Hi Jac....
We just brought our two cats over, and they both got parole from quarantine last week.
Things you should know... It's expensive, very expensive.
Most important thing is, if your pet(s) don't have a microchip in, you are looking at 6 months FROM the date you have your pet chipped, before they are eligible for leaving SA. This is non negotiable, and no matter if you have a full facsine history, it's not valid. From the day your pet(s) get their microchip, that's when the injections / tests count.
We shopped around a LOT, and the best people we found, was animal travel services in CT. They were not only the cheapest, but absolutely amazing with the care and support they gave us in getting our pets over.
Now costs...
Chips for both pets were +/- R1000 and that included their first injection (rabies).
1 month later rabies injection again. R500
Rabies blood tests which had to be done 3 months prior to departure. R2500 for two cats.
Animal travel services travel fees and we also purchased 2 cat boxes which we upgraded to the larger size, since we did'nt want our pets to be too cramped. We also purchased 2 calming collars, to ensure the trip was not too stressfully for the cats - R24 000
Kennels for 2 months in SA because the cats had to stay two months before they completed their initial 6 months since they had their chips fitted. - This price was included in the R24k above.
Upon arrival they had to stay in quarenteen for 10 days - $1800 NZ dollars - we used Pet Haven, they are a bit far outside Auckland (1 hours drive), but they were considerably cheaper than the other places.
That's the most of it ... Hope it helps :-).