A pregnant Dr Portia Gumede confessed to clearing out the "piggy banks" to spoil her businessman hubby, Robert Gumede, with a private aeroplane at his 50th birthday bash held in Nelspruit this weekend.
"We, as the whole family with the children, decided to buy him a plane, which is something he has always dreamed of," she told more than 1000 guests at his birthday banquet on Friday evening. "So we emptied our piggy banks for him."
Gumede is the chairman of GijimaAST, one of South Africa's top empowerment IT companies, which has contracts worth billions of rands.
Asked about the Bombardier Challenger 604, Robert Gumede said: "This is my first big one. At least I can use it to go around Africa to do my business."
The annual "Guma" family gathering, now in its 12th year, was again the talk of the town in Mpumalanga this weekend.
The event, which coincides with Gumede's birthday, is usually a no-expenses-spared affair with big local and international acts flown in specially.
This year's party, held over four days, was organised by designer and party planner Gavin Rajah.
The VIP guests were treated to the sounds of R&B stars Keith Sweat and Rick Ross.
According to guests, this year's festivities did indeed meet all expectations.
"It took me about six to eight months to put the whole thing together," said Rajah. "It costs loads of money but I never tell the numbers."
The party kicked off on Thursday with a welcoming party and divas' jazz night in celebration of Gumede's late mother, Keni.
The men spent day two on the golf course while the women were ferried to the Nelspruit Botanical Gardens for high tea and the children were enthralled by an Alice in Wonderland-themed party.
This was followed by the black tie banquet at the Nelspruit Rugby Stadium, where custom-made chandeliers and personalised tableware set the scene for the floral-inspired event.
The banquet menu by Vicky Crease featured canapés of springbok, chicken skewers, salmon, caviar, prawn and lobster cocktails, and sashimi.
Coronation chicken tart with fresh strawberries embellished with an edible gold letter "G" was followed by mains of charcoal-grilled beef fillet with a mushroom chanterelle, creamy potato bake and vegetables.
Desserts included crème brûlée, macaroon towers, red velvet cake and chocolate fudge brownie towers .
Among the guests were David Kau and wife Thalia, radio personality Redi and husband Brian Thlabi, Judi Nwokedi accompanied by Allen Hilton, and Mathews and Pinky Phosa .