Your home away from home, whether you are looking for a camping spot, a 3 star lodge or a 5 star plus lodge, we have the answer for you. Being in the bush means we have limited wifi access, so we try to convince our visitors to switch off their electronic media and phones on arrival in order for them to enjoy the serenity of the reserve.
Accommodation
THE WILD @ N11 manages an exclusive but affordable luxury lodging establishment as well as the wedding venue, conferencing and venue accommodation.
The group has set it's sights on purchasing a Grand Old Dame in the hospitality industry in Kwa Zulu Natal. The main building was built in the late 1800's and the aim of the group is to recreate the feeling of colonial Africa. We will be embarking on creating and recreating the feeling of being back in the 1800 Livingstones Experience teleport our gusts back in time to an era where Gin and Tonic was the flavour of the day. We want to let our guests indulge in Africa as it was. The locality of the venue is of such a nature that the hop to King Shaka is a mere 20 minute drive, the drive to Ethekweni (Durban) a mere 80km and the total experience of being in Africa is on the doorstep.
The property will be renovated back to it's original taste and the mansion which has housed many dignitaries over the last 100 plus years will be managed as a boutique hotel. The number of gusts who could be accommodated will be limited to 40 and the development of new era linked accommodation will be embarked on with the main focus being maintaining of the "Sugar Baron" feel to the whole experience.
The venue was home can manage with ease up to 300 guests for weddings with overflow guests being housed within guesthouses and ample accommodation within a 30km range. There are numerous colonial memories on the property the best of which is the main chapel which dates back over 100 years.
Other Facilities
The Executive Lodge being planned will boast a central complex which is made up of an intimate lounge with a feature fireplace; a dining area; cocktail bar with a viewing deck overlooking the floodlit waterhole; a cozy open-air safari like bush boma; an all-day tea & coffee refreshment area and an a la carte restaurant.
The Lodge will accommodate a gift and curio boutique; a swimming pool with a large sundeck; and an elevated ‘upper deck’ which offers stunning views across the sugarlands. The quiet solitude of this private location makes it the perfect place to witness sensational sunrises and sunsets, whilst savouring the moment with a an amazing breakfast spread or sundowner cocktails in the evening.
The second Lodge boasts a central complex which is made up of an intimate dining room with a feature fireplace; an outside dining area; and outside bush bar with a viewing deck overlooking the floodlit cold water swimming pool; an open-air boma; an all-day tea & coffee and refreshment stalls (hamburgers, hotdogs, boerewors rolls, schwarma's, soft serve ice cream, milkshakes and cold drinks on menu.
The Lodge also accommodates a gift and curio boutique; a swimming pool with a large sundeck; and an elevated ‘upper deck’ which offers stunning views across the plains. The quiet solitude of this private location makes it the perfect place to witness sensational sunsets, whilst savouring the moment with a sundowner cocktail.
Conferencing
THE WILD @ N11 Lodge is perfect for small corporate conferences or special events, for up to 300 people.
Both indoor and outdoor conference facilities can be configured to meet your requirements. Flip charts and an overhead projector are available. Rates for conferences and groups are available on request.
Private game reserves are within close reach, each having an opportunity and a responsibility to make an important contribution to protecting the nation’s biodiversity. However, the high operational costs of setting up and running a game reserve require these reserves to secure financial returns in the immediate to short-term to allow them to work towards these conservation goals. We aim to assist these game reserves and private nature reserves to achieve this by accommodating our guests on day excursions to these natural wonders.
The most common approach to do this is by developing a high-margin, low-volume ecotourism product, where the success generally depends on the quality of safari game viewing on offer. Consequently, biodiversity objectives are often compromised to satisfy short-term game viewing demands, and these inappropriate management practices have led to major habitat deterioration in private reserves across the country. The clear conflict between economy and ecology of ecotourism has been exaggerated further by the increasingly competitive nature of the upper-end game lodge industry. This conflict threatens the viability of sustainable land-use practice for private conservation areas and is the single biggest challenge facing private conservation in South Africa today.
THE WILD @ N11 does not rely directly on tourism income for its financial security, although many of its members are stakeholders in the ecotourism industry. This means that the reserve’s strategic planning is not vulnerable to the volatile market conditions that characterise this industry. This allows THE WILD @ N11 the freedom to take a longer-term approach to maintaining the ecological integrity of the reserve going forward and to ensure that our tourism product retains its vitality and competitiveness well into the future. Delivery of these goals requires a clear management vision for the reserve.
