the British trenches. Both Boer and Briton lie in unknown graves as there was little way the bodies could be identified after... 

 mtncorg Says:  Once atop the Kop, the British dug a trench of some 400 meters - noted on the battlefield by white paint splashed rocks - facing north. Little remains of the trench today though it is thought the trench was only 40 cm deep with a rampart of more rock and dirt that may have... 

 mtncorg Says:  A British bayonet assault skwered one of the Boer sentries - he is buried here - and the rest of the defenders fled to warn their comrades. Botha, in reply to the new British presence, repositioned field guns and rifles and sent an attack force of 400 up the northeast slopes... 

 mtncorg Says:  By 3 am the British were ready. Lines were formed and the mere 100 Boer defenders were chased quickly from the top of Spion Kop. Boer commander General Louis Botha had thought Spion Kop could be defended from surrounding lower hills which was one of the reasons there were so... 

 mvtouring Says:  Outside of Bergville, we discoved the Waffle Hut situated next to the weaving & candle making factory shop. You have a choice of waffle's or pancakes here with various fillings. Some you would not expect to find on waffle's but hey try something new, it might just be very... 

 mvtouring Says:  Our first stop was for coffee and to my delight the owners who are Indian had a great spread of cakes and other delicasies on offer. I loved this little place as they also sold some spices in small packets at extremely reasonable prices.