rorkesdriftvc.com :: View topic

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 12:43 pm

does anyone know where I can buy OS type maps of the battlefield areas

thanks for any help
john

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:54 pm

John

You can purchase modern maps from the Chief Directorate of Surveys and Mapping, in Cape Town. The cost is very modest but they do not, I think, mail material outside South Africa.

The maps you are looking for are in the 1:50 000 topographical series and for RD/Isandlwana you will want No. 2830BC, Rorke�s Drift, 1981. (Battlefields of Rorke�s Drift, Sihayo�s Kraal and Isandlwana).

Send me a private message and I can give you the email address of a useful person there.

KIS

Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:42 pm

Took me a while to get hold of those maps also!

Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:21 pm

True Jamie, I used the contact in South Africa that Keith kindly gave me, she passed me onto someone in her department, even with my mate in Joburg chasing them I still haven't had any response about costs.

Johnk

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:59 pm

Is it possible that they would probably prefer multiple orders at once?
If so I'd put my name on a list to get the map if it helps getting them.

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:04 pm

Good Ordanance Survey type maps of rural Zululand are very hard to come by but they do exist. Me and a mate thought they would come in handy for a trip we made a few years ago, especially for the Isandlwana and Hlobane areas.

We finally, after a lot of effort, managed to get some. A friend we had who lives in Durban used his old contacts from his days in the Rhodesian Special Forces to get a full set covering virtually the whole of the battlefield regions. These were at some stage used by the South African Defence Forces as they had compass readings and military zones penciled in. Hence the reason that they are hard to get hold off - they are normally not available to members of the public, just the military.

They are like gold-dust but are worth making the effort for as the detail is superb. Keep persevering.

Mark Hobson

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:27 pm

Mark et al.

The maps to which I referred above are the standard Ordnance Survey maps, without any military markings whatever. They are very easy to purchase in SA but seemingly much more difficult to order from overseas. The best way would be to have a friend in South Africa order them for you, and then re-send them to you when they have been delivered to the friend. It's complicated but it works well, as I have used this method for several years.

KIS

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:06 pm

I have all the 1:50000 topo maps as well as the 1:10000 aerial photos and scanned orthophotos in digital format.

In MrSid format ( compressed ) these are about 6MB in size

I also have some of my own aerial photos of Isandlwana

Google Earth is also very good -- and Free

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:30 am

You will need to manage your expectations. Even the more recently updated 1:50,000 map sheets show relatively little truly useful mapping details for the terrain walker. The verical interval in the contour lines is a constraint.

As Chris says the Google Earth detail is much more useful once the differing effects of rainwash are allowed for since this provides very visible signs of how drainage operates and these low areas are an indication of how substantial areas of 'dead ground' might have operated in favour of Zulu concealment .

For the GPS afficionado the Map Studio does provide an annotated map print with fairly local GPS datum points, and, some car hire firms will also provide GPS of varying quality for hire and sometimes very expensively.

Yer pays yer money and......

G

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:40 pm

Speaking of maps and local topography, it appears that more detailed (higher resolution) satellite imagery of the Isandlwana area is now available on Google Earth. I don't recall the cairns being quite so obvious nor the "3D" rendering as being so realistic. Perhaps I'm wrong though...

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:14 pm

Have you tried Stanfords in London? I've never heard of a map they don't have or can't get. Try the link or ring them up.

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/

I once needed street maps of Baghdad and they were my source when every one else, incl UK military, couldn't supply.

AMB

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:18 pm

I think you're right.(28�21'11.37" 30�39'12.36")

The same with Rorke's Drift. (28�21'27.5" 30�32'13.7")

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:02 pm

Galloglas wrote:

Yer pays yer money and......
G

Sometimes yer gets a "free-lunch" Smile

You can download SA maps from here

http://www.spatialreference.co.za/Maps.asp

and here

http://mapstor.com/

or

purchase the complete set from here .....

http://www.mapstudio.co.za/product-details.php?I'd=609&t=Topographic-Sheets-of-South-Africa

Always aiming to please Cool

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:27 am

Talking of The Map Studio I have tried ordering maps from them but they do not deliver outside South Africa -- has anyone any idea how I can obtain anything from them ?

Robert