“South Africa Is a Movie”: KZN Shack Built at the Top of a Tree Leaves SA Asking Questions

• A KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneur showed a shack built at the very top of a large tree beside a road
• The structure raised immediate safety concerns, with people pointing out the risks of lightning strikes and more
• Many were confused about what they were looking at, but some saw it from a different view, calling it a creative solution to housing and land problems
• Briefly News spoke to architectural technologist Kyle Moodley on why building a shack or structure on top of a tree can be dangerous

A video shared by KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneur @londeka.k.thusi on 21 May 2026 showed a large tree beside a road with most of its branches cut away. Right at the top of the tree sat a small shack built entirely from branches and metal sheets for the roof and sides. Someone had made a home up there.

It was not a fancy treehouse, and it did not look stable, but it was clearly being used as a living space. The footage quickly spread across social media, with one summing up what many people were feeling:

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"South Africa is a movie. It's a series. Every day you will be shocked by new things."

Why does this raise serious safety concerns?

Building a shack at the top of a tree is not just unusual; it's dangerous. According to construction experts, the weight-bearing capacity of a treehouse depends heavily on the type of tree, the quality of materials used and how the structure is attached.

Hardwood trees with deep root systems are the safest option, and the structure needs to spread weight evenly across multiple points. A well-built treehouse using quality materials can hold between 230kg and 450kg, depending on the tree and the design.

What was visible in this video is that the shack does not meet any of those standards. Branches tied together with metal sheets do not spread the weight safely, and one heavy rainfall, strong wind or lightning strike could bring the whole thing down.

South Africa has many areas where people have built informal shack settlements due to the ongoing housing shortage and the high cost of land, but a shack built at the top of a tree is something most people have never seen before.

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Speaking to Briefly News writer Nerissa Naidoo, architectural technologist Kyle Moodley said:

“Building any structure on a tree without proper planning and structural calculations can be extremely risky. Trees are living organisms that move and change over time, and not all of them can safely support additional weight. Without assessing factors such as load-bearing capacity, stability and the condition of the tree, the structure could become unstable and collapse.”

He went on to say:

“Wind, heavy rain, and storms place extra stress on any elevated structure. If proper measurements and engineering considerations are not taken into account, severe weather can weaken connections, shift the structure, or cause it to fail completely. Safety should always come first, especially when people will be living in or regularly using the space.”

Watch the Facebook clip below:

SA debates the shack treehouse in KZN

The comments section on Facebook user @londeka.k.thusi's post ranged from stunned to sympathetic:

@dutch.chademana wrote:

"We have another one here in Benoni, Gauteng. Will take a picture."

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@JoeMan said:

"I don't blame whoever built that. Land is very expensive, and they knew they won't sell the sky."

@mukomawah.dima wrote:

"Soft life."

@Videlis.Odosh wrote:

"Sniper-watching tower."

@tafadzwa.mazarura said:

"What a skyscraper. The hiking prices won't affect them."

@SizweTerence added:

"At your own risk."

More on SA housing and shacks

• Briefly News recently reported on a man who upgraded his mother's rundown shack into a beautiful home.
• Two people lost their lives in a shack fire, and the City of Johannesburg used the tragedy to warn residents about how quickly things can go wrong.
• Powerful Western Cape storm winds tore straight through a family's shack in Worcester and left their furniture and belongings exposed.

Source: Briefly News