Today when I tell youngsters that there was NO computers, internet, nothing other than books the question follows "what did you do with yourself". The best I can describe it is we were explorers, wildlife explorers. Today parents battle to get their kids out of the house. In my day our parents battled to get us indoors. To give context to the  era of the time, all communication were conducted either by phone and/or written correspondence. All correspondence typed/written was placed in an envelope, stamped and distributed via the SA Post Office. Books, magazines, and encyclopaedia were the major sources of information. Radio was the other alternative, but information on falconry, very little.  TV was only introduced in SA in 1976