I’ve seen some pretty exceptional places in my time shooting weddings, but Oubos is just remarkable.Hollywood would battle to conjure up this sort of place. Before I left for Kyle and Elani’s wedding I googled the spot. I found an article which wrote it up big time. Then I took a look at the available photos on the web and quite honestly, I had my doubts. I really thought I was going to have an uphill battle trying to find places to take photos. How wrong I was. Oubos is paradise – with capital letters all the way through. To get there is one heck of a drive from Cape Town, simply because it’s pretty much perched on the end of the earth. I reckon if the good Lord above chose to go on holiday somewhere, this would be it. To get there you need to pass through Knysna (hats off to whoever controls the area – you’re doing an exceptional job of keeping it in a tip-top, terrific state), and then just keep going through arguably the most breath-taking scenery South Africa has to offer. I took 2 days to get to Oubos, but had I taken 2 weeks it would have been too short. Every time I came to a new turn-off I got sidetracked. Forests, rivers, gorges, beaches, lagoons, farm stalls, shops, people, and on and on, and on. Wonderful, exhilarating, soul-uplifting stuff. By the time I eventually hit the dirt road that leads down to Oubos I was well and truly in the zone. And then, when I finally arrived, I couldn’t find the house Kyle and Elani were staying in. So for half an hour I drove up and down the road generic duloxetine manufacturer having to deal with person after person waving at me. Friendly place Oubos. Eeeeeventually I found the house, walked in, introduced myself, met the bridesmaids and best men, and then went down to the beach with Kyle and Elani to scout the area. And through all of this, the rain just kept falling. 24 hours it was still raining. Through Elani getting ready, through the service, and into family photo time. And through family photo time. And when it rains in the Garden Route, it doesn’t rain, it pours. And to compliment the downpour, the sea decided it would be a good idea to present a Spring Tide. So all said and done, it was fairly wet out there. Which, if you’ve ever had the shock and horror of taking on the task of shooting a wedding, basically means catastrophe. But then, as I continually say, my wedding couples ALWAYS come to the party. And this was no different. The troops mustered together, gave it their all and the Battle of Oubos turned into a resounding victory. I’ll never forget Elani turning around at one stage and saying: ‘I think we’re doing a Trash the Dress today as well – bring it on!’ The next morning I left at 5.30am and drove back to Barrydale for Easter lunch with Hellie, the kids and my mom-in-law. I was happy to be home, but very sad to have left perhaps the finest place I’ve ever been to. You can see some of the scenic photos I took with my phone on this trip on Instagram under warrieww.