Staying at Zuka House, Gladstones or The Cottage is a personalised experience. They are sole use houses so you can make yourself at home, leave your belongings scattered about and create the shape of the day that feels right for you. You can expect to be taken care of by our capable and caring team whether its your first visit or you are returning again and again! The warmth of the team is balanced with professionalism, discretion and privacy.

Yes, thats what we do best! We craft your time here to be as you wish. If you feel like waking in the dark to watch the sunrise, sleeping in to recover from jetlag or restore a little, eating what you feel, eating when you feel, having pasta with the children at 6 o’clock, walking in the bush, going to the beach, visiting a school, reading a book all day, you name it; creating a whole unique schedule is what we love!

Go to EXPERIENCE on the main menu and look through AT HOME and IN THE WILD to see all the options. We can advise you in more detail through email correspondence and telephone conversations before your visit. There is plenty of room for spontaneous plans once you are here, but for an optimal experience, some of the UP CLOSE conservation experiences require planning before you arrive.

Zuka Private Game Reserve is situated in northern KZN, South Africa. There are many ways to get here. Click here for directions and maps.

Yes! Our children have grown up here every holiday since they were babies! We are very used to babies and children of all ages. A common question is “will they be too young to remember any of it?” The way we answer this is, their experience seems to embed itself and the exposure to new things, creatures big and small, or a visit to Africa Foundation projects, while immersed in the natural world seems to switch on a whole new awareness that they build on once back home again, so we feel it all goes in to the memory bank somehow!

There is so much to engage them with we highly recommend bringing your children and having a full family experience.

We are very used to preparing meals for little ones at funny times. We are aware they need naps and some activities in the cool. We take supper on the landrover, we build cosy beds so they can fall asleep under the stars next to you at dinner, we can baby sit, we can help with being eyes on and tailing these small people!

We are in a wild place and there are wild creatures large and small and no fence around the swimming pool area so we advise that a nanny or family member is responsible for children at all times.

To have the opportunity to immerse in this special wilderness area, to relax, restore and move at a slower pace, to enjoy early mornings and evenings and perhaps not both every day, to journey a little deeper by engaging with conservation practices, community development or enjoying some ocean adventure, we suggest you think about 5 nights and we can help guide you to a longer or shorter stay.

Of course! We are thrilled to tailor your food and dietary preferences to you, along with any preferred wines, spirits, champagne, beer and soft drinks that we may order especially for your stay.

Yes! We have hosted weddings, parties, meetings and special gatherings. On a smaller scale, we can put together birthday cakes , decorations, candle lit dinners in the bush, sunset drinks with a view and we can discuss if you would like us to arrange a traditional Zulu choir, dancers and drummers for the occasion.

• Long comfortable pants for day and evening
• Shorts
• Layers like long sleeve cotton shirts, cotton t-shirts
• Walking shoes (boots not necessary – your own preference – we love Salomon trail shoes)
• Hat or cap
• Sunglasses
• A light cotton or linen scarf
• Light jacket (In summer there can be bursts of rain and after sundown on an open vehicle you might feel you need it)
• Warm jacket for winter (a light puffa jacket or gilet)
• Beanie & scarf (for winter early mornings and evenings)
• A little back pack or bag to zip things in to while on game drive (bumpy roads in the dark are pesky for losing things off a landrover!)
• Binos (not essential as we have them on the vehicles)
• Sunscreen (we also keep sunscreen on the vehicles and at the houses)

For at home

• Bathing suit, pool side cover up, sarong
• Flip flops
• Gym clothes, yoga clothes, tennis clothes & trainers
• Astro shoes for footballers
• Dresses for hot days and evenings
• Winter months, cosy sweaters and long pants for the evenings.
• Tennis racquet (and we have some too)

Download What To Bring PDF

While escaping the deluge of constant communication in the bush might be bliss, we are well connected to give you full wifi access and the area offers good cell phone signal.

You will need power adaptors for your electronic devices. Be sure to bring those specifically designed for South Africa. We provide charging stations in the rooms too.

We are considered a low risk area where anti malarial drugs are not recommended. Consult your travel doctor for advice so you can be clear.

Our House Manager and Operations Manager can help you with this at the end of your stay if you feel you would like to allocate any for specific individuals or the team. This is purely at your discretion.