Final Farewell!
July 24, 2025
Woooweee!
The crack of dawn was upon us on Friday morning as we left the north east coast of Zanzibar and landed in the middle of nowhere, Serengeti! Upon arrival, we split into two vans and headed out for our first safari and game drive. We were greeted with lion prides, giraffes, and an abundance of elephants. We got back to camp in time for tea + coffee, showers, sitting around the fire & more! At our newfound home in the Great Migration Camp, chefs Steven and Athanis set us up for a delicious meal as a welcome. Our first Moonup in the African bush was one we’d never forget, and the best was yet to come!
Saturday morning, we woke up, filled up on a buffet of breakfast, and loaded up the vans for a full day of animal hunting. Off the bat, we saw a female lion perched in a tree, protecting her cubs from afar and eyeing her lunch. It was majestic! While blaring music and singing at the top of our lungs, we made it back to camp to have lunch. However, before we plated up, two cheetahs (a mom & her cub) strutted into our camp! We hopped in the vans to get a closer and safer look. What an unbelievable experience and sight! Although this was just the beginning of our eventful day. Once lunch was through and sodas were drunk, we got back into the van and stumbled upon a pride of lions – everything from mom and dad, to young cubs to baby cubs! What we would soon come to find out from their meet-up, as they walked us to their food for the next few days, was an elephant! James said it was an interesting yet unforgettable experience, and then our day was closed out by the most insane sunset of the trip so far. Seriously – we pulled over to admire how beautiful the scenery is! After our late arrival at camp, soup and a full meal filled us up as the entertainment of Mabel’s clumsiness kept us on our toes before a Moonup under a clear and starry night sky.
Sunday arrived with a view of hot air balloons! Birdie and the boys headed out on the hunt for some more lions, and BOY were we in store. As Preston learned from Denis how to drive a stick shift, we found a recently passed giraffe surrounded by a pride of lions during their breakfast time. Soon after, we met up with the girls and Tommy for breakfast and tea. We loaded up on a variety of Pringles and set out for some leopard sightings! We saw two chilling in a tree far away, very rare and special to witness firsthand! However, one of the best memories of the day was when Lalah spotted an ostrich on the left side of the van. When we got back to camp and showered after a long day in the dust, we drank coffee + tea, played baseball, chess, read, and enjoyed soaking up every last moment together. Though a time to relax and rewind from the day, it became a favorite memory for everyone, especially Ezra, as he broke Sebastian’s winning streak in chess! A delicious dinner filled us to the brims, as tired eyes hit the hay after, yet again, a memorable Moonup in our little slice of heaven!
Monday rolled around with clear blue skies and a lazy cheetah! After breakfast, we went out on the prowl and found a cheetah all sleepy and getting some shade. Not long after, we saw two male lions perched on rocks sunbathing, as cubs were hidden all over in between rocks. It was the best lion sighting yet! Evan and Suzanne classically kept the vibes high with Jon Parrish, Flatland Calvary, and even an a cappella of some Jessie Murph songs.. We had a picnic for lunch and devoured chicken, rice, veggies & fruit before going back to our same lion pride. But, this time, feasting on a wildebeest! With hyenas accompanying us on our journey (and outside our tents at night), we made it back to camp for our last dinner and Moonup in the Serengeti. Dry eyes were not too evident as Moonup carried on with deep conversations and experiences that have shaped us into who we are today. Crawling back into our tents + sleeping bags, one last time, for all of us!
On Tuesday morning, we woke up early and slowly headed back into civilization. We entered the Ngororongo Crater, where Maya and Leslie were just INCHES away from a plethora of zebras and wildebeests! We had a picnic for lunch and treated ourselves to some ice cream before witnessing a little bit of the Great Migration. We slowly headed into Karatu, where our lodging for the night would provide us with hot showers, a positively overwhelming buffet, and our own beds to snuggle up in. While Jett was taken as the Moondance Leader of the group from the waitressing staff, Jack was truly in awe of the endless supply of Fantas provided, tallying up a record for the summer! Once all said and done, we had our last Moonup together filled with laughs until our ribs got tired and fighting back some waterfalls before our last day together.
Today, on this fine Wednesday, it’s hard to believe how fast the past two and a half weeks have flown by. With a pitstop to SafariLand for some last-minute purchasing, we met our outfitters for lunch, our last meal together. On the way to the airport, a dam let loose in the van and got the tears flowing for sure. Though we faced such a hard send-off, nothing could have ever prepared us for such an amazing group with even outstanding kids. The past 17 days will always be something we remember.
Those reading, thank you, and know that your loved ones are now ours too.
Hearts full,
Birdie & Tommy
Update from TNZ!
July 18, 2025
Our week started off strong on Monday as we woke up for our first day of scuba diving.. and LESLIE’S SWEET SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY! Tommy took half the group that is already scuba certified and the advanced course learners out on the boat with Scubafish for a fun first day. Meanwhile, Birdie camped out with the other half back on the beach as they started their open water certification course. With Birdies group having the home advantage, we snuck up to Leslie’s room and decorated with balloons, and a towel cake, just before covering her in silly string. After a delicious lunch, we were greeted with a sunny and clear sky for our afternoon off. Hair braiding, Big Mama, massages, Jack’s purchase of elephant pants and everything in between, our group made the most of their free time to say the least. At dinner, we grubbed before another surprise was in store, the whole staff and kitchen singing Happy Birthday to Leslie as they brought out a chocolate cake with her name on it. It was such a core memory and everyone enjoyed the entertainment of the singing and dancing, maybe even a little too much! With our first day of scuba in the books, everyone headed to bed after Moonup underneath a Zanzibar starry sky!
Tuesday rolled around and brought rough waters for our first day all together on the scuba boat. Everyone went down for two dives and put themselves in the uncomfortable as we embarked on trying new things. As we got back to shore, we were on a time crunch throughout lunch as we soon loaded up for the spice tour! We walked around Hakuna Matata Spice Farm and learned about how different spices grow and the different forms and variations they are produced in. We dabbled in some face paint from plants, coffee and spices (right up James’s alley), and tried all fruits grown on the farm. However, the cherry on top to the experience was the Coconut Butterfly Man who climbed a palm tree with nothing but his hands and feet. We were gifted crowns, tiaras, and fresh coconuts to drink from before heading back to our newfound home in Zanzibar. Our four course meal was awaiting us, along with a deep Moonup surrounded by a group of strangers turned best friends. A good nights sleep was ahead of us in preparation for another day of scuba diving!
A beautiful sunrise woke us up on Wednesday for another buffet breakfast before jumping in the water. As we loaded up the boat, James, Maya, Jett, Lalah, Evan and Suzanne prepared themselves for a big day: certification day! When they came up from their last dive, they were officially scuba certified and relieved to have made it out alive. Music accompanied us on our boat ride back in and a hot sun to warm us up before lunch. With another free afternoon ahead, everyone spent it napping, showering, long walks on the beach, playing soccer with some new friends, and more. Another long but filling dinner awaited our rambunctious group, and the cats were expecting our presence as well. Before bed we did our usual Moonup routine and couldn’t believe we were already entering our last day in Zanzibar!
As the last day in Zanzibar came around, Thursday was a fun filled day to say the least. With a rrreeeaaallllllyyyy early wake up call, we walked down the beach and hopped on the boat for a sunrise drive out to Mneba Island. Leslie, Mabel & Ezra hopped in for a quick dive and came back up advanced open water certified! We celebrated with a dance party on the boat, thanks to Preston’s queue, in which our captain Yosef joined us in the dance circle. We aimlessly jumped on and off the boat and blared music, soaking in the sun and the last day of scuba diving. We made it back to shore earlier than usual, so we got to hop in the pool, lounge in the chairs, and shower before lunch. We came to lunch prepared to eat and get on the bus for Stonetown! Upon arrival, we navigated through the church, statues, and slave chambers before quietly reading through the history of Zanzibar. Sebastian took special interest as he was curious about learning more and being intentional with his time to better understand the historical site. We set out to walk around the town learning about the city and the features that make it so unique. With a live reaction video for proof, it’s safe to say everyone was shocked as they were surprised with gelato to close out our time in Zanzibar. We then headed over to the Freddy Mercury house, taking a look at where he grew up and his legacy that impacted such a special culture. But of course, we made time for a mini shopping spree for souvenirs for our loved ones back at home who made this trip possible for all of us! We sang our hearts out and killed two speakers on the bus ride back, in which a Swahili dinner and Maasai dance kept us on our toes as we got back to our side of the island. With tired eyes and stuffed bellies, we had our last Moonup reminiscing on how fast the time flew by here in Zanzibar.
As we pack up and head out for a travel day to the Serengeti, we can only imagine what’s in store for the last third of the trip. Time flies by when you’re having fun! And we’re having a good time!
Until next time,
Birdie & Tommy
Thank you’s
- Preston – Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I can’t wait to see you soon and share everything with you.
- Jack – Thank y’all so much for sending me to Africa. Can’t wait to see you guys!
- Ezra – Hey. Thanks for sending me here. I appreciate everything you do for me I am not taking this experience for granted.
- Sebastian – Thank you for sending me on this trip! Love you and miss you see you soon!
- James – Hi Mom and Dad can’t wait to see you in a few days, thank you for sending me here. Scuba diving was so much fun and I got so many different teas and coffees at the spice market. The Serengeti has been so beautiful. See you soon.
- Jett – Yurrrrrrrrr. Mom and dad, this trip is one of the utmost amazing trips that I have been on. The people that I have met feel so much like family. These guys have truly become some of my best friends. I don’t know where I know some of these kids from, especially Ezra and James, but we knew each other in 18 other lives. Eaglebrook all over again. My love runs deep for y’all and I’m going back to love showing you guys all of these dooooppppeeee pictures. I Love you more than you know.
- Lalah – hey heyyyy!!! Been the most amazing trip ever!!! Officially scuba certified and learned how amazing it is🤪🤪. We had are first day of safari today and I’m OBSESSED with giraffes so much and love everything about Africa so so so much. Thank y’all so much for letting me go on the amazing trip can’t wait to see y’all soon. Miss y’all 😆🦒🤭
- Maya – hi again!!!! Still having the BEST time 😁 scuba diving was soooo much fun and now I’m certified YAY! the first day of safari was also soooo gorgeous I’m genuinely so obsessed with this place!!! Thank y’all so much for everything especially for sending me on this amazing trip 🥹 I’m so excited to tell y’all all about it 🩷🩷 miss and love y’all so much
- Evan – hi y’all!! I’m having the absolute best time!!!! We just got to Serengeti and went on our first safari it was SOO cool to see all the animals! Zanzibar was a blast and I’m now scuba certified yayyyyy!! Thank y’all so much for giving me the opportunity to go on a trip of a lifetime!! Not ready to leave but so excited to see y’all! Thank you so much. Love y’all!!💚💚💚💚 (tell Dylan I miss him so much as well)
- Suz – Hi!!!! I miss you guys so much but I’m having the BEST time ever. Scuba diving was by far the coolest experience ever! Zanzibar was beautiful but we left today and are in the Serengeti! Thank y’all so so much for sending me on this! Love y’all and see y’all pretty soon! 🩵🩵
- Leslie – Hellooooo! Thank you so much for sending me on this and it’s been an incredible experience. I’m now #advancedscubacertified See y’all soon 💗
- Mabel – Hiiii! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see you next week! Thank you so much for giving me this experience. I’m so grateful for this and the people I’m with! As much as I miss y’all, I’m really not ready to come home. Love you!❤️❤️
Tanzania + Zanzibar B
Update from Tanzania!
July 14, 2025
A bright and early Wednesday July 9th arrived with TNZ B in full swing! The group arrived safely and transferred to Kazi ya Tembo Elephant Camp. After a long roadtrip of queued songs, we arrived at camp and settled in. We kicked things off with a long card game of BS, accompanied by a delicious dinner prepared by our chefs, Doctor and Rafa! Tommy carried the first Moonup on the mountain top of Kapimbi before crawling into bed after hours of traveling to our new favorite place!
Thursday morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise and breakfast before we started the day with a fun game of elephant hide and seek! Once we roamed around on foot throughout the outskirts of Mkomazi, we returned to camp for lunch, we were joined by Mabel and Jack, along with Birdie. Our group became one piece; 14/14! Just in time for an immaculate African lasagna and sodas. After bellies full, we painted trash bins as part of an effort to lead by example and teach the local villages how to dispose of trash. Elephant, mountain, and heart stencils of yellow spray paint covered the black painted trashcan with top tier decor! With a few card games thrown in, we headed down the mountain and started picking up “taka taka.” It was incredible to see the efforts of the village kids learning from ours, as all 12 members of our group taught the kids how to pick up after themselves. However, once the soccer ball hit the ground, it didn’t take long for the kids energy to burst into a chaotic game! It was lively, fun, and a core memory for most; especially as Preston helped one of the local girls (Regina) score her first soccer goal ever! We headed back up, showered and grubbed, and had our first Moonup all together! Group bonding was already in full swing, as everyone sat around to play cards and hang out before bed. As late night approached, everyone hit the hay for FriYAY!
On Friday, we woke up and ate breakfast before visiting the rhino conservation program in the morning-an incredible and eye-opening experience. We arrived and went on a mini safari drive; and boy what luck was in store for us! We saw three cheetahs (extremely rare to see in Mkomazi National Park), two elephants just feet away from our van, rare variations of antelopes, giraffes from afar, and other animals roaming the African bush! Luckily for us, we had our own professional photographer in Jett, who captured all of the wildlife perfectly. Then, we experienced wild dogs being fed by a park ranger, where the dogs showed off their hops by competing for the meat snacks. Our picnic soon met us after to fill us up before we split into two vans to set out for rhino sightings. We saw two rhinos who came up to our van to greet us, Mambo!, but were both busy eating lunch. Afterwards, we loaded up the van and headed back to camp and spent a relaxing afternoon playing cards and, of course, more soccer with the kids. Half of us stayed with Birdie around the village to hang with our new little best friends, while the rest went with Tommy to compete in a soccer game with older boys in the village who are too good for a casual pick up game. Everyone was worried about their skills at first, but ended up holding their own! Especially Leslie, who had an amazing teammate bond with the goalie on her team! On the other hand, Evan and Suzanne were greeted with the little girls “sprinting across the town” and gracefully into their arms – what a reunion! Back at camp, Doctor and Rafa had soup, rice, meat and veggies prepared and ready to be eaten after a long day. Another Moonup approached us, with lots of laughs, and set us up for a restful last night at our new home.
Our weekend travels commenced as we woke up on Saturday and had our last meal at camp before traveling into Arusha. But before we went anywhere, the crew declared James the winner of elephant conservation bingo and he got a new Kazi Ya Tembo hat for free! After that, with hugs to the crew and a fully loaded van, we traveled to the hot springs near Moshi for a refreshing swim. The long drive flew by so fast watching Lalah make everyone bracelets in record time; thanks to Mabel for her bracelet string and thoughtful teaching to the girls. Once we got there, we ate lunch before heading into the water via rope swing! Jack impressed everyone with his display of tricks when jumping off the rope!The clear water and rainforest vibes was a nice change in scenery. Nothing could have prepared us for such an entertaining day of a combination of cultures in one setting; we genuinely don’t think we could have laughed harder. As we departed our pit stop activity, we arrived to our overnight lodging before our next adventure! Warm showers and cold sodas were the perfect touch to everyone’s favorite meal of the trip so far, before we experienced Moonup in a new and unlocked location! But of course, we couldn’t get under the covers without hanging out with each other as much as we can in the time that we have together. Though, with an early wake up, we set off for bed missing each other already, but so excited for island time and paradise!
We flew to Zanzibar Sunday morning and prepared for a travel day before a week of scuba diving in blue teal waters! An early morning and some airline logistics troubles were easily cured by some good old fashioned positivity, led by Ezra and Maya. Their glowing smiles got everyone ready to get on island time! Once all feet and wheels were on the ground, we headed to our hotel and were greeted by juice and a sunny clear sky! With hamburgers and pasta for lunch, everyone set out for walks on the beach, first swims in the ocean, talks on balcony’s, Sebastian showing off his incredible geography knowledge, and more. Our free afternoon to relax, explore, and gear up for our scuba diving activities ahead was the perfect welcome day to the island of Zanzibar. After our first five course meal, we gathered on the beach for Moonup. Our first sleep with air conditioning and mattresses came in handy after a long travel day, yet hard to believe one third of the trip has already flown by! More updates to come soon!
Yours truly,Birdie & Tommy
Shoutouts:
◦ Preston – Hey mom and dad! I am having a great time in Tanzania and Zanzibar, no complaints so far. We are currently in Zanzibar and just finished going on two cool dives. We saw lots of fish and also got to see an Octopus. I love you guys and miss you. I like my group and leaders a lot .
◦ Jack – Hey everyone hope all is well at home thank you guys so much for letting me do this having a great time and can’t wait to tell y’all all about it. No complaints! Can’t wait to meet you Mary C.
◦ Ezra – Hi Mom and Dad I im having fun in Africa we just got to Zanzibar and went scuba diving. Love you guys and see you soon
◦ Seb – Hi Mom,Dad,and Isou. Having a lot of fun so far on this trip. Right now I’m diving in Zanzibar and just came from elephant camp!! Hope all is well at home. Love you guys! No complaints here!
◦ James – Hi Mom and Dad miss you all so much. Sitting by the beach in Zanzibar and I’m going to the spice market tomorrow I’m going to get so many different types. Can’t wait to tell you all about Africa when I get home. Shout out to just a splash.
◦ Jett – Hey mom and dad, I remembered the Swahili we learned and used it very well. I’m doing excellent sitting on this beautiful pastel Zanzibar beach laughing and loving every moment of it.
◦ Lalah – heyyy mom dad and Jack miss y’all so much!! Having the best time ever Africa is the most amazing place ever and I can’t wait to show y’all all the picsss. First day scuba diving tmw wish me luck 🤞🤞. Hope everything at home is good I love yallll 🥹💛🦒
◦ Maya – hi!!! Africa is so much fun and I love my group so much!!! Everything is sooo gorgeous 😆😆 Miss y’all but hope everything in chs is going great.. can’t wait to tell y’all all about it 🩷🩷
◦ Evan – hi mom and dad !!!! This trip has been soooo much fun. We are in Tanzania and just had our pool session for scuba diving. It is so pretty here can’t wait to show y’all pictures. I love my group and have made so many new friends!! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see y’all 🩷😄🤿🍍
◦ Suz – hi mom and dad (and Mary reading) I’m having so much fun in Africa it’s the coolest place ever!! I miss y’all and CHS a lot! See y’all soon. 🩵
◦ Leslie – hi mom, dad, and Paul miss all of y’all so much! The trip has been super fun and can’t wait to tell you all about it! Hope everything is well at home anddd am excited to see you soon!💗
◦ Mabel – Hi mom and dad! Having so much fun so far. Miss and love y’all so much!
All Together!
July 10, 2025
Hello Tanzania + Zanzibar Families!
We wanted to let you know that our last student has arrived safely in Tanzania. The group is ecstatic to be together as one! Keep an eye out for updates, but know that the trip is off to an amazing start.
-Moondance HQ
Off to a Great Start!
July 9, 2025
Hello Tanzania + Zanzibar Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely! Due to some unfortunate travel delays, we are waiting for the last member of the group to join. Otherwise, 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
