The 9-Day Legacy Conservation Safari

Your journey begins on KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast, where the warm Indian Ocean meets one of the province's most overlooked conservation frontiers. Join us in the world's most forested city. Here, coastal forest weaves through a growing urban landscape. Monkeys move between bush and buildings, raptors nest above neighborhoods, and reptiles and amphibians survive in pockets of habitat most travelers pass without noticing.

You will gain exclusive access to Tanglewood Private Nature Reserve, a place that holds verdant coastal forest and one of the last well-preserved patches of KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld, a critically endangered, species-rich grassland ecosystem endemic to the province. Legacy Conservation Safaris is the only tour operator with access here; a relationship built over a decade of scientific collaboration.

With Camille and specialist partners Shane and Nick, you'll discover that conservation is more than something that happens deep in remote wilderness. It also takes place at the edge of cities, in gardens, forests, wetlands and everyday landscapes where people and wildlife share space. On this phase of the trip, you will learn about African crowned eagle monitoring, urban raptor research, and reptile rescue and relocation, and discover how long-term wildlife monitoring is helping scientists better understand and conserve Durban's remarkable biodiversity.

The final days take you even deeper into protected Big Five territory, with Manyoni Private Game Reserve as your base. This is where the conservation commitment becomes most tangible and one of our favorite parts of the journey. Rhino protection requires skilled teams, careful timing, veterinary support, tracking, monitoring and constant decision-making. During this part of the safari, you get to experience the effort involved and why it matters.

Your safari plays a direct role in rhino conservation through our partners, Wildlife ACT and Zululand Conservation Trust. You'll observe a rhino horn-trimming operation made possible by your booking, meeting the very rhino your safari helped protect from future poaching attempts. You'll also visit the Zululand Conservation Trust Rhino Orphanage, where your visit supports the care of calves orphaned by poaching and offers a rare opportunity to meet the next generation of rhinos being given a second chance.

Between time spent alongside conservation experts, you'll enjoy expert-led game drives, time in Big Five wilderness, and evenings that settle into the familiar warmth of lodge life. You'll leave with photographs, field notes, a conservation report, and the knowledge that your safari made a measurable contribution to wildlife conservation.