Journey To South Africa

By Mary Helen Gill

The Author has a dream, as far back as 1946 that she is treading accross sea water, towards a white sandy beach, where there is a group of natives siting in a ring. She is wearing only a thin white cotton robe in the dream, and the natives see her, they stand up in wonderment and come forward to greet her. They are singing and clapping their hands. As she reaches the beach she feels the warm sand under her feet, and then she wakes up, back in her bed.
She still feels the intense heat and has to open her bedroom window wide in order to let in the cool night air. When she tells her father of the dream, he forecasts that she will most likely one day travel to a warm country like Africa. When she visits a Gypsy Fortune teller two years later, she is again told that she will cross water with her husband and young children one day. This actually comes to pass when she and her husband emigrate from Scotland to South Africa with their children in 1968, and begin a new life that involved quite a few hardships. After they settle they are able to visit places of interest and take many pictures, some of which have been inserted in the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Helen Gill
• Release date: Sep 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301799039

Mary Helen Gill

I am an elderly widow ( 82) I took a short story course when I was younger and obtained a Diploma from the School of Authorship in London. I have never tried to sell my work untill now, and I made up a book on Microsoft Publisher, which I must say looked good, and I received a write up concerning it from the Editor of the DPH Society in Dunning Perthshire.I am currently busy converting this to Microsoft Word - hence the delay. It had text boxes.I am just a determined old granny who has had a varied life. I came through the traumas of World War 2, I have nursed many adults and children in Scotland with the old dreaded Fevers. I have served in the WRAF as a Dental Assistant, and tried my hand at Bisley rifle range whilst there.I emmigrated to S.AFrica in 1968 with my husband and 3 children, where I continued with yet another hobby...Oil Painting.I have however reverted back to the writing to see if I can leave behind a legacy of some sort.and at the same time add something to my meagre pension.

Book preview

Journey to South Africa

Fifth EBook

By

Mary Helen Gill

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Foreword

The following is a true story from the Author’s experience, as a British Immigrant in 1968. The names of characters herein have, been altered for personal reasons. This story is about what it takes a family to emmigrate to a strange country, giving up everything they had and separating from their loved ones in the process. Of how we were received in South Africa, and how we lived afterwards. Of the wonderfully economic country, it once was, and where there was safety and freedom to travel without the constant fear of being hi-jacked, murdered or raped.

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Journey to South Africa

Copyright Page

Copyright © Mary Helen Gill 2013

Published at Smashwords

ISBN 9781301799039

Mary Helen Gill asserts the moral right to be, identified as the author of this work.

The Pictures shown in this eBook are the sole Copyright of Mary Helen Gill.

Smashwords, edition License notes

This EBook is, licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

This EBook may not, be given away or re-sold to other people. If you would like to share this EBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy of each recipient. If you are reading this EBook- and did not purchase it, or it was not,, purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords and purchase your own copy

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

License Notes

Prologue

Chapt1Ref:_The big _decision

Chapt2Ref:_All the goodbyes

Chapt3Ref:_Our_first day_in_Africa

Chapt4Ref_Finding_Our_way_around:

Chapt5Ref:_Settling down

Chapt6Ref:_Troubles

Chapt7Ref:_The Waterkloof Swimming pool

Chapt8Ref:_The ghost House

Chapt9Ref:_Lost in Garankuwa

Chapt10Ref:_Visit to the Eastern Transvaal

Chapt11Ref:_A Tour around _the Game Park

Chapt12Ref:_A Drive to _Skukuza camp

Chapt13Ref:_More_great_sightings

Chapt14Ref:_Last_day at Kruger Park

Chapt15Ref:_A_Stop at Pilgrim’s Rest

Chapt16Ref:_The_End_of our trip.

Chapter17ref:_Back_ to Work and Routine

Chapter18ref:_How_safe were we now.

Chapter19ref:_Planning_our_ next trip

Chapter20ref:_The _Swaziland Adventure

Chapter21ref:_Trip to Cape Town

Chapter22ref:_Ben’s illness

Chapter23ref:_Making life changes

Chapter24ref:_ Understanding Afrikaner Nationalism

Chapter25ref:_The _passing of time

Author’s endnotes

Forthcoming Editions

Prologue

In 1946, when I was 16 years old, I had a very vivid dream. I dreamt I was treading water on a calm and warm sea, which appeared to be on the Coast of Africa. I was wearing only a thin cotton robe, and I was heading for a group of scantily dressed Natives who were sitting in a circle on a white sandy beach. The sun was shining brightly, and the heat was suffocating. On seeing me approach, the natives all clapped their hands and stood up beckoning me to join them.

When I suddenly woke up, from the dream I was drenched in perspiration, and had to go over to my window. As I opened it wide allowing the cool breeze to come in I began to cool down, but I seemed to be still living my dream in what I believed to be an African Climate for a few moments. When I told my father about it, he said it could possibly have been a message that one day I would travel across the sea to a warm country like Africa. He was amazed at how warm I was, as we were actually in the midst of our Scottish winter.

Unfortunately, my father never lived long enough to see how true his prediction had been. From this and the readings of a Gypsy fortuneteller, I ended up in South Africa with my husband and three children in March 1968. The following story depicts what occurred leading up to this journey and our life during the latter years.

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Chapt.1ref:_The big decision

So many people have enquired in the past, of what made my husband and I decide to come to South Africa, and they have stressed such an interest in the subject that I decided to write about it. Here then, is my story:-

When, the last of the Gypsy’s predictions came -to pass. It was somewhat hard to accept at first. That, I would actually travel with my husband and, three children across water to a warm country. Ben and I had spent the majority of our married life travelling around Air-force married quarters in England. Now, fourteen years later-both in our early thirties, we had just completed making up our new home in Edinburgh, when Ben came up with the suggestion of moving abroad. At first, I was upset, but then I realized I had no way of holding him back. If he wanted to do this, I would not stop him.

He browsed the newspaper jobs columns, and found two jobs. One was with Quanta’s Airlines in Australia, and the other-with Atlas Aircraft Corporation in South Africa. After a great deal of coaxing, I eventually agreed and before long, Ben had arranged for interviews at both Embassies. We only had to wait two or three weeks after that, before two letters dropped through the letterbox on the very same day. I could hardly wait until he finished work and came home to open and read them. As it happened, he was, accepted for both jobs at the same time, I felt just as excited as he did, although a little apprehensive about what we were going to do with our house and new furniture, and what to say to his parents and my relatives also. There was a great deal to consider, and so he told me he would need time to think it all over before letting them know.

We finally decided on the job in South Africa as they promised a new house on arrival and assistance on settling. They said also that we could send a large crate on ahead of us with certain personal and household items, and a few toys and books-which made the choice even more tempting to accept. We sat down with our two daughters. Fourteen years old Anna, and Jane, who was coming up for twelve, and we discussed everything with them. They began to cry and performed about leaving their Grandparents and their friends, and did not relish the idea of living in a different country. They complained that we had moved them from school to school during the time their dad was still in the R.A.F. However, we managed to console them and then paid a visit to the grandparents, who almost had a fit. There faces turned ashen; when we told them what we had decided, and they were so angry, they were visibly trembling. No one - on either side of the family wanted us to go, and they all made a big fuss.

The girls were adamant about staying behind after their grandparents assured them that they could stay with them-no matter how much we tried to convince them that they would have a much better life ahead of them. We had our work cut out just trying to convince them, until eventually, Ben took the upper hand and told them flat out, that they had no choice any more. They were going with us and that would be the end of it. My sisters and brothers were none too happy either, but eventually gave in when I said that most likely we might return a couple of years later. However, despite all the moans and groans Ben completed the emigration papers, including the acceptance papers for the job. He maintained that it was our decision in the long run and not for everyone else to put a spoke in the wheel. Eventually the girls realized how serious their dad was about moving, and decided that there was no use in fighting the matter.

We only had to wait for the date of our flight, and the tickets. Before -finally disposing of all the items, we could not take with us. Mother-in-law cried whenever she could on Ben’s shoulder. We threw out, or gave away everything we could not sell within a space of three weeks, and arranged for a removal company to bring a crate and pack the items we wanted to take with us, which consisted of linen, blankets, crockery, and pots, books, clothes, and toys, and a few personal items we wanted to hang on to. I was- allowed to take my painting materials and my sewing and knitting machines. It was a very large crate and had to be- shipped over by sea. The remaining household contents were, sold at a loss to one buyer, whom we felt sure had crooked us. This was something we had not bargained for. When we eventually finished the disposing and packing up, we gave up the keys to our house in Edinburgh (A city we both loved) and then we moved in with Ben’s parents for the last week we would be there.

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Chapter2: All the goodbyes

Our Aeroplane tickets were dispatched to us, and we now knew the date and time of our flight. We had one week remaining, in which to visit everyone we could in the family and to say our goodbyes. The realization that this was a final move hit us all, Ben’s parents especially. They tried their utmost to make us change our minds, even at this late stage. My older sisters phoned from Glasgow and from Birmingham trying to discourage us from leaving, but on the promise of a