In ‟Out and about”, we talk to people who currently live abroad or have lived and worked there. This week, we talk to Louis de Klerk and his wife Louna who lives in Australia.

Hello, Louis and Louna. It’s great talking to you!

From where in South Africa are you, and why did you move to Australia?

We lived in Paarl. I (Louis) grew up in Wellington and Louna in Paarl. We met six years ago and got married a few months later. We were both victims of the Covid recession and lost our jobs at the time. Louna couldn’t find a job as a teacher, and I couldn’t find a permanent job, so I had to rely on contract work. We struggled terribly and had to start looking at other options to provide for ourselves and our children.

Tell us more about your family.

Louna (43) and I (43) have been married for five years and have no children together. I have two children who live with their moms in South Africa.

How did you experience the emigration process to Australia?

For us, the process went very well. We got involved right away and received a lot of support – even from South Africans here in Australia. The Terreblanche family helped us with accommodation, the Boshoff family lent us a car, and another South African family helped us with groceries when we landed here. It was a great blessing for us.

Tell us a little more about your work. What does a typical day look like? Is life more relaxed there, and do you have more time to relax or travel?

My job is pretty simple – you work eight hours a day and get paid well. I have a very good work-life balance. Louna is a teacher at a Catholic school, and the benefits for teachers, such as planning time during the school day, help to maintain a healthy balance between work and leisure. We enjoy going camping somewhere on weekends.

Did you easily make new friends and integrate into the community?

We deliberately made friends from the start. We made an effort to connect with as many people as possible. We also help new families who have arrived here to adjust. We are mostly in contact with other South African families – there are so many of us here, almost 1 000 South Africans within a 50 km radius.

What was the strangest thing for you to get used to? What was the biggest adjustment?

We’ll probably never get used to the shopping trolleys! Nor the way the Aussies speak or their work ethic.

What interesting things did you discover in Australia that you didn’t know about before?

How generous people are. And how many things one can do for free – free caravan parks, free events, free furniture and much more.

What lessons have you learned as a family since moving?

To hold on to your faith – because God has a plan for everyone. Your relationship with each other must be strong, or emigration can break it. Depression is not a shame and help is available. Post-migration depression is normal, and many people experience its ups and downs.

What does your Afrikaner heritage mean to you? What traditions do you keep alive abroad?

We will never lose our language, nor our pride. We love braai, hanging out and Afrikaans music. It is special to see children playing in Afrikaans, even though they grow up in an English environment.

Are there any South African stores or products available near you? And have you found any Afrikaans service providers?

In our area, there are a lot of South Africans – you often hear Afrikaans in town. There is an African shop that sells certain South African products, and we order online. It would be great to have more South African doctors in our area, and an Afrikaans hairdresser would make many ladies happy! At least there are quite a few teachers who speak Afrikaans.

What would you call your emigration chapter?

Hopping down to Aus – a blessing we did not know we needed.

What is the biggest change in your lives since you emigrated?

We can live again. After years of hardship, we were able to pick ourselves up again and start looking forward to the future. Things that were not possible for us in South Africa are possible here. We live in a beautiful area and have not yet experienced fear of crime.

Is there anything else you would like to share – advice for others considering emigrating?

Don’t be afraid – take a chance. On our Facebook page, ‟Hopping down to Aus”, we share our adventures, advice and even a little humour. We support families who are already in Australia and also those who are still in the process of moving. We have already helped 14 families find furniture for their homes and are also offering free accommodation upon arrival.

Our inspiration to help people also led us to start the website recruitza.global with Steven Phyffer. We help South Africans make the emigration process easier and safer. They can apply for jobs, connect with registered agents, and be sure they are doing business safely. The website also offers features such as CV upgrades, practice tests for the English language test and a cost of living calculator, to name a few.

Also read: Out and about: An email from Alabama, USA