For Rina and Frikkie Swart, 60 years of marriage has been about far more than simply counting the years.

It has been a journey of building a family, making a home, embracing adventure and travelling the world together – before always returning to the place they called home.

On September 10, the Bonaero Park couple will celebrate their Diamond Anniversary, marking six decades since they exchanged vows at the NG Kerk in Randburg in 1966.

Today, Frikkie is 87 and Rina is 85, and the couple can look back on a marriage filled with memories spanning two continents, two children and countless adventures.

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After their wedding, the newlyweds settled in Kempton Park, initially living in Edleen before moving to Birch Acres.

Birch Acres would remain their home for about 40 years and became the backdrop to much of their family life.

In retirement, the couple moved to a quiet complex in Bonaero Park, where they continue to enjoy life together.

But their journey has taken them far beyond the East Rand.

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One of the most memorable chapters of their marriage began in 1974, when Frikkie’s career with ATLAS Aircraft Corporation took the family to Paris, France.

Rina and Frikkie travelled overseas with their three-year-old daughter, Amelia. In September that year, the family grew when their son, Martin, was born in Paris.

The following two years became an unforgettable family adventure.

With Paris as their temporary home, the Swarts took the opportunity to explore, travelling extensively throughout Europe with their young children.

The experience sparked a love of travel that has remained with them throughout their marriage.
And age has done little to slow their adventurous spirit.

In July this year, just two months before their 60th wedding anniversary, Rina and Frikkie once again packed their bags. They travelled from South Africa to Ireland to visit Amelia and her husband, Hughie.

Their trip included sightseeing and taking in Ireland’s spectacular countryside and coastline, another chapter in a lifetime of travelling side by side.

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Photographs from the recent trip offer a beautiful contrast to those taken on their wedding day six decades ago.

The young bride and groom of 1966 have become an older couple with a lifetime of experiences behind them. However, the photographs show something that has remained unchanged: they are still together and still enjoying an adventure.

Their wedding photographs capture Rina and Frikkie at the beginning of their journey, Rina in her elegant lace-sleeved wedding gown and veil, with Frikkie beside her in a dark suit.

Another photograph shows the newlyweds standing beside their magnificent tiered wedding cake, ready to begin their life together.

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Sixty years later, the years may have brought changing fashions, hairstyles and an entirely different world, but the couple remain side by side.

On September 10, family and friends will celebrate the remarkable milestone and the vows a young couple made 60 years ago that have carried them through a lifetime of love, family, and adventure.