About Three Tree Hill

The beauty of Three Tree Hill lies not only in its sweeping mountain views and abundant wildlife, but also in its deep connection to the surrounding landscape and community. We believe these places deserve to be cared for, and our day-to-day decisions reflect this through practical resource management, local partnerships, and our long-standing Fair Trade Tourism certification.

Through local employment, skills development, community partnerships and practical resource management, we aim to operate our business responsibly while supporting initiatives within our region. Find our detailed expenditure reports on the Community & Conservation Pages of this website. 

We continually review our day-to-day operations to identify practical ways of managing water, energy, materials and waste within the lodge.

Examples include:

Solar water heating and a solar power system with battery storage that supplements the lodge's electricity supply.
Rainwater harvesting and the reuse of laundry grey water, where appropriate, for irrigation.
Eggshells and coffee grounds returned to the soil in our vegetable garden.
Used tea bags repurposed as firelighters.
Energy-efficient lighting, appliances and timers installed throughout the property.
A solar cooker and traditional Wonderbag cooking methods used for selected dishes, including our homemade sweet potato bread.
Seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs grown on the property for use in the kitchen, where available.
Procurement from South African suppliers and local businesses where practical and available.
Cleaning products and guest amenities selected to be paraben-free, with concentrates diluted on site to reduce packaging.
Organic kitchen waste, cardboard, coffee grounds, tea leaves and egg cartons composted or reused where appropriate.
A flock of free-range indigenous chickens that consume suitable kitchen scraps and provide eggs for the lodge kitchen.
Refillable glass water bottles, insulated flasks for guest activities and reusable beeswax wraps used in place of selected single-use plastic products.
Menus featuring regional ingredients and traditional South African flavours where possible.

Tourism businesses that adhere to the Fair Trade standard use the Fair Trade label as a way of signifying their commitment to fair and responsible tourism. Click on the image BELOW for some pointers we have put together to assist you in being a more responsible traveller whilst visiting our beautiful region.

Need some help in planning your DREAM HOLIDAY? Why don't you ask us for some advice and recommendations since we have travelled to most of Southern Africa's most beautiful locations. 

If you stay for 5 nights or more at any of our partner lodges, we can offer you an additional 5% off!

NY Times Columnist David Brooks wrote what we believe a vitally important article “The Haimish Line“. We believe that the principles of “Haimish” Travel that he writes about reflect the same principles that we have here at Three Trees. Haimish (heymish) Yiddish word = cozy; homey; familiar This is a measure not by our own hand but one reflected by our guests, and most easily viewed when looking at our Guest Review ratings.

The Blackburns have woven their love and knowledge of nature with the history of the area, which offers guests an unparalleled, diverse, activity-rich experience in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains. Being animal lovers, expect to encounter most of the three dogs, some of the ten horses, seven cats and nineteen chickens during your stay at Three Tree Hill Lodge.