July is D-Date for arrival in ZA.
I intend to bring what I can in suitcases, but I also expect to ship about 5m3 pallets of personal goods to Durban port.
All very new to me.
Does anyone have any advice or warnings?
The other thing I don’t know if I am entitled to is a period of UIF, I was an employee in ZA for 20 years.
Anyone know?
Don’t ship anything that you need when you get here. Durban harbour is slow!
Try to get a shipping agent that is well represented in SA. Check on HelloPeter for feedback on the agent you intend to use.
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AFAIK, UIF is only applicable if your employer was paying up to the point that you stopped working.
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Based on my understanding (i.e. I am not a subject matter practitioner/expert) the short answer is no (especially based on the term entitled which I will take as synonymous with “qualify for”). I suspect 2 reasons
- Retirement technically does not qualify for UIF benefits and early/voluntary retirement definitely does not qualify.
- Assuming your current employer (or at least employer for 12 months before stopping working) is likely not ZA based and would not have deducted and paid over UIF (number of years worked/previous contributions in ZA are not particularly relevant - like insurance premiums paid without claiming - once no longer eligible for benefits it just goes away).
While many people successfully claim UIF on retirement this is bit of a loophole and only possible because ZA does not have a legally prescribed/mandated/defined retirement age. Retirement age in ZA is contracted between you and employer. Therefore, the argument is made that when the company policy forces you to be unemployed, you may still want to be employed and therefore can qualify for UIF while looking for work. In these cases, the employer will file notice to the UIF that you “retired”, and you will then submit an additional form completed by the employer indicating that the retirement was initiated by the employer (i.e. you did not choose to retire).
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Pack everything yourself into boxes etc. Don’t rely on the shippers to pack even if they say they can do. (especially with electronic components and hardware)
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The company collects and then palletizes and wraps with plastic.
So I will have to buy cardboard boxes. So ideally I am looking for a standard-size cardboard box that stacked together matches a pallet’s dimensions.
Then cardboard boxes come in single, double, and triple walls with costs to match.
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Jip, the cells from Amy, is quite expensive packaging that can take the shots, and weight.
Me, if it is parts you care for, courier them to yourself in SA via air. Methink containers on ships coupled with salt air may need extra care ito packaging some delicate items?
AviOcean - Anel Van Den Heever, did a sterling job getting our orders into SA, SA ports were the biggest issue on the entire journey.
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Shipping by Air is stupidly expensive as compared to shipping by sea.
(And it’s R10K/pallet by sea).
So I have about 3 months of leave to take, I’ll still be employed until the end of June.
But my remaining working days for this employer I can count on the fingers of one hand.
A fly in the ointment, I need my ZA passport renewed. I applied for an application appointment at the ZA embassy. I had to wait six months for the appointment.
That application was in July 2023. (Nine months ago)
It still hasn’t arrived to date. I applied together with my sons, and they have received theirs already, albeit 4 months apart.
I enquired at the embassy, “Angazi”, but I was also told that an emergency passport application at this stage would cause problems, best to wait.
I was also informed if I travel to ZA on my British passport, I will be arrested on arrival.
Charming, well there are still three months to go, but I am getting worried that practically the only country I won’t be able to travel to is the country of which I am a citizen.
Welcome back to SA!!!
Sorry, that just popped up in my mind. 
Ah well, it isn’t the end of the world, if I am forced to live in hotels for a month or two, I may as well travel a bit on my British passport, in the meantime.
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@TheTerribleTriplet & @plonkster, I normally steer clear of conversations about cars. It is a topic about which I know I am dwarfed by this forum’s collective knowledge.
However, looking to my future, I will need a workhorse bakkie. It looks to me like the good old South African farm bakkie has morphed into a suburban soccer mum status symbol in the last twenty years since I left ZA.
So, I am loathed to buy a new vehicle and am in the market for a bakkie that can still be fixed by a mechanic with spanners and not a laptop.
I am partial to Toyota, but Isuzu or a Series iii Landrover may pique my interest too.
What models are still available from the era when a bakkie was still a bakkie?
Both are good choices, if you get the “right” year model in my opinion.
Landrover, no comments. Just that it could be a PITA IF you need to go into repairs.
Saw a 1999 Frontier the other day for sale for like R35k … near-perfect condition.
One caveat … it needs an engine.
Did some quick sums, one can drive around for <R100k knowing that money spent is good for 100’s of thousands of kms going forward.
Also, am busy with some major “it is time to replace” stuff on 25yo Suzy.
If I bought her for R80k-R120k today and had to do that, forget it. Not viable.
But because I had decades of driving the parts, AND I upped the insurance to cover said maintenance, it is cheap as chips compared to a new car.
SO … what is his point? … Simple. It depends on where your “tolerance” level lies, buy to fix for your standard or buy to drive with fixes later?
One thing I do know … I NEVER want to buy a vehicle with a “computer” in it unless it is “short-term”.
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From the Toyota stable, which is what I am mostly familiar with, the safe answer is to get the previous gen Toyota Hilux, with the 2.4 liter GD6 engine, starting around model year 2016. That’s already 8 years old by now, if you think about it. Timing chain, not belt.
Otherwise you are looking at the one before that, which had the 1KD engine (3 liter) or the 2KD engine (2.5 liter). Direct injection engines, but has a timing belt. Many people swear by these over the GD-series.
Before that was the 1KZ engine (that was a precombustion-chamber engine, had the occasional cylinder head issue, didn’t make a lot of power, and was quite thirsty). The 1KZ-TE had more power and was the one to get, but this was not Toyota’s best time in my opinion.
Then before that (late 90s!) you are looking at the 2L (2.4 liter Diesel) and 3L engines (2.8 liter). These are workhorses. No turbos and funny stuff. Mechanical diesel pump and injectors. A proper bakkie as you said, but 1) makes a measly 58kW, and 2) 12km/liter or so is about what she will do.
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Fuel consumption is not a primary concern. Neither is performance or looks.
120km/h, the occasional 1-ton load is all I’ll need and 200K trouble free kms
4x4 is also not a requirement.
I want diff locks and an aircon, but no other thrills.
I want a reliable naturally aspirated vehicle that is built to take dirt roads.
I am looking around and the Isuzu KB250 & np300 Nissan seem to be mentioned a bit, as well as the older Toyota Hilux models.
There is also talk of Mahindra, but it doesn’t seem to have history.
Then just get a Petrol Hilux. 1GR-FE. Rock solid, and doesn’t fetch the premium prices the Diesels command.
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Looked it up at 4L it looked promising, then from:
" The engine longevity is over 200,000 miles. After that line, most of the 1GR engines need a new cylinder block."
Oh… it is another one of their “disposable” engines. I actually didn’t know that. I drive a car that has a similar “disposable” engine (the 2AD-FTV diesel), with steel linings in an aluminium block… can’t bore or repair it, need to buy a new shortblock.
Still, might be an option. It sounds like the verdict is “It will last at least 200k miles (320k km), but if you need to overhaul it, you can’t”.
So I Googled my engine’s lifespan. Interesting it is ~450 000 km.
Then I read this: Many variables but the factory 4jb1 and 4jg2 engines in trucks are hitting 1 000 000km plus without ring replacement.
Ok.
FWIW, Suzy, no fault of hers, has overheated twice … pistons, rings and block in both cases are still perfect. Just a head gasket and head “service” was needed.
But it is NOT advisable to let these engines overheat due to:
- inexperienced mechanic,
- The owner saying “Not broken, don’t touch” - it is called maintenance poephol!
- Not checking the temp gauge.
EDIT - DMAX engine:
The dmax has a bigger engine though Toyota Hilux has more torque . Interestingly ,both vehicles have great towing capacities which are braked. The Isuzu dmax has better fuel economy compared to the Hilux ,the dmax also has a better service interval than the Hilux.So both vehicles will serve any purpose required of them.
So, what is the older model Isuzu, later than yours but not computer-based?
(I don’t know what models have what engine, that is beyond me).