Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 July 2026 · Last updated: 27 August 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Dream Hospitality Operators (Pty) Ltd (trading as uMkhuze Game Reserve, "we", "us", "our") processes the personal information of visitors to our website at www.umkhuzegamereserve.co.za and guests who enquire about or stay at any of the accommodation we operate inside uMkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal — Mantuma Camp, Nhlonhlela Bush Lodge and Emshopi Campsite.

We are committed to protecting your personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and applicable South African law.

1. Who we are

Responsible Party: Dream Hospitality Operators (Pty) Ltd
Registration number: 2026/269499/07
Physical address: 1 Chapman Drive, Old Main Road, Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, 4420
Email: hello@mkuzegamereserve.co.za
Phone: 0861 010 347

Information Officer (POPIA): Cameron Reece Rencken
Email: hello@mkuzegamereserve.co.za · Phone: 0861 010 347
Please use this address for all privacy, POPIA and PAIA matters. General reservation enquiries go to umkhuze@dreamresorts.co.za.

Operator (POPIA s.1): Dream Hotels & Resorts (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2014/259730/07) is the management company we have appointed to operate the lodge in full on our behalf. Its reservations function trades as Central Reservations, which is who you deal with when you enquire or book.

It processes your personal information on our documented instruction only, under a written operator agreement as required by POPIA s.20 and s.21, and is not free to use your information for its own purposes. We remain the Responsible Party and stay accountable to you for how your information is handled.

2. What information we collect

We only collect information that is necessary to handle your enquiry, manage your booking and improve our site.

2.1 Information you give us

• Enquiry form: name, email address, phone number, dates of intended stay, number of guests, accommodation of interest and message content. This form does not submit to our servers — it opens a pre-filled message in your own email application, which you send to Central Reservations yourself. We receive it as an ordinary email.
• "Share a Bush Story" form: first and last name, email address, optional phone number, story title, location, approximate date, the story itself and any additional notes — together with your tick confirming you are happy for us to publish it. See §2.3 below.
• Booking (via Central Reservations): the above plus ID/passport number, vehicle registration and emergency contact, where required for reserve access.
• Correspondence: any information you choose to share with us by email, phone or messaging.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Standard server logs kept by our hosting provider: IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, referring URL and timestamp.
• Cookies and similar technologies — only the essential ones unless you accept analytics in the cookie banner (see Cookie Policy).

2.3 Guest stories submitted for publication

If you submit a story through "Share a Bush Story", you are asking us to consider publishing it. We process it on the basis of your consent (POPIA s.11(1)(a)), given by ticking the permission box on the form.

• We may publish your story, its title, the location and your first name on this website and on our social media channels.
• We do not publish your surname, email address or phone number. Those are used only to contact you about your submission.
• If you ask us to publish anonymously (use the "Anything else?" field), we will.
• You may withdraw your consent at any time by emailing our Information Officer, and we will remove the story from our website. Withdrawal does not affect copies already shared or cached elsewhere, and we cannot recall material already printed.
• We are not obliged to publish any submission.

3. Why we collect it & legal basis

Purpose	Lawful basis under POPIA
Respond to enquiries you send us	Performance of a contract / taking steps at your request before entering one (s.11(1)(b))
Process and manage bookings	Performance of a contract (s.11(1)(b))
Comply with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reserve-entry requirements	Legal obligation (s.11(1)(c))
Send service messages about an existing booking	Performance of a contract (s.11(1)(b))
Send optional marketing (only with consent)	Consent (s.11(1)(a))
Publish a guest story you submit to us	Consent (s.11(1)(a)) — see §2.3
Analytics & website improvement	Consent (s.11(1)(a)), given through the cookie banner
Security & fraud prevention	Legitimate interest (s.11(1)(f))

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for anyone else's marketing.

4.1 Our Operator

Dream Hotels & Resorts (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2014/259730/07), through its reservations function Central Reservations, handles your enquiry, your booking and your stay as our appointed management company. It acts only on our documented instruction under a POPIA s.20/s.21 operator agreement, and is not free to use your information for its own purposes.

4.2 Third parties we disclose to

• Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife — the reserve authority. Where required for reserve access, permits or compliance, we pass on the details they require (which may include ID/passport number and vehicle registration). Ezemvelo decides how it uses that information and is a separate Responsible Party in its own right.
• Regulators, courts or law enforcement — where we are legally required to.

4.3 Service providers

• Vercel Inc. — hosts this website and keeps standard server logs.
• Google LLC — Google Fonts (loaded on every page; Google may log the request and your IP address) and, only if you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager.
• Google Places API — we display public Google reviews of the reserve. This request is made by our server. Your visit is not sent to Google as part of it.
• Formspree, Inc. — if and when we enable online form delivery, "Share a Bush Story" submissions will be transmitted through Formspree. This is currently switched off: both forms open a message in your own email application instead, so no form data reaches Formspree today. We will update this policy before that changes.
• Our email provider — which receives and stores the enquiries and stories you email us.

Some of these providers process your information outside South Africa. Where they do, we rely on POPIA s.72 safeguards (a law or binding agreement in the recipient country providing an adequate level of protection, contractual safeguards, or your consent).

5. How long we keep it

• Enquiry data (no booking made): up to 12 months.
• Booking and accounting records: as required by the Companies Act, Tax Administration Act and other applicable law (typically 5 years).
• Server logs: retained by our hosting provider for its standard log-retention period, which does not exceed 30 days.
• Guest stories: for as long as the story remains published, or until you withdraw consent — whichever comes first. Unpublished submissions are deleted within 12 months.
• Marketing consent records: until you withdraw consent, plus a short evidence period.

6. How we protect it

We take reasonable, appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. These include HTTPS encryption on this website, access controls on internal systems, and ongoing review of our processes.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If we ever become aware of a compromise affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA s.22.

7. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Know what personal information we hold about you.
• Request a copy of that information.
• Ask us to correct or delete it where it is inaccurate or out of date.
• Object to processing, including direct marketing, at any time.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see §11).

To exercise any of these rights, email our Information Officer at hello@mkuzegamereserve.co.za. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. Requests to access information must be made on Form 2 under PAIA — see our PAIA Manual, which explains how. Correcting, deleting or objecting does not require a form; a plain email is enough.

We may ask you to confirm your identity before we act on a request, so that we do not disclose your information to someone else.

8. Cookies & analytics

This website uses essential cookies needed for the site to work, and optional analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager) which are not loaded at all unless you click "Accept all" in the cookie banner. If you decline, or simply ignore the banner, no analytics tag is downloaded and no analytics cookie is set.

You can change your mind at any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer of every page. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.

9. Children

This website is intended for adults arranging travel. We do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 18 without parental consent. If you believe we have done so, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. Material changes will be highlighted on the website.

11. Contact & complaints

If you have any questions, or are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Information Officer first so we can try to put it right.

11.1 How to complain to us

Email hello@mkuzegamereserve.co.za, marked for the attention of the Information Officer, and include:

• Your full name and contact details.
• Your reservation number, if your complaint relates to a booking.
• What you believe we have done wrong, and any supporting evidence.
• How we collected the information and roughly when, if you know.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 business days and investigate it. Resolution times vary with the nature of the complaint, but we will tell you the outcome and what action we have taken.

11.2 If you are still unhappy

You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator at any time. You do not have to come to us first, and nothing in this policy limits that right.

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