So Long, SAF 3A!
July 23, 2026
Guess who’s back… back again, SAF A’s back, tell a friend!!
As much as I love that song, shady is the opposite of how our trip has gone since we last spoke! Our final destination in this magnificent continent was the beautiful coast of Mozambique. While I am devastated to say this is the final trip update from SAF 3A, there was no better way to finish our time together than surfing and exploring in the crystal-clear water of Tofo Beach!After our scenic travel down the coast and a great night’s sleep in our surf lodge, it was time to get out there. Channeling our inner Jack Johnson, we fueled up with some delicious banana pancakes and then headed down the sunny beach to our surf shop (not a bad morning commute!). We spent the whole morning in and around the water. Whether we were surfing or cleaning up the beach, the kids were in awe of the beauty around us the whole time. Zoe and Ben must have paid great attention in their surf lesson because, despite it being their first time on a surfboard, they caught some of the first waves that day as the rest of the group (and our beloved instructors) cheered them on.After everyone had surfed, we met back up in the dive shop for a delicious lunch overlooking the ocean before our next activity… Market day! Bellies full and spirits high, we hopped into two pickup trucks and made our way down the sandy road to the local market. The kids were so pumped to see all the local crafts for sale. The market wasn’t just a place to buy some gifts, but also a great opportunity to practice haggling! Brumby was a star in the market as he got every vendor to drop their price significantly… no one could compete!After the market, we were off to our sunset cruise! Arriving at the bay, we were greeted with a very low tide and walked through the beached boats to board our ride for the night: a wooden Dhow sailboat! We cruised around the bay with the wind in our sails, soft drinks in our hands, yacht rock in our ears, and the sun dipping behind the palm tree covered hills. When we made a pit stop at a sand bar to hunt for sand dollars, Savannah was the queen of searching through the shallow water and came back with an armload of sand dollars! With such a full day under our belts, it was time to rest up for another day of sun in Mozambique.
We woke up early the next day to head out on our ocean safari! After a quick briefing, we pushed our boat out into the surf and were on the lookout for some sea life! Brad was quick to spot our first sea life of the day: a pod of dolphins roaming up the coastline. While the group was focused on scanning the water for any signs of life, Mary Blake had her head up taking in the scenery around us. Her example was a great reminder to acknowledge the beauty of the dunes descending into the ocean, or the power of the waves slamming into the rocky outcroppings. After the adrenaline rush of beaching the boat in front of the surf shop, everybody tore their rash guards off and were in the waves! Will quickly started a new tradition that we would keep for the remainder of the trip: running full speed into the waves whenever given the chance. Right after the safari, we headed to our cooking class. The kids had the opportunity to helo make Matapa, a classic Mozambiquan dish. Anna and Riley had the chance to get their hands dirty helping Mama Jwana prepare our lunch… they’re getting pretty good at this whole cooking thing!
The afternoon after our cooking class was a highlight of the whole trip. As the sun began to set behind the dunes we made our way down to the beach. After soaking in the view for a few minutes, we played Clare’s favorite game to get the group moving: Shake and Pop. Stephen and London’s energy throughout the whole evening was a highlight, and their dance moves put the rest of us to shame! Oliver also explored his creative side and spent most of the remaining sunlight creating sand art that we all had the chance to admire.And so, after another stellar day of surfing, swimming, and quality time, our trip was at an end. From Mozambique it was a short hop to Johannesburg, where we would say goodbye to the kids. After a final meal and Moonup, we began our tearful goodbyes. As leaders, we are beyond grateful for this group and the experience we had together. They are truly an exceptional assortment of young people who brought so much joy to everyone we interacted with in our time together. We could not have asked for better companions for the final trip of our summer, and that goodbye is one we will remember for a long time. With the utmost sincerity, thank you to all the families, guides, HQ members, and students who made this once in a lifetime trip become reality. And to our beloved kids, thank you for being you! You are all truly the livers of life.Eternally Grateful,
Clare and Logan
Meeting New Friends!
July 18, 2026
We are back with another update from this incredible part of the world! Over the past few days, we have had a wonderful change of scenery, and with it a change of activities. After a sad farewell to Mabula and our guides there, we were on the road again and headed to the Mongena game reserve for the community service portion of our trip! Upon arrival, we were greeted with a delightfully refreshing juice and a sunset cruise to go with it. After the cruise, we sat down for a linguine dinner… a meal that Zoe would be asking about for the rest of our time at Mongena! After wrapping up our meal, we made our way down to the fire pit for our drum lesson! We spent the rest of the evening learning to play the djembe drum and dancing. Will, who was also a LOD (Leader of the Day), proved himself to be a top drummer very early on, and it was no surprise that he was complaining of sore hands when we were done! We were in love with Mongena from the first night, and it was only going to get better!
The next morning, we found out that the hippos had done the leader’s job for us and woken the kids up already! With the sounds of hippos in our ears, we sat down to the first of many amazing breakfasts at Mabula. If you can think of a breakfast food, it was there! Stephen took special advantage of the breakfast setup and made a modern art exhibit with his toast (a house, maybe???) before eating. We then loaded up into the open-air Land Cruisers and headed off to Hammanskraal, a nearby town, to begin our first day of community service! With a smile on our faces and many local kids waiting for us to play soccer, we started painting a church right there in the community. The kids had an absolute blast from the beginning, and even managed to paint within the lines most of the time! After painting, we spent several hours playing soccer and hanging out with the local kids! Brad and Oliver very quickly brought everyone together for a full game and were a driving force in their team, the “Papois “’s victory. Besides Brad, there was one other standout in the game, a local boy named Blessing, whom we knew affectionately as “Boots”. We miss you already, Boots!! Once we wrapped up our intense competition, we were back at Mongena for a late afternoon game drive and a cooking competition. Divided into two teams, the kids made Potjie Kos (Similar to a chicken roast) under the tutelage of Mongena’s head chef! Ben helped his team recover from a near disaster wayyyyy too much salt in their stew- by adding some Coke Zero to balance it… It worked surprisingly well and helped his team triumph in the competition!
This was the rhythm we settled into for the duration of our time at Mongena, and what a good rhythm it was! Throughout our community service work, Zoe and London made themselves especially useful by hand-painting signs to designate the men’s and women’s bathrooms, and they even put their own spin on it! Riley’s standout contribution, aside from starting an intense game of Simon Says with the children, was sanding a whole bathroom door by hand. Would not be surprised if she is still washing the dust out of her hair! On our last night at Mongena, we surprised the kids with a guided walk through the bush. We were eye level with rhinos out there before we arrived at a lovely table and campfire set up in the bush for a night of stargazing and campfire stories. Mary Blake took a special delight in everything that night, and I think she might still be smiling!
Just like that, our time at Mongena was over. After an incredible game drive in the morning, full of elephant and cheetah sightings, we were on the road again. We spent an afternoon exploring a mall in Joburg and all the delights it had to offer. In a game of laser tag, our treat for the kids, Savannah came out on top out of all the students with the highest score! We turned in early that night, anticipating our arrival in Mozambique the next day. With another early start, we were travelling again, but this time headed out of the country! As we landed in Vilankulos, the kids were in awe at the crystal clear water and beautiful coastlines. The anticipation was building for the last portion of our trip! On the ride from the airport to our lodging in Tofo, Brumby and Anna kept spirits high by spearheading some carpool karaoke to rival James Gordon!
I am writing this update from our lodge in Mozambique, and as I reflect on our experience over the last five days or so, it is difficult not to be overwhelmed with gratitude. Seeing the students jump to community service with a willingness to work and an open mind is one of the great joys I have had this summer. Every student was impacted by our time in Mongena, both through the incredible wildlife and the delightful community we were with. I know that all of us will carry this experience and its lessons with us for the rest of our lives. But fornow, we are going to sleep with the promise of surfing and ocean safaris ahead of us, what more could you ask for!
With Gratitude,
Logan and Clare
Thank you’s:
Anna: This trip has truly been everything I could have imagined and more. It’s exposed me to new people, land and experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life. Thank you all so so much for this gift.
Oliver: Africas been amazing and thanks for this opportunity.
Will: Thank you so much for sending me on this trip I am very grateful and happy to be here. It has been a lot of fun and I am sad it is almost over.
Riley: Thank you so so much for sending me on moondance and to Africa this year! It has been amazing and I am so grateful for y’all! Can’t wait to see everyone soon 💕
Mary Blake: Hey Mom and Dad thank y’all so much for sending me here!! Dad we have to do this together one day everything we have done I have thought of how much you would love it. MOM AND FRANCES I MISS YALL SO MUCH!!!💗💗
London: hiiiiii! I’ve had the best time and I’m so so glad I was blessed to go on such a Fun trip! Thank you!!!! I hope y’all are doing good! Thanks and love and miss you! 😘💗
Zoe: Hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to go on this trip! I am so grateful for y’all and this trip! Love you both so so so much! 💗💗
Savannah: hii mom & dad!!!! thank you so so much for sending me on this trip. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything you guys have done for me. I love you both so much <3 and Tyler and Sam, I miss and love you guys. Thank you for being the best 😊✌️💗
Stephen: Hi Mom and Dad! I miss y’all so much and am so grateful I’ve gotten to go on this experience of a lifetime. Love y’all so much!
Brumby: Hey mom and dad, thank y’all for sending me to Africa. This has been a great experience and I can’t wait to see y’all!
Ben: hey mom and dad I want to thank you guys for providing me with this trip to Africa. I’ve made so many new friends and I feel like this was a great dopamine detox. I miss you guys.
Brad: Hey Mom and Dad thank y’all so much for letting me come on this trip, with Will too. I hope all is good back home and I hope you guys are enjoying time alone with the doggies. No getting kicked off this time. Love you guys a ton and tell Jane I said Hi and miss her a lot. 🇲🇿🇿🇦🦏🏝️
Real-life Lion King!
July 14, 2026
Hello and welcome to SAF 3A!
The grand finale of South Africa is officially underway, and we couldn’t be more excited to spend the next few weeks with this awesome crew. We patiently waited at the Johannesburg airport until everyone had arrived after a long journey across the world. Once the whole group was together, we headed to City Lodge, where pizza was the perfect welcome meal after 16 hours of travel. We wrapped up the evening with our first Moon Up and called it an early night to get ahead of the jet lag.
The next morning, after enjoying breakfast (including the famous push-a-button pancake machine), we made our way to Mabula Game Reserve. Tristan welcomed us to Kwafubesi Camp with Shirley Temples waiting for everyone, and it didn’t take long before we all understood why people love this place. Every morning we looked out from camp to see rhinos grazing nearby, making it feel like we had stepped into another world.
After lunch, we kicked off what has quickly become a daily tradition: hacky sack. Will showed off some unexpected flexibility, while Stephen impressed everyone with his smooth skills. From there, we headed out on our very first safari with our incredible guides, Ethan and Karla. We spotted zebras, rhinos, elephants, cheetahs, wildebeest, warthogs, impalas, and so much more. Mary Blake always seemed to have a camera ready and may have discovered a future career as a wildlife photographer, while Benjamin couldn’t get enough of every animal we came across.
Day three brought one of the biggest highlights of the trip-the rhino darting experience. Anna and Brad had the incredible opportunity to ride with the veterinarian as the rhino was safely tranquilized for routine conservation work. Will helped measure the rhino’s horns, while Riley and Mary Blake each got to administer a vaccine. Brumby excelled with helping one of the rangers with the tracking anklet for the rhino! It was an unforgettable opportunity to see conservation happening up close. We were also able to watch two elephants cross right in front of our vehicle, which was a moment none of us will forget.
Back at camp, the games never seemed to stop. Huge shoutout to Oliver for rescuing Session One’s lost hacky sack and introducing everyone to Texas Hold’em. Spoons, BS, Uno, and Family quickly became camp favorites, with Bradford taking home wins in both Spoons and Uno. Zoe proved nearly unbeatable in Family, winning twice, while Stephen kept everyone laughing during nightly rounds of Spoons. London taught everyone how to make friendship bracelets during downtime. Anna also shared her artistic side by giving Clare an awesome henna design and kept our guides on their toes with thoughtful questions inspired by the Nelson Mandela biography she brought along.
Every day we did something new and exciting! The game drives kept getting better. The next morning, we also spotted three lions, cheetah cubs, and even experienced a cheetah walk. We also had the privilege of witnessing a brown hyena darting, during which London helped administer a needle to insert the microchip, and Will helped with the collar of the brown hyena.
The last full day was full of fun, what a way to go out with a bang. We were able to feed the rhinos delicious hay from the back of a truck! Later, we had the pleasure of learning about the endangered Southern ground hornbills, which made for another unforgettable day. Brad, Stephen, Savanna, and Anna asked plenty of great questions along the way! On our last night game drive, we were able to get close to two lionesses walking along the perimeter of the reserve; it was awe-inspiring to be up that close to the apex of the food chain! While we were on the drive, Ethan enjoyed talking about video games with Brad, Oliver, and Benjamin. After we arrived back at Mabula for our last final meal, where we ate an INCREDIBLE final banquet meal consisting of ox-tail, pork chop, sausage, mieliepap (polenta), and chocolate cake for dessert, we celebrated Logan’s late birthday!
Before we knew it, it was already our last morning at Mabula. An early game drive brought sightings of baboons, buffalo, mongooses, meerkats, and plenty of warthogs. Seeing the buffalo meant we had checked off four of Africa’s Big Five: lions, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo, and it felt like The Lion King had come to life.
While we waited for our favorite driver, Doctor, to arrive, we squeezed in a few final games of Death Sack and Uno. Anna claimed another Uno victory with Will close behind, while Savannah took on the important role of judging our hilarious dung-spitting contest, a tradition our safari guides insisted we had to try. Mabula gave us unforgettable wildlife encounters, endless laughs, and memories we’ll be talking about for a long time. We were sad to leave this incredible place, but we can’t wait to see what the rest of South Africa has in store for SAF 3A!
XOXO,
CLARE & LOGAN
Student Shoutouts:
Will: South Africa is indeed very cold at night but I have been sleeping well. Say hello to Molly, Jake, and Muddy for me. I miss you all very much and I am excited to see you all again.
Anna: This place is insane!! There’s a sort of prehistoric power to the land, and the animals are literally majestic. I miss y’all! Dad and Mom, I love you. Aunt Mary, Uncle Amith, Papa Herb and Lollie-you’re the best, and I am incredibly grateful for this humongous gift. Love you all too! Can’t wait to share the stories.
Brumby: Africa is really cool. Y’all would love it here, Cash especially would love chasing all the animals. Tell Norma I said hola. See y’all soon.
Oliver: Miss you a lot and Africa is great.
Stephen: Hey guys! I miss you all so much and can’t wait to see y’all when I get home! I hope Paris is going great! Take care of Tucker for me and say hi to Nana and Duly! Love y’all❤️
Brad: Hey miss you guys having a lot of fun, tell Dunkin and Scout I said hi. I saw lots of animals and got to touch a few like a Rhino. I love you guys and miss Jane too.
Ben: hey guys I miss y’all so much. Having a lot of fun here with the moondance people. I’ve seen so many animals and came really close to all of them. Tell will and Lucy I said I miss them and tell Lucy to text addy that I love her if you can. See y’all In a few days
Savannah: HIIII!!!!!! I’m having the best time here. My group is the most awesome people ever and I love everyone. I hope you guys are having so much fun on your trip and I love and miss y’all. Can’t wait to see you guys 💗✌️🦒
Riley: Hey y’all! I miss you guys so much, and I can’t wait to see everyone soon. We have seen so many cool animals and it has been awesome. There have been a lot of rhinos. I will tell all of y’all about it when I get back, love y’all! 💕
Mary Blake: hey guys! Miss y’all so so much but I’m having the best time here. Please let everyone know that I said hi!! We have seen so many things I didn’t think I would have ever seen. Can’t wait to hug y’all when I get back! (Y’all should order some appletiser in a can for me when I get home so we can all try)
London: heyyyyy! I’m having the best time! I miss you guys sooo much but am loving it here! I hope y’all have fun in Ibiza!! I’ve seen such cool animals and made the best friends! Love y’all! 💗💗
Zoe: Hi!! I’m having an awesome time here! I miss and love you guys so much and I hope you had fun in Black Mountain. I have seen so many cool animals and made such good friends! Love y’all! 💗😊
Safe Arrival!
July 9, 2026
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 as they prepare to begin their safari 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
