Walkersons in Autumn is pure bliss

When you tell people that you are going to Walkersons in Mpumalanga you get lots of ooohs & aaahs. Before our visit last week I honestly did not understand why, but now I totally do & I can tell you that Walkersons deserves all those ooohs, aahs AND five hurrahs!

It is literally just three hours’ drive from Pretoria or Joburg & a stones’ throw beyond the gorgeous little Mpumalanga town of Dullstroom. And Autumn is a really gorgeous time to visit this area.

The 800 hectare property, buildings & the rolling hills remind me so much of Scotland. Think five-star luxury but in a very elegant & unpretentious way. The Scottish country manor feel, with natural stone, wood & lots of interesting nooks is exactly what the original owners had in mind when they built Walkersons some 22 years ago. Today the property has all the original charm, but with all the modern luxuries plus it is child friendly!

So if you think that luxury holiday accommodation & small children don’t go together, think again. I so enjoy a bit of luxury & prefer a civilized holiday set-up to a camping holiday (don’t tell my two main guys), so Walkersons is exactly my cup of tea. If you travel with kiddos under 12 you can choose between one of their six self-catering cottages, but still have access to the hotel facilities like the dining area, gym & pool. There are also 27 private hotel rooms, of which two – the Family & Manor suites – are suitable for families.

Meals for families are served on the Terrace or in The Hotel Family Dining Room. Read: you can still have a special, civilised evening out without worrying that your mini person is disturbing the couple trying to have a romantic dinner.

We spent the evening in the Hansel Cottage (which is perfectly situated next to the Gretel cottage – where else?). Hansel & Gretel offer lovely four-star no-frills luxury. We were welcomed to the cottage with a freshly baked bread (best I’ve ever had) with butter & paté compliments of the Walkersons Chefs.

Soon after I popped in at the Spa for a back & neck massage. A perfect start to a long weekend. In fact, I could have stayed at the spa for the entire afternoon… but there was an entire property to explore.

I would recommend that you stay at least two or three nights to embrace the entire Walkersons experience which includes fly fishing, spa treatments, hiking, gym, fine dining, taking a long luxurious bath, read or sleep.

And if you have small people with you, you can colour in, ride a horse, admire the koi fish in the pond, watch one of the various kiddie DVD’s that are available in the cottage, build Lego, or take a bike ride (you can hire one if you don’t have your own).

Walkersons is also fly-fishing utopia, but only for CPR (we were told by a local fisherman). CPR being Catch, Photograph & Release. And there are dams for days. 15 well-stocked trout dams to be exact. You will also find a bench at every dam for admiring the view or for taking a break from all the CPR that you’ve been doing.

The entire reception area has the most amazing smell & as the sun starts to set, fires are lit & you can put your feet up as you page through a book.

We opted for an a la carte dinner instead of the four-course meal & I reckon we made the right decision. Great portions & really delicious. We were served by Elias & Isaac – both so kind to Oliver & quick with our orders.

Back to the gorgeous surrounds.

Beautifully kept footpaths (many paved) all over the estate make the dams & the property easy to explore & appreciate. On my early morning walk, I spotted no less than 12 zebras. We went back later to check out the zerbas a bit further.

More sightings include guinea fowl, horses & ducks. If you’re lucky you might also see black wildebeest, red hartebeest, duiker & blesbok.

As far as we’re concerned, our Walkersons visit was perfect. As for Oliver. Well, he admired the helipad for a long time & was rather disappointed that nobody made an effort to arrive in a helicopter! So I think next time we will take our helicopter to Walkersons. Ha!

In all seriousness though. We’ll totally be back at Walkersons. Maybe in winter to spend cozy romantic nights by the fire (sans five-year-old), indulge in more delicious food & the high tea. Or maybe we’ll go in summer to chill by the pool & have a romantic picnic by the dam.

Ok, enough daydreaming & back to real life. Thank you for reading.

Yolandi ♥

Images: Yolandi North © . Our accommodation was complimentary, but as always this review contains my honest views. For more information, visit http://www.walkersons.co.za, call 013 253 7000 or follow Walkersons on Facebook or Twitter.