Africa Travel

The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias holds a special place in the history of South Africa. It was he who, in February of 1488, made a landfall at a site now called Mossel Bay, on his search for a sea route around Africa to the Far East. He thus became the first known European to set foot on South African soil. That historic event was celebrated in 1988 with the voyage of a replica of Dias’s ship, and the placing of that vessel in an exciting maritime museum.

Bartolomeu Dias’s Ship

The ship that is now on display at the museum complex is an exact replica of Dias’s 25-ton, two-masted caravel. Visitors can go aboard this relatively small vessel and get an idea of the cramped quarters sailors of old had to endure on voyages that could last many months. There was no privacy. The ships were so small and frail looking, we wonder today how people actually crossed oceans in them, let alone sail into the unknown waters of South Africa.

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With so many different sources of information and the sometimes ambiguous rules associated with immigration to South Africa, spousal permits are often confused as to what they entitle the holder to be able to undertake in terms of work or business opportunities.

It is not uncommon for foreign spouses to end up with relatives permits and in extreme cases be advised that they require a work permit in order to take up paid employment. In fact many recruitment agencies and employers are also under the false believe that the normal protocol that applies to general work permit applicants also applies to foreign spouses.

The actual process is seemingly straight forward – if you are married to a South African you need to apply for spousal permit. Spousal permits, although the requirements seem easy, can be difficult to obtain. The only stipulated requirement (other than the general immigration rules) is that the applicant needs to be married to a South African citizen or permanent residency holder. There is no specified time frame to the marriage although it should be noted that recent marriages and younger ages can mean a shorter period of time being granted on the spousal permit.

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One of the attractions of voluntary work abroad has to be getting away from it all. Whether you are a gap year student, someone taking a career break or you are using part of your annual vacation to help others, the idea of leaving the world behind for a few weeks can be very appealing.

You can just picture being in exotic destinations like Kenya, Mozambique or Zanzibar. No boss to bug you, no phone ringing all the time and demanding your attention. You can concentrate on the volunteer work you are doing and leave the rest of the world to its own devices for a while.

Which all sounds very nice, but some of those people in the rest of the world care about you and want to know you are safe. Not so long ago they would probably have just had to wait for your return but today you are never actually far from communication of some kind. Apart from anything else it’s often important for the smooth running of your volunteer project.

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