Effective Date: May 18, 2025

1. Introduction Wild Gardens (“we,” “us,” “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is collected and used appropriately, lawfully, and transparently. This Privacy Policy outlines our practices concerning the collection, use, and protection of your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) of South Africa.

By providing us with your personal information, using our services, visiting our farm, or accessing our website (if applicable), you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

2. Who We Are Wild Gardens Physical Address:
Miami 54, Rubbervale road, Eiland, Letsitele, Limpopo, 0084, South Africa
Email: farm@wildgardenslodge.co.za
Phone: 0716745029

For the purposes of this Policy and POPIA, Wild Gardens is the “Responsible Party.” You can contact us using the details above for any privacy-related queries. Our Information Officer can be reached at the same contact details.

3. What Personal Information We Collect We may collect various types of personal information, including, but not limited to:

  • Identity Information: Your name, surname.
  • Contact Information: Your email address, phone number, physical or postal address.
  • Booking/Order Information: Details related to your bookings for farm visits, events, accommodation (if applicable), or orders for our produce/products, including dietary requirements if voluntarily provided for a specific service.
  • Payment Information: Payment card details or banking information if you make a purchase (processed securely through third-party payment gateways if applicable; we typically do not store full payment card details).
  • Communications: Records of your communications with us, including emails, messages via our website or social media, or notes from phone calls.
  • Website Usage Information (if applicable): If you use our website, we may collect information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, access times, pages viewed, and referring website addresses. This is often collected via cookies (see Section 9).
  • Photographs/Videos: With your explicit consent, or if incidental to general marketing materials where you are not the main focus (e.g., crowd shots at events, in which case notices will be displayed). We will always seek specific consent for prominently featuring individuals.
  • Information Required by Law: Any information we are legally required to collect.

We will endeavor to collect only the information that is necessary for the stated purpose of collection.

4. How We Collect Personal Information We collect personal information in the following ways:

  • Directly from You:
    • When you make an inquiry, booking, or place an order (e.g., via phone, email, in person, or through our website/social media).
    • When you subscribe to our newsletters or marketing communications (with your consent).
    • When you interact with us at events or on the farm.
    • When you complete any forms (physical or digital).
  • Automatically (if you use our website):
    • Through cookies and similar tracking technologies that collect data about your interaction with our website (see Section 9).
  • From Third Parties (in limited circumstances):
    • For example, if a booking is made for you by someone else, or from publicly available sources where lawful.

5. How We Use Your Personal Information (Purpose of Processing) We will use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and agreed with you, or as permitted by law. These purposes may include:

  • To process your bookings, orders, and manage your account with us.
  • To communicate with you regarding your inquiries, bookings, orders, or to provide customer support.
  • To send you information about our products, services, events, and special offers, but only where you have given your explicit consent to receive such marketing communications. You can opt-out at any time.
  • To improve our farm offerings, products, services, and website experience.
  • For internal record-keeping and administrative purposes.
  • To ensure the safety and security of our visitors, staff, and property.
  • To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
  • For statistical analysis (information will be anonymized where possible).

6. Lawful Basis for Processing We will only process your personal information if a lawful basis under POPIA exists. These include:

  • Consent: Where you have given us your explicit consent to process your personal information for a specific purpose (e.g., for marketing).
  • Contract: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract (e.g., processing a booking or order).
  • Legal Obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
  • Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.
  • Protection of a Legitimate Interest of the Data Subject: Where processing is necessary to protect your legitimate interest (e.g. in a medical emergency).

Special Personal Information: We do not generally collect special personal information (e.g., race, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, health data) unless it is provided voluntarily by you for a specific purpose (e.g., dietary requirements related to health for an event booking, which implies consent for that specific purpose) or if required by law. We will only process special personal information with your explicit consent or if otherwise permitted under POPIA.

7. Information Sharing and Disclosure We respect your privacy and will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for their marketing purposes. We may disclose your personal information to:

  • Our Service Providers: Third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processors, IT support, marketing and communication services, booking systems, or delivery services. These providers are contractually bound to protect your personal information and may only use it for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
  • Legal Authorities: If required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or if we believe it is necessary to protect our rights, property, or the safety of our customers, staff, or others.
  • Professional Advisors: Such as lawyers, auditors, or insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
  • In Case of Business Transfer: If Wild Gardens is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality undertakings.

We will ensure that any third party to whom we pass your personal information agrees to treat your information with the same level of protection as we are obliged to. We will not transfer your personal information outside of South Africa unless such transfer is compliant with POPIA, for instance, if the recipient is subject to laws or agreements that provide an adequate level of protection, or with your consent.

8. Data Security We are legally obliged to provide adequate protection for the personal information we hold and to stop unauthorized access and use of personal information. We will, on an ongoing basis, continue to review our security controls and related processes to ensure that your personal information remains secure. Our security measures include:

  • Physical security measures for our premises.
  • Technological safeguards such as firewalls, encryption (where appropriate), and password protection for our systems.
  • Restricting access to personal information to authorized personnel only, who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
  • Regularly assessing and updating our security measures.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.

9. Data Retention We will retain your personal information only for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required or permitted by law (e.g., for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements), or for reasonably C. We will securely destroy or de-identify your personal information when it is no longer needed.

10. Your Rights under POPIA You have the following rights regarding your personal information, subject to certain limitations and conditions as set out in POPIA:

  • Right of Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Correction: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
  • Right to Deletion (Right to be Forgotten): You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, under certain conditions.
  • Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information, under certain conditions (e.g., for direct marketing purposes, or if processing is based on our legitimate interests).
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information, under certain conditions.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are processing your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
  • Right to Complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe that we have not complied with POPIA.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 2. We may require you to provide proof of your identity before we can act on your request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with POPIA.

11. Cookies and Tracking Technologies (if applicable for a website) Our website (if applicable) may use “cookies” or similar tracking technologies. Cookies are small text files placed on your device to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information. We may use cookies to:

  • Ensure the proper functioning of our website.
  • Understand how visitors use our website and improve user experience.
  • Remember your preferences.
  • For marketing purposes (with your consent).

You can set your browser not to accept cookies, or to remove cookies from your browser. However, some of our website features may not function as a result. We will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

12. Third-Party Links (if applicable) Our website or communications may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

13. Children’s Privacy We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without such consent, we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website (if applicable) or by other appropriate means. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. The effective date at the top of this Policy indicates when it was last revised.

15. How to Contact Us and Our Information Officer If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data handling practices, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our Information Officer at:

Wild Gardens Attn: Information Officer Miami 54, Rubbervale road Eiland, Letsitele Limpopo, 0084 South Africa Email: farm@wildgardenslodge.co.za Phone: 0716745029

16. Contact Details of the Information Regulator (South Africa) Should you believe that Wild Gardens has utilized your personal information contrary to applicable data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

The Information Regulator (South Africa) JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017 General Enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za Complaints (POPIA): POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za (or complete the prescribed Form 5 and email to complaints.IR@justice.gov.za) Website: https://inforegulator.org.za/