BOMBING THE BATTLEFIELDS

BERG & BUSH DESCENT, KWAZULU-NATAL

- BY JON MINSTER

EVEN IF YOU HAVE ONLY A PASSING interest in South African history, you'll have heard of the Battle of Spioenkop - one of the most brutal, bloody clashes of the Anglo-Boer War, in which British forces suffered heavy losses trying to seize the famous hilltop from the Boer defenders.

'Spion Kop', the British spelling, is still slang for a type of terraced stand at various UK football stadiums. The most famous 'Kop' is at Anfield, since many of the young men who died in 1900 had enlisted from Liverpool and surrounds.

Before today, I had an abstract idea of the significance of the hill; but now history is coming alive under my tyres as I ride the 50-switchback climb to the top, following the same route that the Boers used to surprise the British below the summit. Sunlight glints through the acacia canopy as the grassland below gets further and further away.

The top of the mountain has become a pilgrimage site for many UK families, who visit this part of KZN annually to pay their respects. And it’s sacred for mountain bikers too, because on the third day of the Berg & Bush Descent, you ride off the top and finish the three-day stage race with a legendary, uninterrupted 15km downhill to Em'Seni Camp on the banks of the Tugela River.