IT all started in 1977 for local postman, Ramrajh Rambhrose who first walked the village streets of uMhlanga. What followed would be 40 years of dedicated service to the South Africa Postal Service. Besides being known for delivering his post with an unmistakable smile, the 64-year-old said the thing he was most proud of, was never missing a day of work in his 40 year career.

The Blackburn Village resident walks about 20 kilometres a day and has delivered more than 50 000 packages and letters to uMhlanga, Glen Anil, Glenhills, La Lucia, Durban North and Avoca.

In October, Rambhrose will officially retire, and says he plans to fish more often, a hobby he enjoys when he is not working.

“I’m going to miss the people, and the walking. The people in the area have been very good to me. It is with mixed feelings that I’m going to retire. I do think I could be in the Guinness World Record Books for having a 100 per cent attendance record for 40 years. I don’t think that’s been done before. There is a lot of walking in this job. I figure I’ve walked around the world a couple of times,” he smiled

Rambhrose said one of the biggest changes he had noticed was the weight of his mail bag.

“It’s not as heavy as it used to be. I would say technology has changed how people communicate. The bag weights have almost dropped by half. It’s all online now,” he said.