Lions, Zebras, and Elephants...Oh My!
June 29, 2025
Our Africa adventure is officially underway! After starting things off with a quick night at the airport hotel, we jumped straight into the car and drove to Mabula Game Reserve. Lauren kicked off the group vibe with an impromptu karaoke session on the bus ride to Mabula that had everyone singing along. The fan favorite was the “LA Boys” Wyatt & Miles singing a duet to Thrift Shop by Macklemore. We arrived and settled into the beautiful Kwafubesi safari camp under the stars. No city lights, just the Milky Way and the sounds of bush animals around us.
Safaris started right away, and the kids got to witness some incredible wildlife. Zebras, cheetahs, lions, elephants, and many more were seen as soon as day one. One major highlight, we got the opportunity to assist in darting rhinos as part of a conservation effort. Everyone had the opportunity to assist the vets and handled it with curiosity and care, a truly powerful way to start our time here. Wyatt & Natalie got to drill into the rhino horn for some samples, Rand & Casey took some measurements of the horn, Ellie & Alden took some samples, and Piper was not afraid to be the first to safely stick her hand in the rhino’s mouth! Lauren helped place the rhino’s tracking anklet and did not forget to give the rhino lots of hugs! All the kids got hands on and took part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience-
In our downtime at camp, the “Survivor Games” have begun. Rand took home the first win with an iron grip during the water bottle endurance challenge. Shep and Casey earned major bragging rights by crushing the cold plunge challenge (and yes, it was very cold).
Wyatt is officially the spoons king, two-time champ already. Miles has been keeping the LA energy alive with the best-looking hair on the trip, no matter the safari dust. Hamilton has self-declared war with Tyler for the title of “most food eaten,” and the competition is heating up.
Natalie has proven she’s no stranger to the cold; clearly, her ice skating experience is coming in handy! Piper’s been our in-house guide, always dropping fun Africa facts for the group, and Ellie has managed to take the most beautiful pictures of the wildlife.
Alden had a birthday she won’t forget, cake, singing, and a full-on talent show made for a celebration worthy of Africa. The kids have been curious, kind, and full of energy. It’s been an amazing start, and there’s so much more to come. Stay tuned!
WE LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!
Lizzie + Tyler
Alden: hii I’ve seen so many cool animals, I saw elephants and lions. Tell Gus and Thompson I said hi. I had a great bday, I got to see cheetahs! It’s really cold here but it feels good. miss and love y’all so much!!!🩷
Ellie: Hi mom and dad I’ve seen so many cool animals like cheetahs and lions and elephants and warthogs and am having the best time.It’s really cold at night but we have really warm heated beds but we are leaving that place right now and going to a different place. Tell Lexy and rivers I say hi and I miss and love u guys. ❤️❤️❤️
Lauren: hi mom and dad I’m having a great time! I’m living the life I TOUCHED A RHINO and saw warthogs and lions and cheetahs and giraffes, don’t worry I’ve taken so many pictures. Miss y’all and love y’all so much!
Piper: Hi mom and dad, I’m having a great time and we’ve seen so many cool animals (no aardvarks yet)!! I miss you guys so so much and I can’t wait to see y’all. Please give the dogs and butters love for me, love y’all!!
Natalie: Hi mom. Ive seen so many animals like lions, zebras, giraffes, and cheetahs. I’ve taken so many photos. I also got to help get samples from a rhino’s horn-it was so cool. The weather here, during the day, is warm at night though it’s really cold, there are heated beds in the tent reserve we were just at though. Miss you, love you 💕💕
Rand: Hi mom and dad! Im having a great time! It’s a little cold here, but we saw a baby giraffe and elephants and lions and cheetahs. I miss all yall back at home but we having a good time we darted a rhino and got to ride it carts all day!
Shep: Hi mom and dad, Africa is very fun but it is cold at night. I liked seeing the cheetahs and lions and we also saw elephants, zebras, wildabeasts, giraffes, hippos, and we got to dart a rhino and I took a tissue sample which was cool. I love yall and tell the dogs hi.
Miles: hi mom and dad! I’m having a lot of fun, even though it gets cold at night. We got to dart a rhino and we’ve also seen lions, zebras, wildabeasts, elephants, cheetahs 🐆 and giraffes. Love you guys and can’t wait to see you again
Wyatt: hello. We have seen many rhinos and giraffes and other animals and sleeping lions. The food is pretty good, and the game lodge that we were staying at was so nice like actually top 2 hotels I’ve ever been at. South Africa is very cool.
Casey: Hey mom and dad, miss you, I have seen lions and rhinos up close and so far it had been an experience of a lifetime. Love you guys and hopefully everything is going well at home, also hopefully Manchester City won the Club World Cup.
Hamilton: Hey Mom and Dad, so far the trip has been amazing and even better than last year. We’ve seen Rhinos, Lions, cheetahs and more and my group and counselors are really good, hope all is well, miss y’all.
Greetings from Joburg!
June 22, 2025
Hello South Africa + Mozambique Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Johannesburg! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure! Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
