Packing for two thousand metres

Dullstroom sits at a little over two thousand metres, which means the sun is fierce, the air is thin and the evening arrives about ten degrees colder than the afternoon promised. Guests who pack for the drive up are always the ones borrowing a jersey from reception by seven. Pack for the altitude instead and the whole weekend gets easier.

One more layer than you think

The rooms hold heat well and every one of them has either a fire or underfloor warmth, so indoors is never the problem. Outdoors between five and nine is. A wind shell over a wool mid-layer covers almost every evening from March to September, and it packs down to nothing.

Boots for the boardwalk

The Forest Trail is raised timber the whole way and flat enough for slippers, but the River Walk crosses grassland that holds dew until mid-morning. Anything with a sole will do. Gumboots live by the door in every size we could find, so this is the one thing you can safely forget.

Worth bringing

• A wind shell, and something wool under it.
• Sunglasses. The light off the water at altitude is genuinely bright.
• A swimming costume, for the rim pool and the spa pools both.
• A book you have been putting off. Signal here is famously shy.
• Binoculars, if you own them. The herons are worth the weight.

Already in the room

• Robes, slippers and a hot water bottle at turndown.
• Rooibos, a grinder of valley coffee, and a tin of rusks.
• Umbrellas by the door, and a lantern for the walk back.
• A weather note for tomorrow, left on the nightstand at night.

Anything you forget, ask at the desk. Fifteen years of guests arriving underdressed has left us with a very well stocked cupboard.