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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:37 pm

I was wondering how wide is this area, from Isandlwana hill and the stoney hill.

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:59 pm

At a rough guess, it is about 200 metres wide, although the slope of the small koppie is quite gradual at the bottom. In comparison, the 'nek' to the north is more than 500 metres wide.

KIS

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:30 am

Yes, as Keith suggests there's not really a precise answer to the question. I think one has to include the insignificant or easily passable lower slopes of Mahalabamkhosi/Black's Koppie/the Stony Koppie on the left (from the Zulu side) and the lower slopes of the southern crag of Isandlwana in the overall estimate of width. There's also, analagously, a bit of an egg timer effect, if you take my meaning - so precisely where in the bottleneck of the timer one takes the measurement is also important. But let's assume the precise centre point.

So to cut a long story sideways, I would go a bit further and say the answer is 300 yards. It would not necessarily be an easy rifle shot with a Martini to drop a moving single man target.

I think we'd have to be standing there in a committee with a very long piece of string to come up with a commonly agreed answer!! Perhaps some of our local correspondents could take a ball of string out with them next time they visit! (Assuming that nobody runs to a laser range finder!!)

Regards as ever

Mike

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:35 pm

Thanks to both of you, i was wondering, if their had been a bit more time, if Younghusbands Company or whoever could have used their position to have tried to have kept the 'saddle' area not clear, due to a target rich area, but at least caused the Zulus attack in this area to have stalled.

wasn't sure though how wide the area was

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:38 pm

For a good perspective of it, go into my stories and my 125 years of Isandlwana article, the photograph was taken from the top of Blacks Koppie and is the view across the distance.
Neil

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:12 pm

Scarletto

It would certainly have been possible if they had the ammunition left to do it. But there's the rub...they would have run out not long after getting up to the ledge.

Regards as ever

Mike

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:52 pm

http://www.isandlwana1879.co.uk/last_stands_and_fugitives_dr.htm

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:55 pm

Thank you to all of you, once again most helpful, interesting photographs, they certainly show me, the saddle was a lot wider than i imagined, gives me a better idea of the last stands, and how all them Zulus crammed into the area!!!!