Sweet South Africa Ending!
June 18, 2026
Hey Moondance Families!
It breaks our hearts to write the final trip update! We have had SOO much fun with these amazing girls. We know you’re eager to see them, but know they will be missed in South Africa and Mozambique!!
Our final stop was definitely a collective favorite. We got to spend our final few days together safari-ing! Aside from the incredible activities we got to participate in, we had some incredible accommodations (super nice safari tents with heated beds!!!)!! Our first day, we were greeted with Shirley Temples and then quickly got dressed for our afternoon safari. We all had a blast and got to stop for sodas halfway through!!! That night we feasted before settling around the fire for a great first Moonup here. This crew was tired after lots of travel so we all got cozy in our beds and got some good sleep!!
Day two was one for the books! We woke up to an amazing breakfast spread and then headed off to feed some rhinos!! We split up into groups, hopped in the back of the truck, and drove into a big field with giant bales of hay. Each person got to throw the rhinos some hay!! It was crazy looking up at one of the vans and seeing a horde of rhinos running to get their treat!! We were surrounded – it was definitely a top moment of the trip!! After that, we stopped for an amazing picnic by a beautiful lake. We enjoyed some chicken wraps and gorged on desserts before taking a moment to rest. That afternoon, we went on a safari and searched for the cheetahs but unfortunately we didn’t find them. We did, however, stop to watch the sunset with some more sodas. A zebra walked right past us as we were admiring the view! It was such a nice moment to all be together. We wrapped up the night playing our favorite group game – families! Ella especially enjoyed it and stumped the group with some of her name entries.
The next day was an especially big one because it was Lulie’s birthday!!! That meant we started off the morning with some celebratory cupcakes! It was so fun to celebrate Lulie and start the morning with a sugar rush. Then…. We headed out to find the cheetahs!!! We learned all about how they monitor the cheetahs on the reserve to make sure they are fed and healthy before heading out on foot to see the cheetahs brothers. They were taking an afternoon nap and glanced up at us lazily a few times but seemed not to be bothered by our presence at all! That afternoon we had some free time. We spent it playing lots of card games! GC, Eleanor, and Mary Martin especially enjoyed some fiercely competitive spike ball games… It was sooo much fun!! We all had a wonderful afternoon just being together and then enjoyed dinner and another campfire before bed. We had some birthday cake and all shared our favorite things about Lulie!
The next day was definitely the most memorable of the trip… We were surprised by a rhino darting experience!!! The vet prepped us with what would happen – he would dart the rhino before we would race up and quickly help by measuring the rhino’s horn, giving it shots, etc. before the sedative wore off! We had some MVPs of the day. Kate was our master veterinarian and Reece got to fix the tracking anklet! You might want to ask Caroline about her role in the process – we won’t spoil what she got to do… After rhino darting, we had another amazing activity. We can admit that Ground Horn-Bill watching wasn’t necessarily at the top of everyone’s to-do list before the trip, but it quickly became a group favorite. Our guide was so passionate about these birds that we all fell in love with them too. So this is a shameless plug from our group to support the Ground Hornbill Project and save our favorite birds!!!!!! Our afternoon wrapped up with another safari drive, and Molly and Sofia spent the whole time laughing in the back together as we searched for some more animals!
Our final night together was one for the books. Our banquet featured some incredible food – South African traditional bry! We all feasted in some crazy outfits… Katie and Joey rocked some clown makeup while everyone else was wearing their PJs and crazy hair! We danced together and then reflected around the campfire for our final Moonup.
Our last morning was special. We all hopped on the safari vans for one last adventure. This time, it featured some lions and hot chocolate! It was such a special way to finish our time in South Africa together.
Matthew and I are so thankful for the most amazing first session group. They are some of the funniest, kindest people we know. Thank you so much for sharing your people with us – please know how loved they are!! And to our amazing group, WE MISS YOU ALREADY!! Call us, text us, email us!! This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later!!!
Signing off for the last time,
SAF 1C, Bess and Matthew
Mission Mozambique!
June 13, 2026
Hey Moondance Families!
We are so excited to share about our amazing time in the beautiful country of Mozambique! We woke up and had some nice packed lunches, and got into the bus to drive back to the airport. At the Airport we all went through security together, and everyone made it through! We boarded the plane, and were given some great snacks and beverages on the plane. On our flight we saw the most beautiful views of sandy islands and sand bars peaking out from the turquoise blue ocean that looked like it was straight out of a magazine. It was the most beautiful plane view almost all of us had EVER seen!!! Upon landing we were met by customs, and there the group spotted a giant praying mantis! The warm air was a great introduction to Mozambique, and the amazing weather to come. We all got into our next bus and drove to the lodge at the beach. Our bus ride was filled with views of the Mozambique countryside, we saw towns and villages, and gardens. At the lodge, we had some great dinner spaghetti bolognese! Everybody cleared their plates and we went to bed ready for a great next day.
For breakfast the next morning we had some amazing custom crepes, and everyone loved them. We began our activities in Mozambique, by starting the day with a surfing / beach time rotation!! Our surf instructors were so helpful and encouraging, and everybody got up on the board. Reece showed her surfing skills on some big waves. The other group on the beach played over and under in the water, and got some good tanning in. We had lunch at the scuba lodge, and it was HAMBURGERS!! Everyone devoured their burger, and that’s when we overheard rumors about a whale shark spotting… We rushed on the water after lunch for our first Ocean Safari. Our guide taught everybody important lessons on the sustainability of Ocean Safari’s and proper procedure. We all got fitted for flippers and water shirts, and onto the boat we were! Within the first 30 minutes we found a WHALE SHARK. All of us dived in and swam with the Whale Shark, it was an amazing experience to see such a large animal up close. Within another 20 minutes we spotted another whale shark!!! Gade got into the water a second time to see the shark, Matthew and Gade looked for the shark then realized it was right beneath them! It had been over 10 days since they had seen a Whale Shark, so we got super lucky. After our eventful day we went to have dinner at the lodge and went to bed excited for the next day.
The next day we woke up, and went straight into our ocean safari. We did not find any big creatures that day, but we were successful in finding an amazing reef with some cool fish like Dory. After the ocean safari, we had a cooking class. We arrived and our guide asked the group if we would like some coconuts. Somebody from the village climbed up a 25 foot tree, and got the coconuts and we watched as they fell down onto the sand. He opened up the coconuts in front us and we each got a coconut to drink from. Molly especially liked the fresh coconuts. Before we started our cooking lesson, everybody was fitted into a traditional long skirt. We then learned how to cook traditional Matapa, and make bread from coconut milk. Mary Martin helped grind the coconut to produce coconut shavings as an important ingredient in our lunch. Caroline was helpful by squeezing the coconut shavings with the water to help make coconut milk for the whole group. Kate helped shape our bread dough into a thin enough shape that would cook on both sides. After cooking our meal, our guide brought out some fish with lemon, rice, and we added our Matapa sauce, and ate our coconut bread! We left lunch and embarked on a drive through the Mozambique countryside to an estuary where we took a traditional dhow boat for a sunset cruise!! Joey had a great time singing some descendants songs on the boat. After the boat, we drove back to the lodge and had some great dinner, and looked at the amazing stars before bed.
The next day, we woke up and went into our surf / chill time rotation. On the next day we got more experience with our surfing. Ella had so much surfing on our second time surfing, and interacting with the guides. After our chill time we made our way over to the local markets in Mozambique to buy some souvenirs and goodies. Katie and Sofia have so much fun at the markets so get some good deals. Everyone bought some necklaces and bracelets to remember the trip. Then we bought some local fruit and had some great pineapple. We went back to the lodge for some free time, and a great last dinner in Mozambique. At night, Eleanor helped the group spot some geckos and we found almost 15! Last night, we met up on the beach for MoonUp and looked at the milkyway galaxy while a few members of the group saw some shooting stars. After MoonUp all the group ran to the water because the water had been glowing during MoonUP. We put out feet in the water, and there were bioluminescent algae that were lighting up the night. Everyone went to bed, and we all our going to miss Mozambique very much!!!
Here are some thank yous from the girls
Kate – Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me on this amazing Moondance trip! Love you both ❤️
Sofia – Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me on this incredible Moondance trip to South Africa and Mozambique! I have had the time of my life! Love you guys so much! 💗
Molly: Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me on this wonderful Moondance trip to South Africa + Mozambique!!! I have had the best time ever!! Love and miss you guys so much! 💕🐘🦒
Lulie – Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me on the best trip to South Africa and Mozambique with Moondance! It’s been great, and I love you guys so much! See y’all so so soon! ❤️
GC- thank you mom and dad for working so hard to allow me to go on this trip! You’re the best people i know and I love you forever and always.
Katie- hi dad and mom!!! I know I was hesitant to go on this trip but thank you for letting me have this opportunity to go on this trip and make sooo many new friends and memories!!!!! Y’all always push me to get out of my comfort zone and I rlly appreciate it!! I miss y’all so much!🥲🥲 see you soon!
Eleanor- Hi mom and dad!! Thank you guys so much for sending me on this trip!! I am so grateful and miss u guys so much, but I am having the best time on Moondance! Love you guys!!!!💗💗🐘
MM- hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for taking me on this trip and prepping me to go!! I’m taking good pictures and painting a lot of stuff, so I’m doing alright here! See you soon and give love to daisy for me!
Joey- hi mom, dad, and Peter! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. It has been such a wonderful experience so far and I’ve made so many amazing friends!! I love Moondance!🐘🦒🦏
Ella – hi mom, dad, Henry, and William! I am so grateful to be on this trip, I am having the best time and have made rlly good friends! I am counting down the days till I get to see you guys! Love you all so so much 💗💗
Reece- Thank you so much mom and dad and papa jay for sending me on this trip! I am having a great time and have made so many friends and I love seeing the wildlife. Can’t wait to see you guys!! 🐘✌️
Caroline- Thank you Aunt Rene, Mom, and Dad for sending me on Moondance! This trip has been the best experience of my life. I am having such a great time making new friends and seeing new things. So excited to tell y’all about it!🐘🤍
Service, Safari, and a Side of Sunsets!!!
June 10, 2026
Hey Moondace Families!!! We’ve had an incredible start to our trip and cannot wait to share!!!
We were so excited to meet the girls as they got off the plane in Johannesburg and instantly knew this was going to be the greatest two weeks. After we got to the hotel, we enjoyed our first meal together (pizza, duh!) and went straight to bed after a long travel day.
Everyone was in good spirits the next morning as we got ready to head off to our first adventure at the game reserve!! The drive there was so fun – we snacked, listened to some amazing music (featuring Matthew’s singing), and got to know each other a little better. We were all in awe driving up to our first home of the trip – there were so many zebras and monkeys hanging out outside of our rooms! Before our first activity, we played a group game where Molly led the group by narrating. We were all laughing about how the zebras were so close it was almost like they were playing with us!
It was quickly time to head off on our first adventure of the trip! Our wonderful rangers picked us up in safari vans and took us on a quick drive through the South African bush, where we saw our first safari animals – wildebeests and warthogs! Everyone was so excited, but then we realized our final destination was a sunset boat cruise, and excitement really spiked!!! The boat cruise was magical. We spent the entire time searching for hippos and looking at the crocodiles, it felt like a dream. We watched the sun go down as we enjoyed soda and snacks from the boat, and it was maybe the most beautiful view any of us had ever seen. The only thing that made it even better was listening out for the hippos as they started to get active for the night!
The next day was our first day of service work. This crew ROCKED!!! We’ve never seen a group so excited and willing to jump right in and get to work as this one. Our first task was sanding the water-damaged exterior of the community’s church and repainting the interior a beautiful blue. We split up half-and-half, blasting our 2010s music and dancing along! Caroline was immediately one of the MVPs of the group – she was the first to volunteer for any task, hard at work, AND kept group morale up!! The community told us that we got so much done the first day and that we really set the standard for the summer. We were so proud of our group and so happy that we all had a blast.
That afternoon, we bundled up for what we thought was a safari walk and stargazing activity… Our guides gave us our safety briefing, and we were off! The walk was generally meant to be pretty quiet so we didn’t scare off the animals (after all, we were in Big 5 territory!). But our guides would stop us every so often to show us different tracks and lead us towards the animals! We saw some impalas at first, but then, as we got further along in our walk, we realized that there were rhinos ahead! It was one of the most memorable experiences, especially because there was a baby rhino who was looking right at us! They seemed curious about who we were but unconcerned as they marched in the opposite direction. It was one of those “pinch me” moments. We then stopped in a little field to watch the sun go down. Sofia was especially appreciative of this moment of quiet, saying it was a beautiful sunset and that she felt so at peace. The other group on the game walk saw two giraffes and learned that they are very curious animals, as they moved closer to us so we could get a better look.
It wasn’t long before our guides had us up and ready, and walked us a little further, only to surprise us with a BUSH CAMPOUT!!! For those of you who don’t know what that means, we got to sleep out in the wild with all of the animals! We were all shocked to see the sleeping bags, but the shock quickly gave way to excitement as we realized how cool this experience was. We had a BIG meal of lasagna and brownies before all settling in by the fire. It was one of those nights we will never forget. All chatting, laughing, and telling stories. Eleanor was particularly funny, making the entire group laugh at all of her campfire stories! We eventually all huddled in our sleeping bags and fell asleep to the lions’ roars. When we woke up, Lulie said that it was one of the highlights of the trip for her.
This group was on FIRE as we headed straight from the campout to service work! We blasted music in the safari trucks on our way and belted some of our favorite songs!! This was a particularly fun day, as all of the kids from the community wanted to hang out and play! Gade was especially sweet with the kids, and they really loved her! That day, we worked on waterproofing some other parts of the church before breaking out Spike Ball, soccer, and getting a big group playing! Ella was always a team leader with the games, making sure all of the kids were involved.
That afternoon, we had some time before our next activity. Mary Martin took advantage of her free time by painting the zebras by our lodge! Everyone was talking about her amazing artistic skills. It wasn’t long, though, before we left for our game drive!! It was such a beautiful drive. We tracked cheetahs (though we didn’t catch any) and got to see more of the impalas, buffalo, and wildebeests. We stopped by the lake for sunset to enjoy some snacks and drinks before bundling up to head back to our lodge for the night. But all of a sudden, our rangers got quiet, talking on the radio to each other and asking us all to stay silent before starting our vehicles and racing out. We were all in suspense… We didn’t know what was going on! All we knew was to stay absolutely silent. We were racing against the sunset, and it was getting really dark. But then, the car slowed down, and we saw something in the distance.
Our first lion!!!!!!! He was sitting in the MIDDLE of the road, mane blowing in the wind. His family sat off to the side, all lazily staring at us shining our flashlights at them. It was surreal. We had never been so close to a wild lion! Kate said it was the best experience she’d had. I think it’s safe to say that we all went to bed happy that night…
Our last day of service finally came, and we were sad to say goodbye to the community that we had become so close with. But not before…. A HUGE game of soccer!!!!! We had kids running in to join the game, and had to expand the playing field because it got so big. Katie was the MVP of this game, keeping everyone hype. She absolutely LOVED playing. The game honestly got a little chaotic, and the teams DEFINITELY got uneven, but it was one of those really happy moments where everyone was having a good time.
We wrapped up our time with another incredible game drive. We never knew what we would see, but we quickly realized there were some fresh elephant tracks!! There was a large group of elephants, and we saw maybe 10. One elephant faced us and puffed out its ears, almost posing for the perfect photo. Reece keeps saying that her favorite part of the trip was seeing the elephants, especially the tiny baby elephant following his mama!! Sofia certified herself as the spotter of the group, spotting another giraffe on the way back to the lodge. At the lodge, our guides had prepared a master chef table for the group to cook dinner! We split the groups into two and prepared our chicken entree with a detailed instructions list. Each team became fiercely competitive, trying to trick the other. Joey was SO invested, taking control of cutting veggies and sniff testing the sauce to see if it needed more spices. After fierce competition, the judges sat down to judge our plates. But they refused to tell us who won before we each enjoyed our own plates!! I think that we can safely say it was one of our favorite meals of the trip (but maybe that’s just because we were feeling accomplished). Anyways, after bellies were full of chicken, rice, veggies, and LOTS of ice cream, the judges sat us down and announced the winner!!! Team A (Molly, Sofia, Joey, Gade, Katie, Ella, and Bess) won by just 2 points! They said they’ve never had such a close call.
We were so sad to leave but also so so excited about our time in Mozambique!! It’s a blessing to love somewhere so much that you’re sad to leave it. We promise to check in again soon!!
With love,
Bess and Matthew
Shoutouts
Joey- Hi everyone! Thank you for sending me on this amazing trip. I am having such a fun time!! Can’t wait to tell you guys all about it 🦒🐘🦏
Reece-Hi Mom, Dad, Louise, and Charlie. Thank you so much for sending me on this amazing trip, I am having a great time, and I miss y’all, and I also miss Wu. Love y’all! 🐘🤙😁
Caroline-Hi to my family and friends! I am thinking of all of y’all. I am having so much fun and am so excited to tell y’all about my trip!🤍🤍
MM- Hi y’all! I’m doing good! To my dog daisy and all of my family and friends, thanks for the trip!!
Ella – Hi to my family! I love you guys and can’t wait to see you! Thank you mom for sending me on this amazing trip, I am having the best time❤️❤️❤️
GC- Shoutout to my Mom, Dad, and brothers! Also to Anna and Maddie! I love you all and miss you, but I am having so much fun 💕
Eleanor-Hello to my family and friends!!! I miss all of you guys and can’t wait to see you!! I am having the best time on the trip and can’t wait to tell you guys all about it💗💗
Sofia – Hi to my family and friends! I can’t wait to tell you guys all about this amazing trip! I made so many friends that are so fun and amazing! I can’t wait to see y’all and hang out together this summer. I am having the time of my life! Sending so much love from Africa!!! 🦒🐘🤗💕
Lulie – Hi Mom, Dad, Beau, and Reynolds! I miss all of y’all so much! I’m having so much fun! Also hi to all of my friends Emily, Sally, Winnie, Ada, and Bradley. I can’t wait to see y’all so soon and hangout. Love everyone! 🐘💗😊
Kate – Hi Mom, Dad, Caroline, and Benjj!! I am having so much fun and have made so many new friends in Africa. I miss y’all and love y’all!! 🦒🐘😊
Molly: Hi to my family and friends!! I am so thankful I was able to come on this amazing trip!! I have met some new best friends that I have felt like I have known forever!!! These 17 days have changed my life, and I am so grateful I was able to do this. Can’t wait to come home and tell y’all all about Africa! Love you guys so much! 🦒💕🐘
Katie- Hi Mom, Dad, and Riley!!! I miss y’all so much, and I have made so many new friends!! I’m having so much fun. We were able to go surfing and tan which y’all know I LOVE. We also have seen sooo many animals like buffalos, elephants, giraffes, and lions!!! It was so cool seeing those animals in the wild. I miss y’all and Boomer and Ella so much!💗🤗🤗
Safe Arrival!
June 4, 2026
Hello South Africa + Mozambique Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure as they start their cultural immersion section!
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
