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Film location set of Zulu
ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Just out of curiousity has anyone on here ever visited the location set of Zulu, just wondered if there was anything left of the buildings that were used or were they demolished after filming. Regards Stephen
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Jamie


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 149
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Thanks Jamie very interesting
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Sawubona


Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 1179
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Yes, I drove out of my way simply to visit the site. Oddly, it didn't seem very well known where ZULU was filmed in the Royal Natal National Park, but one of the rangers (an elderly Zulu) watched it's filming when he was much younger and directed me to the exact location. I took a lot of photos, but only had memory to guesstimate the scenes. Mel, one of the other members on this site must have had a DVD player with him or something because he's got some outstanding shots he took from exactly where the cameras were set up back in '63. Great stuff. "ngiyaxolisa" has a slide show on Youtube of the ZULU location and somewhere earlier there was a posting of the geographic coordinates, so you can even check it out on Google Earth.

The Drakensberg is a pretty impressive mountain range (and I've seen a few mountain ranges) and The Amphitheater, the backdrop of many scenes in ZULU is arguably the most dramatic section of all the 'Berg-- certainly the most breathtaking in the "Northern 'Berg".
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ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Sounds like a great place to visit when I eventually pluck up the courage to go, Melvin refers to the wedding kraal in his excellent article, what is the/a wedding kraal? thanks Stephen
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Sawubona


Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 1179
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"The Wedding Song of the Zulu Maidens! Mass Wedding of the 2000 Zulu Warriors and the 2000 Zulu Maidens!"

The "wedding kraal" is the location of the "T and A" dancing in the beginning of the movie. I missed that particular location (well, actually I didn't miss it as much as I didn't realize where it was), but if you take note of the lay of the land behind some of the dancing and some of the actual battle, you can't help but notice some of the same landscape features. When the sentries are talking about how there's no moisture in the soil, the set for wedding kraal is behind the camera but within sight of the cameraman were to look in the other direction.

Seriously, if you're ever fortunate enough to get to KwaZulu/Natal, you've got to visit the Drakensberg and The Amphitheater! Those two heights anchoring the plateau are each some 5000 feet tall and the cliff between them is about five miles wide and 3000 feets worth of sheer drop. It gets better-- depending on the season, there's a waterfall near the middle that's the second highest waterfall in the world! It's just so awesome that it takes your breath away, never mind that it's holy ground to hard-core ZULU fans.

I've never seen Scotland nor The Highlands, but from the pictures I've seen, you might feel like you were there in much of South Africa. Both have the same rugged terrain that is the geographic hallmark of new upheavals-- much like our Rockies and not at all like the old Appalachian Mountains where I live.
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rich


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 897
Location: Long Island NY USA
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Saw..Appalachians, eh? All I get is flat flat plain over here on LI. Have to thank those retreating glaciers. Now I know why I have fascination for Everest and the Himalayas...... Wink

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ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Sounds an awrsome place as you say, just a recommendation if you ever visit Scotland go to Skye and take the back road around the Cullins it is spectacular, the West coast of Scotland is a beaufiful area, we stayed in a place called Plockton last year where they filmed Hamish McBeth and made it our base for exploring Skye lovely village, but go at the end of the season so that both the midges and the Wallace Arnold's don;t get you.
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Sheldon Hall


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 377
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It was a condition of the film unit's use of the Park that they return the site to its original condition after filming was complete. All the sets were demolished (i.e., the RD camp and the Zulu "kraal"/village) and the artificial river crossing (created for the film by an army of labourers and bulldozers) was restored to its original state of a small stream. See the pics and further details in my book.
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ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Thanks Sheldon, what a shame could you imagine the interest that the set would have attracted today, suppose it is an enviromental issue, I liked the film Miss Potter and made a holiday of going around the film set locations last year, probably sad I know but we saw some beautiful places in the lakes we would never had got to or heard about, still have a few of the poster film set locations maps if anyone wants one. Will definitely have a read of the book. Thanks Stephen
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Mel


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 345
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When I first visited the Film Set, I was suprised to find how small the Sets actually are, especially the width of the river. The wedding kraal is a lot smaller than it looks in the film. It's also on a substantial slope. Not flat ground at all. The hospital set location these days is under tall grass. You can walk through it but you've got no chance of spotting any coiled up snake.

Sheldon
As you know, the film company dug out the river banks to make them appear wider. They didn't restore the banks. You can clearly see the effects of the digging on Google Earth.

Here is a photo of the hospital set location.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3633/3334388131_e7d2e8b9f7.jpg


Here is a photo of the kraal set location
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3334424445_14976cb5d6.jpg

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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Mel

Presumably what is described above as "the wedding kraal" was intended to depict one of the King's amakhanda? As Cetshwayo was at Ulundi on 22 January, I've always assumed the opening scene was intended to show the king "at home" (notwithstanding the apparent ability of a missionary to somehow leave Ulundi and warn the post at Rorke's Drift about an impending attack between the time it took for the news of Isandlwana to have reached Ulundi and the arrival of an impi at the Drift!!!)

These amakhanda - or the ones used by the kings as their main residence - were huge, around two miles or so in circumference with 1,000 or more huts, so it would have been quite an undertaking to reproduce that on the film set, although they did quite a good job as far as the interior scenes of the ikhanda were concerned, with the shot of the chap running across the "parade ground" to bring news to the King.

It would certainly need to be on quite a slope for authenticity's sake (as they all were) rather than on flat ground. They managed this OK in the film, as you'll recall the messenger appears to be running up the slope to meet the king.

Your photos are amazing - almost as if they're taken from the film itself.

Peter
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ayr41


Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Ayr Scotland
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Interesting to note in Sheldon's excellent book of the two hotels used, did either of these hotels assuming they are still trading retain any of the props used and is there a display anywhere of the props, or is it a case of seeing what comes up on ebay from time to time.
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Mel


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 345
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I didn't see anything connected with the film whilst staying at the Mont Aux Sources hotel apart from the Zulu guide who remembered witnessing the filming taking place.

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Film location set of Zulu
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