Sunset Pics, Safari Rides, and Service Time
June 27, 2025
We are so excited to share the first leg of our trip in South Africa with you all!! We have spent the most amazing past few days working on our service project, exploring the bush, and marking the beginning of lifelong friendships! We have loved getting to know your girls and feel so grateful for the moments we have already had and pumped for the remainder of the trip. The inside jokes are piling up and we have already been starstruck by a few animal sightings including lions, zebras, and giraffes.
While most of the group flew in from Atlanta (props to Caroline W. for sending us a group photo before departing ATL), Clio arrived a few hours early and was able to help us pick out snacks for the group. After a quick gelato stop, we went over to the arrivals section and played hacky sack with some of the other group leaders while we all anxiously awaited for the flight to land. Once we had everyone together, we checked into our hotel and sat down for our first meal together– pizza!! Tired from the long day of travel, we called it a night after dinner, and let everyone get some rest before starting our first full day in South Africa.
On our first full day, Caroline P. and Kiersi wasted no time in the morning, beating everyone to the breakfast table. Our first stop on the trip was Little Mongena in Dinokeng Game Reserve. On our way there, Meredith, Caroline W., and India whipped out some flashcards and studied for the ACT, perhaps making them the first Moondance students to ever do so. We arrived in Little Mongena and soon after enjoyed a sunset cruise, where we saw many of Africa’s water-loving animals, including crocodiles and hippos! Panthea, Clio, and Virginia demonstrated their photography skills, snapping many photos right before sunset. After we arrived back on dry land, the girls were greeted with another surprise: drum lessons! Panthea showed her rhythmic aptitude when she guessed the drum leader’s beat correctly. For our dinner, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak or pasta (depending on choice) and then surprised Zoe with a belated birthday celebration! At our nightly Moonup meeting, we discussed some of the nerves we have about the trip, but also our excitement for the next few weeks.
After an exciting welcome night at Little Mongena, the girls were very excited to jump into our first day working with a local community. Caroline P. and Zoe were the early birds of the morning and therefore got first pick at the wide variety of fruits and pastries offered at breakfast. As the rest of the girls joined us, many tried passionfruit for the first time and loved it! Feeling full and ready for the day, we wrapped up our meal and drove to the town for our service project. Right upon arrival, a 6-year-old girl named Ona quickly became obsessed with Caroline W. and followed her lead throughout our painting project. Ona’s grandmother, Ana (community service organizer for the town), then familiarized us with our plan and goals over the next few days and we were ready to get rolling! After a few hours of painting the outside of a school classroom, we had a quick lunch and then joined the kindergarteners for their recess period which resulted into a dance party. The girls and the kids showed off their moves in a dance circle that was then followed by a groupwide conga line– definitely a trip highlight so far. After lots of silly dance moves it was time to head back for our first sunset game drive, an activity many of the girls were looking forward to. Not only was the sunset breathtaking, but both safari carts we rode in had a Big 5 sighting: cape buffalo and elephants! Although the carts were separated, we met up to enjoy snacks and drinks overlooking the savannah, sharing the excitement of our lucky animal sightings.
Although tired from the hard work we put into painting, we were surprised with hot chocolate back at Little Mongena which brought everyone’s energy back up for our next surprise… a cooking competition! We were divided into two groups, each cooking their own potjie (traditional African stew) from a set of ingredients and instructions. While we had some help, many of the girls showed off their cooking skills, impressing the main chef. Virginia took the reins for one group, making sure each vegetable was perfectly diced and that each ingredient was placed in the stew at the perfect moment. Because you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen, some of the girls took a more hands off approach focusing on entertaining and encouraging their teammates. Stokely and Lucy did so by showing off their favorite TikTok moves, which was potentially distracting, but added loads of laughs to an already very fun competition. Both groups made amazing dishes, which were then taste tested and tweaked by the chefs in order to perfect for dinner. Finally we enjoyed the food we made along with some fish, rice, and veggies– so yum!! Tired from our long day, we had Moonup by the campfire, and went to bed ready for another day of community service.
The next morning, Meredith discovered her new favorite breakfast: charcuterie! Afterwards, we departed for our second day of community service, where we continued painting the inside of the school building. Innovation struck Kiersi as she began using her fingers as a paint brush to fill in the tiny gaps in the walls. After our service project, we informed the girls of another surprise for the day: the bush sleepout! We split up in two groups as we stealthily crept through the bush. Lucy spotted zebra tracks on the road, using her knowledge of horses to correctly identify an equine hoof print. Along the way, one of the groups showcased their impala poop-spitting talents in a game of bokdrol spoeg. It is much more sanitary than it sounds, and Stokely arose victorious! We arrived at our campsite, where we ate dinner and sat around the fire. India impressed us with her guitar skills, performing Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant. Meredith grilled one of our guides, Maritz, with loads of questions about his life and South Africa. Virginia almost convinced him that she was originally from Australia, but her failure to identify the capital city blew her cover. At Moonup, Stokely and Virginia asked us to discuss places we wished to live and some of the best decisions we have ever made.
After our night in the bush, Zoe remarked to the group that she thought she could hear wildebeest near our camp, but it turned out to be Luke’s snoring. Though we did not get much sleep, everyone continued to work hard the next day to complete our service project. Kiersi again filled in the holes with her fingers, speeding up our completion time a great deal. After we completed our work, we enjoyed a dance party with the kids and their teachers. The teachers chose Stokely to teach them a dance because they noticed her moves from our previous dance party. Clio and Zoe shared some of the spotlight as many of the kids gathered to play with their hair. Though it was a difficult goodbye to this school and community we came to know, we all felt grateful for the experience and satisfied with our work. To reward our hard work, our gracious hosts provided us with milkshakes before our gamedrive! Although most of the girls settled for the strawberry flavor, Panthea branched out to try the bubblegum flavor and ended up loving it. On our final game drive, one of the carts came across a group of ostriches – a rare sighting on the reserve. Both groups encountered another member of the Big Five as we studied two lionesses walking through the bush! For dinner, we enjoyed Braii, which is a traditional South African barbecue-style meal. For dessert, the girls tried Malva pudding and loved this new treat. At Moonup, the girls shared one word describing themselves and explained why, and Caroline P. and Kiersi were selected as our travel-day LODs!
We have had the best time so far and cannot wait to update you all after our time in Mozambique! Thank you for sharing your girls with us, they have brought so much joy into our lives and the quick friendship they are forming has been amazing to see! Below are some shout outs to all of you reading– we miss you at home!!!
Virginia- Hi mom and dad! I am having such a great time. We have seen such amazing things and I have met the coolest people! Love and miss you!!
Clio- hi mom, dad, + fam. Having the absolute best time everything is so cool what we’ve done I love it! Everyone is amazing. Love and miss you. Say hi to everyone for me.
Panthea – Hi mom, dad, Daria, and Roya! I am having such a great time and am loving South Africa. Everything has been amazing and I miss you guys so much. I made sure to take lots of photos and videos for everyone! Love you all!
Kiersi: hey guys! Tell Ayvin I say hi, I know he misses me the most. This trip is crazy cool and crazy worth it. Also thanks Gigi for helping me pack, the extra layers were much needed. bye love you all
India: Hi everyone! I hope everything is good at home. I am having so much fun in South Africa. We are almost done with the community service part of our trip and are heading to Mozambique soon. Everyone is super nice and all the experiences are so cool. I’m taking lots of pictures to show you guys back home. Miss you lots! Love, Indy
Zoe: Hi mom and dad! I’m having an amazing time here. We’ve been painting parts of a school in a village near the reserve we’re staying at and been spending time with the kids there who are so cute. We’re staying in fancy tents and soon we’re going to Mozambique. Love and miss you, happy birthday Mom!
Caroline W: Hey mom and dad!! I hope everyone is doing great!! Please say hi to Peter, Dempsey, and Lilly for me. I’m having an AMAZING time in South Africa. We’ve been going to community service this week and it is so fun! We get to paint a school for a lot of really cute kids. The Safari rides have been so much fun and last night we slept in the bush! I’m so excited to go to Mozambique soon, but I’m going to miss Joburg! We should definitely come back soon. I love and miss you both!
Stokely: hey mom and dad!! I am having the best time ever in South Africa! I have met sooo many great people. I think I have a new bestfriend!! We have been to a community and played with SO many cute kids. I am so so happy to be here and so grateful. We are going to Mozambique soon and we went on a very cool safari! Tonight we are sleeping in the bush!! I love yall!
Love, stokely
Lucy: hello fam!! I am in South Africa rn and it is perfect. I just wanted to say I love you guys and thank u. the leaders are amazing and I have made a new bestie already. We just got back from the community the kids are so cute. We’re sleeping in the bush tonight and going to Mozambique really soon!!! Harper, have the BEST time in Thailand & pls tell Mia I finally learned how to Floss. bye
Caroline P: Hi mom and dad! I miss you guys but today and yesterday we went to a preschool and painted walls and afterwards we got to play with the little kids there. The food has been great and we got to do a competitive cooking class last night. When driving back from the community service we saw a giraffe cross the road!! We were just surprised that we are spending the night on the Busch lol. I miss you guys SO much but I will see you soon! Also, tell Tripp I said happy birthday. Love you guys!!
Meredith: Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having so much fun and I can’t wait to see you! We done a lot of community service in the local village over the past few days and in the evenings we go on safaris and see a lot of cool animals. The young kids in the village are adorable and love dancing with us. We are leaving for Mozambique soon and I cannot wait! I love and miss you soooo much!
Safe Arrival in Joburg!
June 22, 2025
Hello South Africa + Mozambique Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning 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
