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I was born in Letsitele (well actually in Tzaneen hospital, but we stayed in Letsitele at the time) My dad worked for the provincial nature reserves then, so that meant we were staying on the reserves. I was about 6 or 7 months old when we then moved to Musina, some 4 years there and then we moved to Doorndraai dam near to Potties (potgietersrus/ Mokopane) and after some 4 years there we moved to Pietersburg. and then got stuck here I was in Potties in the school for Gr1 then the rest of school in Pietersburg. was for a year in Pretoria and back in Pietersburg now. I will anyday move to the bush.


Somebody told me the other day, that I always say all good things comes from the lowveld. I just smiled, coz I'm also "a lowveld product"

love love love the lowveld.

And to think that by now, I could have retired on a piece of prime Kruger real estate. My father had an option to by 2500 morgen in the Timbavati area of the Greater Kruger area at R25,00 per morgen. He never took up the option and bought land in the Free State at R100,00 per morgen. If you can find any property inside the Kruger area, you can expect to pay up to R200 000,00 per hectare.

So I guess I am stuck here on the flatlands of the Orange Free State.

Really enjoying this thread!

I'm a Joburg boy (yes, boy - the screenname seems to throw people). Been here my whole life, although I'm considering a move to Pretoria as the daily commute is becoming exhausting.

I'd happily pack my bags for the Lowveld though!

what a superb thread... need a certain time to read all the posts
and I will come later.. no, no, no not for my roots, they are so banal... for yours

I was born in Mokopane (Potgietersrus) in Limpopo and after high school moved to Pretoria where I still live. It was a great place to grow up in and when I was in Primary School many of the roads were still not tarred and all the kids used to play in the streets in the evenings till after dark and the grown-ups were chatting (usually a big dose of skinder as well) on the stoeps of the houses . It was very safe. I also remember when the circus visited the town they had a procession in some of the streets in the central of town and all the kids followed it very eagerly. There were a lot of dust as we were very excited and even did a few cartwheels as well . My roots are firmly in SA

Like Bert, born in Vanderbijlpark, where my dad also worked at Yskor, a co-worker with Bert's dad.
Raised, attended school and University there. My parents have now been living at the same address for 40 years... They've never lived anywhere else.
I lived in Balfour and Standerton in Mpumalanga for a couple of years before moving back to Vanderbijlpark. Now in Den Haag.

My roots are in the Vaal Triangle. That's where I feel at home. It may not be the prettiest place in South Africa, but it's home.

My favourite place in South Africa ever since we went there on holidays when I was small, is the West Coast. Paternoster or Lambertsbaai.

Tomorrow night I fly out to revisit my roots. I will be spending some of my time there in Manchester staying with my cousin, and otherwise staying in SE London where my son and his wife are putting down their roots. But the Kalahari sand is in his shoes.

Have just "tripped over" this thread - how strange that many of the mites here have crossed each others paths at some time or another!

Born in Portugal, moved to Newport, Monmouthshire - well it was but now its in Gwent (not far from Crested Val) - in the early 50's. Educated there and at boarding school in Oxford. Came to SA after "A" levels for a 3 month holiday with relatives and stayed for 15 months - back to Newport for 3 years and then emigrated! Lived and worked in Jo'burg and Lesotho, met and married P in Swaziland - one child born there (P knew Jazil's SO!)
Transferred to Rhodesia - second child born in Bulawayo. Transferred to Vereeniging and lived there for 32 years! Two years ago moved north to the Bushveld ( not far from where WFG and Grantmissy grew up!) and are now, hopefully, settled!
Africa got into my blood when I first arrived and has never left - annual trips to KNP and/or KTP are a must to keep us going!

F

I was born in the then Rhodesia, stayed in Bulawayo until the age of seven when my folks decided to come down south. We moved to Pretoria where I matriculated and started working but my roots were calling. Returned to Zim to work in the bush, in West Nicholson but was refused when I tried to claim citizenship back and was basically chucked out of the country. Returned to SA (Pretoria) with a very shattered heart and then met SO, both kids were born in Pretoria and 3.5 years back we moved to the Waterberg District in Limpopo so yes - my roots are the bush, and I will always end up selling my soul for a mopani tree.

Parents lived in Kasane - Chobe area of Botswana - so was born in Livingstone, Zambia and went to school in Gwanda, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia then - giving my age away) then they moved to Shakawe - Okovango Botswana and poor unfortunate me ended up going to school in JHB.

My roots seem to be embeded in Northern KZN now - Specificaly Mkuze where all my essential needs are met in one place - large area of water, tiger fishing, elephants swimming, awsome birding etc. - Perfect for a bush baby who is a Jeep Jocky and Skipper by trade.

Well I was born and brought up in Bury, a small town on the edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation, in the north of England. To the south miles of old, Industrial Revolution, terraced houses and cotton mills. To the north the western edges of the Penines. I still miss the moors. And I'm very proud of my "northern" heritage.

Moved to Accrington, then Burnley, both small mill towns in Lancashire. At 18 off to Pontypridd in South Wales for college and then to Bristol in SW England for 13 years. Been in a small sea-side town near Portsmouth on the south coast of England for 8 years after moving "for love". And I have no plans to move anywhere else.

I am one of the Schoemans from Schoemanskloof. My grandfather and his brother was the first people there and it was then named after them. My dad however studied in Jhb where he and my mom got married and I was born here in Johannesburg and did my primary school here. Then we moved to Warmbaths (Bela-bela) in 1980 where I did my High School. Studied in Pretoria, got married to the ex and moved later on to Warden in the Free State... (Where I actually learned what it feels like to be cold... brrr). Anyway, moved back to Pretoria after 18 months and ended up back in Johannesburg. Will be moving to Nelspruit within the next few months. My roots... in the lowveld...

I was born in Benoni, grew up in Boksburg. I love the east of JHB and dont think I couldlive any where else in JHB. I worked In Nelspruit for a couple months and that was the only City I felt i could move to and be happy other than Boksburg.

And Cheetah you have it wrong there is no Burger like a Boksburger

I was born in Potchefstroom in 1982. From then onwards we moved a few times, as my late father was a "dominee" in the Gereformeerde Kerk (Reformed Church). For the first 3 years of my life we lived in the very small town of Daniëlskuil in the Northern Cape. All I can remember of this time was that we had a huge property with a fountain where we used to swim, orchards and horses.

In 1985 we moved to Bothaville (I see there are a few old Bothavillers on this Forum-Heksie & Rooies). I went to the Eben Donges Primary School untill grade 4 when we moved again.

Our next stop was Nylstroom, now called Modimolle. I can remember how wonderful the change of scenery was from the mielie-fields in the Free State to the beautiful scenery of the Waterberg mountains! Here I finished primary school as well as secondary school at Hoërskool Nylstroom.

In 2001 I came to Pretoria to study B.Com Accounting at Tuks which I mercifully managed to complete. I later qualified as a Chartered Accountant and have been working in the Pretoria area since then. I live in the older part of Pretoria in the Moot with my lovely wife.

Though I work in the accounting field, my passion has always been nature and conservation. The love for nature runs deep in our family and my first memories are of Kruger holidays as a child. I spend as much time as possible in the bush and also qualified as a field guide. My long-term goal is to slowly move away from the corporate environment towards the nature conservation field and therefore I am currently studying towards a B.Sc as well.

Well somebody has to live in Boksburg .... and Benoni