Privacy policy.

The Unwinding Retreats and Nature Experiences (Pty) Ltd ("The Unwinding", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, protect and share personal information when you:

• visit or use our website;

• enquire about one of our retreats or nature experiences;

• make or manage a booking;

• communicate with us;

• subscribe to our mailing list;

• participate in one of our retreats, events or experiences; or

• otherwise provide personal information to us.

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), together with other applicable South African laws.

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to explain clearly what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it and what rights you have in relation to your personal information.

The responsible party for the processing of your personal information is:

The Unwinding Retreats and Nature Experiences (Pty) Ltd
Registration Number: 2026/736195/07

Based in: Cape Town, South Africa
Website: https://theunwinding.co.za

For purposes of POPIA, The Unwinding is generally the "responsible party" in respect of personal information that we collect and process in connection with our business activities.

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect some or all of the following information:

3.1 Personal and contact information

This may include:

• full name;

• email address;

• telephone or mobile number;

• residential or postal address;

• country of residence;

• date of birth or age where relevant;

• emergency contact details; and

• other information you voluntarily provide to us.

3.2 Booking information

When you make an enquiry or booking, we may collect information such as:

• retreat or experience selected;

• booking dates;

• accommodation preferences;

• room-sharing preferences;

• payment and transaction information;

• special requests;

• arrival and departure information;

• travel-related information where necessary; and

• communications relating to your booking.

3.3 Dietary and wellbeing information

Because our retreats may include meals, physical activities and wellness experiences, we may ask you to provide information such as:

• dietary requirements;

• food allergies or intolerances;

• mobility considerations;

• relevant medical or health information;

• emergency information; and

• information necessary to reasonably accommodate your participation in an activity or retreat.

Some health-related information may constitute special personal information under POPIA. We will only collect and process such information where there is a lawful basis for doing so and, where required, with your consent. POPIA places additional protections around special personal information.

You should only provide health or other sensitive information that is relevant to your participation, safety or accommodation needs.

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you when you complete a website enquiry or booking form;

• when you contact us by email, telephone, WhatsApp or other communication channels;

• when you subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications;

• when you make a payment or booking;

• when you participate in one of our retreats or experiences;

• through our website and associated technologies such as cookies;

• from service providers involved in delivering your booking; and

• from third parties where you have authorised them to provide information to us or where permitted by law.

Where reasonably possible, we will collect personal information directly from you.

We may process your personal information for the following purposes:

5.1 To provide our services

We use your information to:

• respond to enquiries;

• process bookings;

• communicate with you about your retreat;

• arrange accommodation, meals, activities and experiences;

• understand your requirements;

• provide appropriate customer support; and

• administer your participation in our retreats.

5.2 To protect your safety and wellbeing

Where relevant, information provided by you may be used to:

• accommodate dietary requirements or allergies;

• make reasonable arrangements relating to mobility or participation;

• respond to an emergency;

• contact your nominated emergency contact; or

• provide relevant information to an appropriate service provider where reasonably necessary for your safety.

5.3 To process payments

Payment information may be processed by payment providers, banks or other financial service providers involved in completing your transaction.

Where possible, we do not retain full payment-card details ourselves.

5.4 To communicate with you

We may use your contact details to:

• respond to your questions;

• send booking confirmations;

• provide information about your retreat;

• send important operational communications; and

• communicate changes to bookings, dates, venues or activities.

5.5 Marketing

Where permitted by law, we may use your contact details to send you information about:

• upcoming retreats;

• new experiences;

• special offers;

• events;

• newsletters; and

• other information relating to The Unwinding.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.

You may also object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes. POPIA expressly recognises a data subject's right to object to direct marketing.

5.6 To improve our business

We may use information in aggregated or appropriately de-identified form to:

• understand how our website is used;

• improve our retreats and experiences;

• improve customer service;

• understand booking trends; and

• develop our business.

The Unwinding may photograph or record guests during retreats and experiences for legitimate business purposes, including marketing, social media and website content.

We will seek appropriate permission or consent before using an identifiable person's photograph, video, testimonial or other personal content for promotional purposes where required by law.

If you do not wish to appear in promotional photographs or videos, please let us know.

If you have previously given permission for the use of your image and wish to withdraw that permission for future use, please contact us.

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share relevant personal information with trusted third parties where reasonably necessary to provide our services or operate our business.

These may include:

• accommodation providers;

• activity and excursion operators;

• transport providers;

• facilitators and wellness practitioners;

• restaurants and catering providers;

• payment processors;

• website and technology providers;

• email and marketing service providers;

• professional advisers;

• accountants and auditors;

• insurers; and

• legal or regulatory authorities where required by law.

We will aim to share only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Where third-party service providers process personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate confidentiality and security obligations apply.

The Unwinding welcomes guests from South Africa and other countries.

Where it is necessary to transfer or store personal information outside South Africa, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such processing is conducted in accordance with applicable law and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

This may occur, for example, where we use international website hosting, email, booking, payment, cloud-storage, communication or marketing service providers.

Where POPIA requires specific safeguards or consent for an international transfer, we will comply with those requirements.

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help us:

• operate the website;

• remember preferences;

• understand how visitors use the website;

• improve website functionality;

• measure website performance; and

• support marketing and analytics activities.

Some cookies may be placed by third-party service providers.

You can generally manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

Where required, we will seek appropriate consent for cookies or similar technologies.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including booking platforms, social-media platforms, accommodation providers, activity providers or other websites.

Once you leave our website, the privacy practices of the third-party website will apply.

We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.

The Unwinding is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• loss;

• misuse;

• unauthorised access;

• unauthorised disclosure;

• alteration; and

• destruction.

These measures may include appropriate password protection, access controls, secure systems, confidentiality obligations and other reasonable safeguards.

However, no electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If a security compromise occurs that requires notification under applicable law, we will take the steps required by POPIA, including notifying affected data subjects and/or the Information Regulator where applicable.

We will retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

The length of time we retain information may depend on:

• the nature of the information;

• the purpose for which it was collected;

• our ongoing relationship with you;

• legal and regulatory requirements;

• accounting and tax requirements;

• dispute resolution; and

• legitimate business requirements.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or de-identify it.

Subject to applicable legal requirements and limitations, you have rights under POPIA in relation to your personal information.

These may include the right to:

• request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information;

• request access to your personal information;

• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• request deletion or destruction of personal information where legally appropriate;

• object to certain processing;

• object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing;

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and

• lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your personal information.

The Information Regulator confirms that POPIA provides data subjects with rights relating to access, correction or deletion and objection to certain processing, including direct marketing.

If you wish to:

• access your personal information;

• correct or update your information;

• request deletion where applicable;

• withdraw consent;

• object to processing; or

• ask a privacy-related question,

please contact us at:

Email: contact@theunwinding.co.za

We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

Where we send electronic marketing communications, we will comply with applicable requirements under POPIA.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by:

• clicking the unsubscribe option in the relevant email; or

• contacting us directly.

Unsubscribing from marketing communications will not prevent us from sending essential communications relating to an existing booking, transaction or service.

Our retreats and experiences are primarily intended for adults unless expressly stated otherwise.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent or another lawful basis recognised by POPIA.

Where an activity involves children, we will take appropriate steps to comply with the additional requirements applicable to children's personal information.

We aim to keep the personal information we hold accurate, complete and up to date.

Please notify us if your personal information changes or if you believe that information we hold about you is incorrect.

We may use third-party providers to help us operate our business, including providers of:

• website hosting;

• booking systems;

• payment processing;

• email;

• cloud storage;

• accounting;

• marketing;

• customer communication; and

• website analytics.

Where these providers process personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that they handle that information appropriately and securely.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• changes in our business;

• changes to our website;

• changes in technology;

• changes in applicable law; or

• changes to our privacy practices.

The latest version will be published on our website with the relevant effective or updated date.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa where appropriate.

The Information Regulator is the independent statutory body responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with POPIA.

Information Regulator contact details:

Website: Information Regulator of South Africa
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Telephone: 010 023 5200

For questions, requests or concerns relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact:

The Unwinding Retreats and Nature Experiences (Pty) Ltd
Registration Number: 2026/736195/07

Email: contact@theunwinding.co.za
Website: https://theunwinding.co.za
Location: Cape Town, South Africa