"ZULU" Film Location 1964/2005 Royal Natal National Park

A segment ripped from a much longer home video of our trip through South Africa. Taken at Royal Natal National Park in KZN. This is at The Amphitheater in the Northern Drakensberg and was the filming location for the movie Zulu. It was hoped at the time that the movie could be filmed at the real Rorke's Drift, but it was still an active mission station in the Sixties. The abandoned buildings are the Royal Natal Hotel where many of the cast and crew stayed back in '65 during filming. Mono sound from the original soundtrack by Sir John Barry. He reinterpreted this theme in the new "Cry The Beloved Country".

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• kwazulu
• kzn
• natal
• Zulu
• Royal
• Natal
• Park
• 'berg
• Drakensberg
• Amphiteater
• rourke's
• drift
• zulu
• dawn
• stanley
• baker
• michael
• caine
• RNNP

[Fartsurmonde]

The Zulu Movie was shot in the next valley away from where the battle actually was fought, as the authorities would not allow it to be disturbed by the makers of the movie.

[ngiyaxolisa]

I'm sorry. but ZULU was filmed at the Royal Natal National Park which is a long, long way (about 40km) from Rorke's Drift where the battle actually took place. That's The Amphitheater, a dramatic cliff formation in the Northern Drakensberg near Winterton, in the background of many scenes in the movie. Much of the cast and crew stayed in the now abandoned Royal Natal Hotel pictured in my video. The real location of the battle was still an active mission back in 1960's, as you suggest.

[Fartsurmonde]

Thanks for that -although I did see a TV documentry about the making of the movie not so long ago, and it said it was shot in the next valley.But, I do not dispute what you say as TV does not always get it right.Many Thanks.

[ngiyaxolisa]

Where the confusion might have arisen is that the mission scenes of ZULU were filmed in the "main" valley, the one with the Tugela River (actually no more than a stream at that point) and the scenes of the Zulu village in the beginning were filmed over a nearby ridge and literally "in the next valley". For you hardcore ZULU fans like myself, one can see the exact location of the shoot in Google Earth at 28*41'31"S and 28*57'09"E. The hotel can be clearly discerned in the sat photo.

[FredFoswell]

ngiyaxolisa,

I think maybe Fartsurmonde might be confusing this with Zulu Dawn. Zulu Dawn was filmed at Siphezi hill, which is at the other end of the plain from Isandlwana, as you are probably well aware.

I'm sure that is what he was thinking of.

[Fartsurmonde]

Thank you, that does probably fit the confusion and thanks for your explanation and google co-ords!