May 25 finally came around and the surprise John had planned for a couple of month could be revealed. Well, sort of. Olivia had only been told to prepare for a short trip but she had no idea of the destination. Fast forward 36 hours and John and Olivia checked in at Kwandwe Private Reserve in South Africa. The secret stayed pretty intact until very last leg from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth. It was great to be back and both United and Lufthansa made sure we arrived and traveled in style. We enjoyed the upper deck of the new Airbus 380 – very quiet and comfy.
Sippin’ tea with Penny and meeting Adrian all had a purpose and with the approval of the parents all that was needed was a perfect setting for John to get down on his knees to ask Olivia if she would please marry him. The setting at Sunset Lookout was perfect and the staff at the reserve really came through with lots of preparation and a candlelit camp once we got back late afternoon. Oh, Olivia said yes and not a thing could have made it a better afternoon. Something that will never be forgotten.
Late May on the Eastern Cape turned out to be very cold but also out of season and the camp and its six cabins were only partially booked. In fact John and Olivia had the whole place to themselves for one night and were joined by only two other couples the following evening.
There was lots of wildlife – cheetahs, elephants, hippos, lions, zebra’s and much more. John’s preparing some images from the trip but for now sample of the sunrise will have to do. Not too shabby!
Never fun to leave but as a final surprise Olivia was greeted by two of her dear friends – Jane and Kathy – at Johannesburg Airport. Arrival in San Francisco June 1 after a delayed departure from Frankfurt but somehow United’s trouble didn’t really register.
PS Nope, we don’t know when or where the wedding will be.