South Africa 2027
Wild Connection • Yoga, safari + adventure
15-22 September 2027
South Africa 2027Practise yoga or pilates beside Hippo Dam as the bush wakes around you, head into Kruger National Park in search of the Big Five and explore the magnificent Blyde River Canyon. Join Freedom founder Jax and South African safari guide and newly qualified yoga teacher Sarah for a week of safari, yoga and connection, with extraordinary experiences out in the wild and time to enjoy being away.
Sunset meditation, deeply restful Yoga Nidra and shared meals bring a more reflective rhythm to the adventure. Between outings, swim, read, rest or simply enjoy the sounds and scenery of the lodge.
Discover more↓
Yoga at Hippo Dam, in the boma and on the garden lawn.
Sunrise practice, sunset meditation and Yoga Nidra.
Four reserve game drives, including sunset and morning outings.
A full-day safari in Kruger National Park.
A guided bush walk.
Traditional bushcraft and plant wisdom.
A Blyde River Canyon boat cruise and nature walk to the waterfall.
Opening and closing ceremonies with Jax.
Free time to relax at the lodge and enjoy the pool.
Highlights
Wild Connection
There’s something about being somewhere so much bigger than yourself. Your attention shifts. You notice the sounds around you, the changing light, the feeling of having time to take it all in.
Join Jax, founder of Freedom Yoga & Retreats, and Sarah, who used to guide safari in Greater Kruger, for a week exploring the connection between the world around us and what’s happening within. Yoga, meditation and moments of reflection will weave through our days, alongside safari, remarkable landscapes and time spent together.
We’ll practise at Hippo Dam, head into Kruger National Park in search of wildlife and experience Blyde River Canyon by boat and on foot. There’ll be early starts worth getting out of bed for, conversations over dinner and afternoons when you can happily disappear with a book.
The spiritual side of this week has room to unfold through practice, nature and your own experience. You can arrive curious, tired, excited or unsure what you need. There’s space for all of it.
Highlights
Practise in nature
Yoga beside Hippo Dam, practice in the boma and on the garden lawn, sunset meditation and deeply restful Yoga Nidra. Different settings and practices to help you explore, settle and reconnect.
Experience the wild
A full day in Kruger National Park, sunrise and sunset game drives, a guided bush walk and a journey into Blyde River Canyon. Plenty of opportunity to look up, look out and be completely absorbed in where you are.
Have time to feel it
A deliberately gentler day, free afternoons, shared meals and space for your own company. Swim, read, rest or book an optional massage. You don’t need to fill every moment.
THE ITINERARY
Your week with founder Jax
(Jackie Heffer-Cooke)
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Arrive at the lodge from 1:30pm, put down your bags and take a moment to look around. You’re here.
After settling in and meeting everyone, we’ll head straight out on our first game drive, watching the bush unfold around us as the afternoon light begins to soften.
Back at the lodge, we’ll share dinner and the first of many conversations around the table.
An extraordinary week is only just beginning!
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Our opening yoga practice takes us to Hippo Dam, with the water beside us and the sounds of the reserve all around.
It’s a special place to pause, breathe and begin to feel yourself arriving.
Afterwards, enjoy the lodge, rest or explore.
Later, head out on a sunset game drive!
We’ll close with meditation at the dam, taking in the changing light and the feeling of being right here, in the heart of it all.
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We’ll be up before the sun for a full-day safari in Kruger National Park. This is a day to have your camera ready and your eyes on the landscape, searching for the Big Five while enjoying the anticipation of what might appear next.
There’s something absorbing about watching wildlife on its own terms; you can happily lose track of everything else.
Back at the lodge, settle into Yoga Nidra and let yourself be guided into deep rest before dinner together.
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Begin with yoga in the boma, our gathering space, before breakfast and a day exploring more of the region’s culture and community.
It’s an opportunity to look beyond the reserve and get a fuller sense of the place we’re spending time in- an immersive experience in the bush exploring traditional plant uses, natural medicines, bushcraft, shelter-making and ceremonial practices- discovering generations of knowledge about how to live alongside the land.
We’ll return during the afternoon, with space to unwind before evening meditation and another dinner shared together.
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A slower start, yoga on the garden lawn and a late breakfast. Then a lovely stretch of time with nothing you need to rush off to.
Swim, get lost in your book, book an optional massage by your private pool or even enjoy an afternoon nap! You’re on holiday after all…
Later, we’ll head out on a guided bush walk, experiencing the reserve on foot and noticing the details that are so easy to miss from a vehicle. A different way to get to know the wild.
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Today we venture into the magnificent Blyde River Canyon, cruising beneath its towering walls before following a nature trail to the waterfall.
The scale, the water and the green of the landscape make this a remarkable contrast to our days in the bush. After time to relax back at the lodge, we’ll head out again for a bush drive and sunset yoga at Hippo Dam.
From the vastness of the canyon to the familiarity of our practice beside the water, there’s a lot to take in today.
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We’ll return to Hippo Dam for sunrise yoga, watching a new day arrive in a place that now holds a week of memories.
From there, we’ll continue straight into a morning bush drive before coming back for breakfast.
The afternoon is yours to enjoy the lodge and linger a little longer, before our closing ceremony brings everyone together.
Then it’s one last African sunset, a glass of wine or a G&T, and a closing dinner with the people who have shared it all with you
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A final morning at the lodge before checkout at 10am.
Time for goodbyes, swapping details and taking one more look around before the journey home.
We hope you leave with a head full of extraordinary moments, a deeper connection to yourself and a few friendships that travel home with you.
This is our planned itinerary; timings and activities may change. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
What’s included
Seven nights’ accommodation in a private room with a private pool.
Breakfast and dinner.
Yoga, meditation and Yoga Nidra sessions with Jax.
Opening and closing ceremonies.
Four scheduled reserve game drives.
A guided bush walk.
The full-day Kruger National Park excursion.
Traditional bushcraft and plant wisdom.
The Blyde River Canyon boat cruise and waterfall walk.
Freedom hosting and support throughout the retreat.
Transport and transfers: Group transfers during the retreat are included. Please note, there is one group transfer to and from Hoedspruit airport. Get in contact for flight advice.
Wild Connection ↠
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Eight days in South Africa with Freedom founder Jax Heffer-Cooke and South African safari guide and newly qualified yoga teacher Sarah Wright.
Yoga at Hippo Dam, in the boma and on the garden lawn, surrounded by the sights and sounds of the bush.
Four reserve game drives, from your first afternoon safari to a final morning out in the wild.
A full-day safari in Kruger National Park, in search of the Big Five.
Sunset meditation and deeply restful Yoga Nidra.
A guided bush walk to experience the reserve on foot.
A boat cruise through Blyde River Canyon and a nature walk to the waterfall.
A cultural day exploring more of the region beyond the reserve.
Opening and closing ceremonies, with space for reflection and connection.
Free time to swim, read, rest and enjoy the lodge, with optional massages available to book.
Shared dinners, good company and one last African sunset with a glass of wine or a G&T.
Meet Jax
Your host in South Africa is led by Jackie Heffer-Cooke, Jax, founder of Freedom Yoga & Retreats.
Jax Heffer-Cooke is the founder of Freedom Yoga & Retreats, bringing together her love of yoga, travel and the connections that grow when people step away from everyday life and experience somewhere new together. At the heart of her approach is a curiosity about being human: how we move through change, what helps us feel connected and how we make space to listen to ourselves.
In South Africa, Jax’s teaching takes its inspiration from the landscape. Yoga beside Hippo Dam, meditation out in the bush and fireside Yoga Nidra become opportunities to explore the week’s theme, What Nature Teaches Us About Being Human. Through the elements of earth, water, fire, air and space, she’ll invite you to consider belonging, instinct, courage and connection in a way that feels grounded in what you’re experiencing each day.
There’s room for depth, but also for laughter, questions and simply enjoying yourself. You don’t need to arrive with an advanced yoga practice or a clear idea of what you want from the week. Jax creates space for you to explore at your own pace, with movement, breath and rest woven between the adventures.
Having experienced Phelwana and the surrounding bush herself, she’s returning with a personal connection to the place and real excitement about sharing it. From the first gathering to the final evening around the fire, she’ll help bring the people, practices and experiences of WILD together into a week that stays with you.
Meet Sarah
Your host in South Africa is led by Sarah, who used to be a safari guide in South Africa
Sarah Wright is an extraordinary person, a wonderful guide, and someone with a deep connection to this landscape. Having lived and worked in the Greater Kruger, she brings expert skills in wildlife tracking, animal behaviour and identifying the incredible birdlife of the bush by sight and call.
She’ll also be joining us as a newly qualified yoga teacher, bringing these worlds together through guided nature walks, mindful observation and simple nature-based practices. This isn’t just about spotting wildlife. It’s about slowing down enough to really notice where you are - reading tracks, listening for calls, understanding behaviour and experiencing the African bush with greater presence, curiosity and connection.
We feel incredibly lucky to have Sarah sharing a place she knows and loves with us.
Where we’ll stay
Private rooms ✦ Breakfast ✦ Dinner ✦ Beautiful grounds ✦ Private pool
So, why join us?
Wild Connection is for you if you want to see more of the world and make a little room for yourself along the way. You’re excited by safari and extraordinary landscapes, but equally drawn to morning yoga, meaningful conversations and time to reflect.
Perhaps life has felt busy, you’re moving through a change, or you simply want a holiday with a deeper connection to the place and people around you.
Come curious, with an appetite for adventure and a willingness to slow down and take it all in.
What’s not included?
Flights.
Travel insurance.
Lunches.
Alcoholic drinks.
Optional massages, treatments and extra amenities.
Personal spending and activities outside the itinerary.
Any transport or transfers not expressly listed as included.
Your questions answered
Wild Connection
September 2027
£1,960 per person
Private rooms
20 spaces total
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Th retreat is September 15th-22nd.
7 nights / 8 days
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You’re very welcome to come on your own. Shared outings and meals give you plenty of opportunities to get to know people throughout the week, while free time means you can enjoy your own company too. All rooms are private.
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You don’t need to arrive with an impressive practice or be able to fold yourself in half. An interest in yoga and a willingness to explore are a good starting point.
If you’re new to yoga or have particular needs, get in touch so we can talk through the planned sessions and help you decide whether the week suits you.
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Think early starts, days out and some walking- a guided bush walk, trekking in the canyon landscape and a separate waterfall trek. Wild Connection balances these with yoga, meditation and a deliberately gentler days.
Contact us for more info!
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We’ll spend a full day in Kruger National Park in search of them, alongside game drives in the reserve throughout the week.
Wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed- these are wild animals, and every outing is different. There’s plenty to look out for beyond the Big Five too.
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Absolutely. The itinerary leaves room for swimming, reading, afternoon naps and enjoying the lodge. Wild Connection has a dedicated slower day just for you.
A private massage next to your private pool is also included in the cost.
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You’ll stay in private, beautifully appointed villas at Phelwana Game Lodge, designed for deep rest between adventures. The spaces are tranquil and nature-rooted, with comfortable lounging areas and a private pool for moments of quiet reflection, reading, or post-practice relaxation.
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Yes. Payment plan options are available at cheakout.
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It costs £1,960
Not included:
Flights.
Travel insurance.
Lunches.
Alcoholic drinks.
Optional massages, treatments and extra amenities.
Personal spending and activities outside the itinerary.
Any transport or transfers not expressly listed as included.