Dullstroom and the Highlands Meander

The Highest Town In South Africa At Just Over Two Thousand Metres, On A Cold Misty Grassland Plateau That Turned Out To Suit Introduced Trout Better Than Anything Else In The Country Which Has Made It A Weekend Town Of Fly Fishing Dams, Log Fires, A Whisky Bar With Hundreds Of Bottles And Crane Conservation On The Surrounding Wetlands · Dullstroom, Mpumalanga

Dullstroom is the highest town in South Africa, sitting just over two thousand metres on a cold grassland plateau that is in cloud a great deal of the year, and the row will be straightforward about what it is: a weekend-cottage town rather than a sight. What it has is water. The dams and streams up here turned out to suit introduced trout better than anywhere else in the country, so from the 1960s onward Johannesburg built fishing cottages, and what grew around that is a single main street of log fires, farm shops, a whisky bar with several hundred bottles and a bird of prey centre. The surrounding wetlands are genuinely important for cranes - all three South African species breed or feed here and the conservation work is real. It is two hours from Johannesburg on the way to the Panorama Route and Kruger, malaria-free, and reliably about ten degrees colder than anybody expects it to be.

On the Mpumalanga escarpment 60 km north of Belfast on the R540, between Johannesburg and the Panorama Route, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, South Africa

A town rather than a site. The main street's shops, restaurants, the whisky bar and the farm stalls keep daylight and evening hours, with most busiest from Friday to Sunday when Gauteng arrives - several close on Mondays and Tuesdays. THE TROUT WATERS ARE MOSTLY PRIVATE and access is by day permit arranged through lodges, fishing shops or the local association rather than by turning up at a dam. The bird of prey and rehabilitation centre keeps daylight hours with flying displays at set times. Crane conservation sites on the surrounding wetlands are best visited with a local guide or through the conservation trust. Accommodation is cottages and guesthouses and fills from Friday and over long weekends. Dullstroom is two hours from Johannesburg on the R540 and about ninety minutes from the Panorama Route, and it is MALARIA-FREE and COLD.

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