Johannes “Jans” Rautenbach was born in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, and grew up on a farm.  Since there were quite a few males named “Johannes” in the family, he was called Jans from an early age, and does not even answer to the name Johannes anymore.  Jans comes from a family with deep roots in South Africa’s history.  His great-grandfather on his mother’s side, Johannes Jacobus Dorfling, fought in the Second Anglo-Boer War against the British, during which he was taken captive, and was held as a prisoner of war at the St. Helena Island.  His great-grandmother and his grandmother were held in concentration camps in South Africa.

 

Jans was a driver / tour guide for the SA Railways for over ten years, and he and his wife, Lizelle, even started their own touring company.  They love the outdoors, gardening, touring and nature, and have visited every nature reserve and game park in South Africa.  Jans and Lizelle have travelled extensively, and Jans has visited more than 35 countries, from Europe to the East and Middle East.  The happily married couple has no children except for their three cats and one dog.  Jans is 100% deaf due to a genetic disorder, that had slowly but surely taken away his hearing, and he also has emphysema and a heart condition.  Adding his chronic asthma and hypertension, he is nearly 100% dependant on Lizelle.  Jans has two mottos in life: “Just one day at a time”, and “Do today what you can, as tomorrow may never be”.