Any story worth its salt needs certain elements that bring it to life, including adventure, a little bit of risk, a good dollop of romance, and of course the longed-for happy ever after. Elsmarie and Philip Owen’s tale has all this, especially the latter.
After Philip was born in Pretoria, his father, Theo, travelled extensively, and much of his youth was spent in the USA. They returned to South Africa, moving to the Lowveld after Philip’s grandfather had bought the property on which the Sudwala Caves are situated.
After matric, he went on to study drama at Tuks, working for PACT and appearing in a few local TV series. But the Lowveld has a long reach, and he returned to the farm where his father had by then established the Sudwala Dinosaur Park.
Elsmarie, who grew up close to the Swaziland border, had no inkling that she would soon cross the path of the man destined to become her future. After matriculating, she studied clinical technology, finishing her studies working at HF Verwoerd, specialising in nephrology.
Young and impulsive, she decided, on a whim, to resign one day. “I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had the world at my feet,” she laughs. “Then one of my patients came up with the idea of buying a Combi, and letting me do small tours to the Kruger Park for his travel agency. We always stopped at Sudwala on the way to the Kruger, and that is where I met Philip.”
The pair’s love story starts with Elsmarie stopping at the park on one of her routine trips. She was walking through the dinosaur park when she heard the most beautiful voice telling people all about the dinosaurs. “Suddenly my stomach had butterflies!” she says. “I didn’t see him that day, but I remembered his voice. The next time we visited, he came over to us, chatting about dinosaurs. And boy oh boy, I fell in love!” she smiles shyly. “After that, I would send my guests to the caves first with every trip, and Philip and I would meet up for coffee at his sister’s restaurant.”
Soon after, Elsmarie got the opportunity for a better job at MTN in Johannesburg, and without having a chance to tell Philip, she moved there and started on a new journey. “He had my number, but never called … I was heartbroken and thought I would never see him again. Being stubborn, I also didn’t make an effort to call him,” she smiles ruefully.
Little did she know that shortly after her last visit, Philip had been involved in a terrible car accident. Hospitalised for more than three months, Philip was first in Nelspruit, but then transferred to Bloemfontein, where he had one eye removed and underwent surgery.
A friend of Elsmarie’s, who took over from her as a tour guide, called her one day, telling her what had happened. “With the help of Philip’s sister, we got in touch with each other again. He invited me over for a visit, and that one visit turned into many, until I eventually got a job at the dialysis unit in Nelspruit.”
The couple’s first son, Rudi, was born in 2000. He was only a few months old when the three of them attended Elsmarie’s sister’s wedding in Pretoria. She recalls how Rudi woke them in the night, crying for his bottle, and out of the blue Philip said, “Hey, maybe we should also get married!” “Not the most conventional proposal, but of course I said yes. We got married on the farm, with only close friends and family in attendance. A few months later, our second son, Phil, was born.”
Living on Plaas Owen is like having a little slice of heaven. There are a few pecan nut trees that were planted by Philip’s father, but the rest is natural indigenous vegetation. “We love living in the wild and having lots of animals around us,” explains Philip.
“Not wanting to develop much, and both being horse lovers, we decided to open a horse and hiking trail, which has a low impact on the environment. Elsmarie still works in town at the dialysis unit and I run the dinosaur park, along with Geasphere, my own non-profit environmental organisation.”
Philip also inherited the dinosaur park from his father, and after being involved in running it for many years, he has developed a passion for these gentle giants, along with bucketloads of knowledge. Elsmarie smilingly says that it’s awesome to see how fascinated the children are by his guided tours through the park.
“It is so important, especially for education,” Philip says. “Many people, both young and old, come here experiencing the true size of the dinosaurs and prehistoric life for the very first time, and that is something wonderful to see.”
This idyllic lifestyle suits the Owens down to the ground. A close-knit family, the most important thing to them is being able to trust in one another completely, to share the same passions and to understand that even though they have different outlooks on some things, they still respect everyone else.
“We work because we love one another unconditionally,” explains Elsmarie. “We are happy in our environment and with what we do, in tune with one another and content with what we have.” It is obvious that bells and whistles are not what make the Owens tick.
While Elsmarie says that every happily married couple have their romantic moments, doing romantic things together is not the be all and end all. “I remember one particular Valentine’s Day, I asked Philip why he doesn’t ever give me flowers. He took my hand and said, come, let me show you something. We went outside and he said, I don’t kill flowers, look at them, how beautiful they are.
Needless to say we never have flowers in the house, but we do have a veld full of them! He never takes me to expensive restaurants, but he always tells me how beautiful I am, even when I feel my worst. He loves seeing me happy, especially when horse riding, even though he can’t ride anymore after his accident. This is what love is really about.”
Apart from the couple’s two boys, Rudi (22) and Phil (19), Philip has two children from his first marriage. Robert lives in America with his wife, and Megan, who lives in Cape Town, sings like an angel. “Rudi plans on travelling abroad next year, while Phil just finished homeschooling and is currently taking a gap year,” Elsmarie explains. Phil helps out in the dinosaur park and like his brother also plans on travelling abroad.
“Because I have a full-time job in town and with Philip being visually impaired, I do most of the shopping and travelling,” explains Elsmarie, “while Philip and the boys keep the farm and dinosaur park going, and also do the cooking when I work late. We all spend dinnertime together around the table, and on weekends, the boys join me for horse riding and hikes. With Philip working from home, we get to spend quality time together, which is very important to all of us.”
Elsmarie also loves to spend time exploring, looking for new places in their beautiful valley, and taking the dogs for walks, while Philip loves having conversations on Clubhouse and looking after his plants and earthworms. The mountains and rivers, and the rural feeling of being away from the city, are where this family find their inspiration.
Elsmarie explains how she loves driving through the Makhonjwa Mountains to a special waterfall where they sometimes go for a picnic, saying how passionate they are about the environment and animals, and one another. “My family and my animals are more important than anything to me. I love living in a healthy, natural environment, and having a balanced life. I can’t really ask for more than that.”
But what about plans for the future? Oh yes, she smiles broadly, like the proverbial fairy tale princess, there is one other thing … To live happily ever after.
Make-up: Elsabé Steyn – Elsabé Steyn Styling Studio.
Photographer: Belinda Erasmus – Belle Grace Photography.
