July 25, 2024
Since our last post, we’ve had an incredible 24 hours filled with thrilling adventures and unexpected surprises!
We ventured into the Dinokeng Reserve for an afternoon bush walk. Little did the kids know that they would be sleeping out there later that evening! Our guide pointed out tracks from elephants, hyenas, and rhinos. App and Chandler excelled at guessing each animal’s tracks and were captivated by the experience of being alone in the bush. It was truly humbling to walk in the footsteps of wild animals and understand their lives in their natural habitat. Seeing zebra and kudu from the safety of a vehicle is one thing, but encountering wild animals from 30 feet away on the ground is a completely different and exhilarating experience.
After our walk, we drove to our campsite for the night, which was a surprise only Helen and I knew about at first. On the way, we spotted a massive elephant just a few hundred feet from where we would be sleeping. We later learned the next morning that our campsite was a natural pathway for elephants on the reserve. As we got off our Land Rovers, the group quickly discovered the surprise of sleeping outside, sparking lots of emotions. After some setting in, everyone was very excited for a night under the stars with everyone together one last time.
Following a delicious dinner, we sat by the fire and reminisced about our favorite moments from the trip. During Moonup, Helen and I played a prank on the students by having the ranger pretend there was a lion nearby. This set up Canon and Grayson, our Leaders of the Day, to announce the Nug Jug! Just after the prank was revealed, we actually heard a lion roar off in the distance! We all had a good laugh at the coincidence. We wrapped up the night with fun campfire games before settling down to sleep under the stars. Throughout the night, we heard two male lions calling back and forth. Chandler tried to mimic their calls but thankfully didn’t attract them to our camp. We woke the next morning to warm cups of hot chocolate by the fire before heading back to camp to shower and have breakfast. During breakfast, we recapped the strange noises we heard during the night but how cool of an experience it was for us. We enjoyed one last hearty meal before everyone packed up. As we left the Dinokeng Reserve, it was hard to believe we were actually heading to the airport.
Upon arriving at the airport, we got to try Wimpy’s, our first local food stop! Halfway through eating, Helen had a mini heart attack realizing she had left her GoPro and wallet on the bus. Thankfully, we retrieved both an hour later, including the precious GoPro with our whale shark, dolphin, and surfing videos! After some last-minute gift shopping, we had one final dinner and Moonup at the airport. Debonairs Pizza and some delicious Gelato Dulce made for a perfect banquet dinner. We handed out superlatives to the students to close our final Moonup, then rushed to the gate to see off our first group of students.
Tears were shed as Mary Reeves and Cole departed an hour before the rest of the group-our first goodbyes from SAF 3B. We then headed to the next gate for our final farewell. After checking in, everyone exchanged bear hugs with us and said their goodbyes to Helen and I at the gate.
We are so sad to see SAF 3B go, but we are incredibly grateful for the time we got to share with all of your amazing kids. We can only hope we made half the impact on them as they did on us. We can’t wait to see all of the many cool things this group will accomplish, and we are so happy we got to be a part of their Moondance experience!
To our kids, we’ll always love you! Thanks for being you. Y’all rock and we’re always a phone call, text, or even Snapchat away!
Signing off one last time,
Rob and Helen