At nearly 2,000 metres above sea level, Dullstroom feels unlike anywhere else in South Africa.
Image: Supplied
The air is cooler, thinner and cleaner. Mist drifts slowly across rolling grasslands. Trout-filled dams reflect vast skies, while stone cottages glow warmly against the cold. It is little wonder the town has long been compared to the Scottish Highlands.
Tucked away on an 800-hectare private estate just outside the village, Walkersons Hotel & Spa has embraced that spirit for more than three decades, remaining exactly as always intended: a five-star country house hotel with a distinct Scottish character, at home in the Mpumalanga highlands.
Long before fireplaces became fashionable additions to luxury hotel rooms, Walkersons understood the romance of a real country retreat. Every room was designed with a fireplace at its heart, and that founding instinct has been honoured ever since. Each room opens onto its own private patio overlooking dams, rolling hills or open grassland, and the interiors are warm and unfussy, with throws and that fireplace at the centre of everything. On winter evenings, when frost settles over the highveld there are few more comforting places to be.
Image: Supplied
Trout fishing remains a defining feature of the estate. Eleven dams and four kilometres of river run through the property, and Walkersons is considered to offer some of the best trout fishing in South Africa. All fishing is catch and release. Should you witness some of the most graceful casting you have ever seen, it is probably Springbok angler, Lucinda van Niekerk, who works for the estate. Guided fishing is available for complete beginners, and the experts will tell you that a novice with the right fly has as good a chance as anyone.
The estate rewards exploration beyond the water’s edge. Walking trails climb through protected grasslands rich with birdlife and wildlife. Zebra move peacefully across the hillsides while blesbok stand silhouetted against the escarpment sky. The walk to the hilltop viewpoint behind the hotel is more demanding than it looks at this altitude, which only adds to the satisfaction of the view.
Image: Supplied
Back at the hotel, the atmosphere shifts naturally from outdoor adventure to fireside indulgence. Dinner tables are dressed in white linen and a full set of cutlery, always including a fish knife and fork. Executive Chef Guy Nahman draws on his world travels and his English-Spanish-Turkish heritage to craft menus that are both inventive and generous in spirit. He calls it “elevated country cuisine”: beautifully prepared trout, homemade pastas, fragrant curries, and venison and duck dishes that feel exactly right at altitude. Between courses, keep an eye out for a quiet wink from one of the longstanding staff, beckoning you outside to where the zebra herd has gathered on the lawns, grazing as though the hotel were entirely their own.
Image: Supplied
A short stroll through the gardens leads to the spa, a tranquil sanctuary set apart from the main hotel building. Two couples treatment rooms create an intimate setting, one warmed by a fireplace, the other by the gentle sound of a fountain. A sauna and a menu of facials, massages and body treatments await, with treatments in high enough demand that booking ahead is strongly advised.
Much of the charisma you feel at Walkersons comes from its people. Nurse Mafokwane, the warm and familiar face at reception, started in 1999 when there were just three cottages. “I’ve seen a lot of changes,” she says, “but it’s still the same Walkersons that I know and love.” It is a sentiment shared by many of the staff, several of whom have been here for more than 20 years.
Returning to Walkersons does feel like coming back to family. The same people welcoming you, the comforts you have come to expect, drinks by the fireside, and countryside that insists, gently but firmly, that you slow down.
There may be no bagpipes echoing across the hills, but on certain winter mornings, with the mist rolling low across the highveld and a fire crackling nearby, the Scottish Highlands suddenly do not feel very far away at all.
Walkersons Hotel & Spa is located just outside Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, approximately three hours from Johannesburg and around 2.5 hours from the Kruger National Park.
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
ALSO READ:
Mpumalanga’s forgotten towns and the beauty of the open grasslands
