Final Update from Kenya + Zanzibar!
July 7, 2024
Jambo!
After our adventure in Zanzibar, coming back to Kenya felt like coming home. After a long drive we arrived at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, our home for the rest of the trip. We started off our final leg strong with a game drive where we saw all the animals we had been so excited to see! We saw zebras, rhinos, elephants, and even lions! As Samantha noted to our group, seeing 4 Lions during our first game drive was definitely a WOW moment. This was the perfect way to begin our time at the conservancy and round out our trip here in Kenya.
The next morning we departed for a little bit of community service outside of the conservancy. We learned about farming and what crops are grown here then got to help plant acacia trees. Our girls planted 100 trees! Kate was determined to meet our goal and Olivia was especially good at planting these trees. Afterwards, we met Gilbert and learned how he helps make eco-friendly stoves for his community. We got to help sift soil, mix clay, and watched Gilbert form these stoves. Clay stoves like these reduce the burning of firewood and in turn protect more trees from getting cut down. Tiley used her ceramics knowledge from home to help teach us about how pieces like stoves are made. A highlight of the day was meeting Gilbert’s three newborn puppies!
That night we got to have the special experience of a night safari. We saw many nocturnal animals, the hyenas were a favorite of the group’s. Though we loved seeing hyenas, elephants, and rabbits, we were astounded by the two lions we saw. We got to see a male and female lion sitting together and walking along the road. It was unforgettable!
Our final day at Ol Pejeta was like a behind-the-scenes tour of African wildlife. To start off strong we got to meet the last two remaining Northern White Rhinos, Najin and Fatu!! Before meeting them, the girls cleaned out one of their water troughs. Reese was very determined to make sure the Rhinos had clean water! We got many pictures with Najin and Fatu and if you were lucky enough you got to touch them through the window. Mia was one of the lucky ones and got to touch Fatu when she was right next to our car, and Coco got to pet Najin. What a cool memory! After the Rhinos we quickly saw the chimpanzee sanctuary. Kennedy was in awe of how closely related chimps and humans are. After lunch we got to do one of the most anticipated activities of the trip…. LION TRACKING. Since we had already seen about 6 lions already, we headed to the western side of the reservation where the lions are a bit harder to find. We did this because it was a pride we had not seen yet. When we were off roading Mia spotted the male lion in the distance. Sitting and watching a lion in the wild truly never gets boring. We had our final Moonup that was led by Miriam and Tiley. It was a great time to reflect on the trip and how we have all grown. At the end of the night Dare gave everyone a heartfelt note. It was so sweet and really speaks to her genuine character.
On our last day we drove back to Nairobi and had our final dinner together. It was full of laughter and reminiscing on the past two weeks together. We cannot express how thankful we are to have spent this uninterrupted time with your daughters!
Sinclair and Andrea
Soaking up the Sun in Zanzibar!
July 4, 2024
The past few days have been an absolute blast in our new beach home here in Zanzibar. We’ve been soaking up the sun, swimming in the Indian Ocean, and having the best time with each other.
During the first day we started getting scuba certified! Our pool divers crushed their lessons while our certified divers got to go out on the boat and do some real dives. Kate especially impressed us with her scuba skills, she’s a pro! After diving we went on a spice tour at a spice farm nearby. Zanzibar is known for its spices and we got to test them all! We smelled everything from cinnamon to cardamom to cloves and ended the tour with a special surprise: jewelry made from palm leaves and natural face paint! We ended our night with an acrobat show at dinner in the hotel, the most perfect welcome to Zanzibar.
The next morning we went out for our first ocean dives as a group. The new divers did an amazing job applying their new skills to the ocean and we all enjoyed talking about all we saw in the ocean. One of the dive masters was so proud of his students for being great at listening and taking all the skills naturally. Way to go Olivia, Tiley, Coco, and Mia!! We saw octopus, stingrays, and many many fish. During the afternoon we got to go on a sunset boat ride around the coast while we listened to live drum music and ate some delicious fruit. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen!
Again, the next day was a perfect day on the beautiful Zanzibar water followed by a tour of Stone Town. Today’s dives were the final ones before the girls were officially certified divers. While the group perfected their scuba skills, Kennedy got to hangout on the boat with the leaders and we had an absolute blast! Listening to music, tanning, and playfully swimming in the ocean while getting to know Kennedy on a deeper level was a great bonding moment. The boat ride back from scuba diving was some of our best moments in Zanzibar. All the girls would sit at the front of the boat while soaking up the sun and singing along to our favorite songs. We will remember these boat rides for years to come! Later that evening we had a Stone Town tour. Stone Town is a unique and historic city that is incredibly important in East Africa. We got to learn about the customs and architecture in the beautiful city. We ended the night having dinner at a rooftop hotel which was so delicious. Dare and Coco even sang Sinclair “happy birthday” as a late birthday present. This group’s humor keeps us on our feet and always smiling!! We are so thankful the group has gotten so close during our time in Zanzibar.
The next day was a big one: travel day! This group has a knack for making even the most boring airport day a ton of fun, Reese and Kennedy kept us laughing as we waited in the terminal for our flight. On the plane we got to see Kilimanjaro! This was definitely a wow-moment we won’t forget. Samantha and Miriam noted that coming back to Kenya feels like coming back home from our beach vacation over the past few days. We spent dinner talking about which animals we were excited to see and had sweet safari dreams in anticipation for our Ol Pejeta adventure.
– Andrea and Sinclair
Update from Kenya!
June 29, 2024
Greetings from Kenya!
The last few days have been incredible getting to know each and every one of your kids in the most beautiful place, Maasai Mara. We’ve had a great start to the trip and can already tell it’s going to be a special two weeks. These girls have already grown so close and as leaders we can’t to see what’s to come! The group came together at the Nairobi airport and quickly headed off to start an adventure of a lifetime.
The first day of our trip was full of travel and jumping (literally) into a new culture. The first LOD’s of the trip were Kennedy and Kate. We knew that two of them were going to lead the group with such confidence and set us off on the right note! We arrived at a camp in Maasai Mara where we were welcomed with open arms. Shortly after getting there we headed out for a bush walk to learn more about the Maasai culture and participate in some of their warrior training. Tiley immediately stood out as she had the best warriors skills of the group. Even the true Maasai warriors were impressed by her effortless skill! During our bush walk we also had our first animal sightings which was SO exciting. We saw a couple of Zebras, Wildebeest, and some Giraffes in the distance. After an exciting day of jumping into a new culture, we ended the night hanging around the fireplace reminiscing on the day and looking forward to what’s was to come. Mia especially loved our time around the fireplace because of the insane views. As leaders we can tell these girls already have such a unique bond and can’t wait to watch each one of them come out of their shell and grow as a group!
Our second full day was by far the most action packed day! Early in the morning we set off on a hike up the mountain just behind the camp. The girls jumped into this activity with so much positivity and we are so proud of them for taking on new challenges. Miriam and Samantha loved the hike so much! Samantha really enjoyed sitting at the top of the mountain enjoying the view and thinking about what she had just accomplished. She is always so positive and willing to try new things, it’s been a joy to watch. After the morning hike we had a delicious lunch! Pasta! After lunch we had a relaxing afternoon that helped bring the group closer together. Kate brought out her friendship bracelet string and everyone got busy making bracelets! Olivia has made some really awesome bracelets and is very quick with them. Later this afternoon the girls took the field to play soccer with the Maasai warriors. Mia and coco were star players and led to us to our first victory (we won every time). This soccer game was the start of an intense series!! Dinner was a special one tonight. All of the girls got to help prepare dinner after our soccer game. Reese and Tiley were working very hard in the kitchen to make sure we had the best dinner yet! and it definitely didn’t disappoint!!
Day three in the Mara could not have been better! We started the day by walking some roads alongside the Maasai warriors while picking up trash. Our guide taught us about #nopollution #noplanetB and #noplastic while cleaning the roads up. This hit very close to home for many of the girls as most of them had just finished taking environmental science this past year. Again, we spent the afternoon having quality time together followed by a great soccer game. After dinner the group sat around the fire and joined in on a dance party that was being led by our Maasai friends. Dares sneaky humor has surprised us all and we loved watching her make the whole group laugh with her funny comments and dance moves!
On our last full day in the Mara we visited a local village where we got to fully immerse ourselves in the culture we had spent the last 3 days learning about. All of the girls were so excited to it all come to life. We had fun dancing, cooking, beading, and fetching water. But most importantly we had a great time having conversations and exchanging culture with the people who belonged to Maasai village. It was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. At lunch today we all talked about how grateful we were to have had that opportunity. And per usual we spent our afternoon hanging out and playing soccer.
It’s been a life changing few days here at Maasai Mara and we are so thankful to have spent these pivotal moments with your daughters. Up next, Zanzibar!
Andrea and Sinclair
SHOUTOUTS
miriam – hey Mom and Dad! i miss y’all so much and hope everything is well in Croatia. i can’t wait to tell y’all all about Africa, it’s so cool!! also greer, rees, caiden, avery, and vivian, i miss y’all and hope summer is awesome!!
reese – i miss y’all so so much and can’t wait to tell y’all all about the fun things we are doing. i love you daddy, mommy, and drew. also shout out to the cherry club, i miss and love y’all SO much!!
coco- hey! i am having the best time ever and my group is so fun! thanks for sending me on this trip, i can’t wait to tell you all about it when i get home! love and miss you all!!
tiley – hey guys! thanks aunt june, mom, and dad for sending me on this trip we are having the best time ever!! can’t wait to tell y’all about it!! i love and miss y’all!!
kennedy – hey mom and dad i miss you guys a lot africa is lit!
samantha – Hi merp & lyd, I love and miss you guys so much. I am having a really cool time here and having so much fun! I can’t wait to come home and tell you everything 🙂 – pip
olivia – Hi mom and dad! I am having so much fun and I can’t wait to tell y’all about it. My group is so fun and everything is so cool. Give Harley a hug 🙂
mia – Hey fam, Africa is amazing. having the best time ever i love my group! i love and miss y’all so much!!
kate – Hey Mom and Dad!! I’m having so much fun in Africa and I can’t wait to see y’all when I get back!! Love y’all!
dare – hey mom and dad!! having so much fun in africa & can’t wait to see you guys when i get back! love you guys!
Safe Arrival in Kenya!
June 24, 2024
Hello Kenya + Zanzibar Families!
All students have landed safely in Nairobi and the group is headed to their first activity! The trip is off to a great start and we can’t wait to share more updates from their adventure.
-Moondance HQ
