Wild Legacy Safari Lodge

small, family-run, refreshingly uncomplicated

Wild Legacy Safari Lodge is located on the Klaserie Reserve in the Kruger area of South Africa.

This is the oldest lodge in the reserve, dating back to the 1930s when the property was first established as a simple bush camp. Today the lodge is owned and run by husband-and-wife team Craig and Goscelin Howson, with Craig the third generation of his family on this land. His grandfather was a founding member of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve when the various private properties in the area were formally consolidated in the 1960s. That depth of family connection is unusual in the modern Kruger area and it shapes pretty much everything about how this camp operates.

The lodge has been updated over the years with modern amenities such as ceiling fans, a small swimming pool, wifi and solar power, but it has carefully retained its old-school, pioneer-camp character. If you are looking for polished five-star finishes, this is not the place. If you are looking for an authentic, intimate Kruger experience with the owner-guide personally walking you through territory his family has known for nearly a century, then Wild Legacy is something of a rarity.

The lodge is taken on exclusive-use basis only, one party at a time, with a private guide and vehicle.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is centred on two units which we would normally use: Bungalow A, a comfortable thatched rondavel with a king bed and en-suite bathroom, and the Family Bungalow, with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom inside the unit. Together these accommodate up to 8 guests, which is the configuration we tend to book.

There are also three further Bungalow B rondavels available, each with a king bed but without en-suite bathrooms. Guests in these rooms use a shared external bathroom block.

All rondavels have ceiling fans, safes and charging points.

Activities

Wild Legacy Safari Lodge provides access to the following activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the room rate …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Tracking
• Bush meals
• Sleep-outs
• Conservation activities

The Klaserie area is much lesser-known than the adjacent Timbavati and Sabi Sand areas, but the landscapes and wildlife here are definitely comparable.

We are particular fans of the walking safari here, where owner-guide Craig Howson is a fully qualified trails guide. His approach is the proper, immersive kind, with deliberate approaches onto elephants and buffaloes and patient trailing of lions and leopards. There’s no better endorsement of a great camp.