Exploring the Tanzanian Terrain!
July 13, 2026
Hello! The long awaited first trip update from Tanzania and Zanzibar 3A 2026! Our first week together has been beyond eventful, immersing ourselves into Tanzanian culture one day at a time. We have lots to fill you in on, so buckle up for the ride!
Ethan and I eagerly awaited the group at the Kilimanjaro Airport the evening of arrival. The energy was up right off the bat, they sent us a group picture once they landed! A local band played outside the terminal greeting the students as they successfully made their way through customs. Once they said goodbye to you all, we were off!
Loading up into our Moondance logo’d Land Cruisers was a surreal moment. The iconic safari cars would be our rides for the first section of the trip! The excitement when meeting our drivers and guides, Zeb & Tuma, was so high, with hellos and hugs all around. The first order of business after the very long travel day was much appreciated: Pizza. We stopped at a beautiful resort that had a table big enough to fit the 14 of us! Though exhausted from the many flights, the group was cheery and happy to have finally made it to East Africa. Our next and final stop of the night was our hotel! A quick Moonup and check in later, we were all ready for bed!
As you could probably already guess, our first section of the trip is Safari in the Serengeti National Park! Our first full day together commenced with a beautiful breakfast spread of crepes, French toast, juice, and eggs to fuel our journey West to the Bush! When I tell you the excitement was through the roof, it probably doesn’t encapsulate the vibes. Teddy and Margaret were especially enthralled with greeting those who passed by with the newly learned phrases ¨jambo¨ and ¨mambo¨, hello and whats up! The ride was interesting, passing by new terrain- going from city to wide open spaces. Lots of dust accompanied the ride, a friend we would soon become acquainted with while living in the bush. Before we knew it, we were seeing wildlife out of the windows! Zebras, giraffes, & gazelles were among the first to be spotted. As soon as we pulled into the National Park gates, we spotted LIONS. Not just lions, but cubs and their mom laying around, popping their heads up. It was so surreal to see lions right off the bat! Margaret and Julien were quick to snap pictures of the lone family on their cameras. The tops of our Land Cruiser pop up, allowing us to stand up to peer out! Hadley and Grier braved standing as we rolled down to bumpy dirt roads, holding on for dear life. We soon pulled into our home for the next 4 nights- a bush camp just for us! Green tents under a tree awaited us for our true bush experience. Dinner, a three course meal, was ready for us, cooked up by our fabulous cooks Steven and Frank. Post dinner, we warmed up some tea, threw on some layers, and circled a bonfire facing out into the bush to end the night! While around the fire, we heard our first nighttime chatter from the surrounding animals- lions and hyenas.
The following three days in the Serengeti were out of a dream. It’s hard to explain how incredible our sightings were, with our guides exclaiming how lucky we were! Our days started early, rising before the sun. We felt rewarded with the sunrise views. Hot air balloons filled the sky as the sun illuminated the land! Such a surreal experience seeing that for the first time.
The days never ceased to amaze us. Long game drives somehow never felt long. Between Stern’s riddles, conversations about every animal we spotted, and queues of music to fit every vibe, there was never a dull moment. It was so fun watching Taylor explore her camera, taking so many amazing pictures all the students already claimed for after the trip! Ella kept the energy high on the drives by encouraging everyone to stand up, and when it started to rain, Hadley popped right up to belt the song “Unwritten.” Georgia has a special appreciation for the wildlife, especially every baby animal we came across, making sure nobody missed the smallest elephant calf or lion cub (with Weiler pointing out that they could be twins). Knox has quickly earned the title of one of the group’s biggest entertainers, constantly keeping everyone laughing during the drives and back at camp when playing hacky sack. Speaking of hacky sack, Julien has driven up its players by bringing it to our group and even getting our guides involved.
We could describe to you the many incredible animal sightings we have witnessed, but we will leave that to the storytelling abilities and pictures from your students! A few things to note- While most of our time was spent in the car tracking down animals, we also got to explore Piano rock and check out the cactus trees. One day we stopped for our coffee and tea break next to a lake, which led to some exploring following animal prints. We are truly immersed in the animals’ home- what an incredible experience. Our second day of drives took us to the North to catch a glimpse of the Great Migration. Never had we ever imagined so many Zebras and Wildebeests to be in one area, much less traveling together in search of water and fresh grass. We staked out to see if the group would cross the river, but a pesky pose of lions thwarted the zebra and wildebeest attempts and scared them off. Just the sheer number of animals was impressive enough for us!
One of our favorite parts as leaders was watching the students build relationships with our Tanzanian guides. Adelaide and Grier have eagerly helped out in the camp kitchen whenever possible and made an effort to learn everyone’s names and stories, despite the language barrier. Those small conversations while cleaning up from our meals have become some of the most meaningful moments of the trip. One afternoon, our guides shared a traditional dish with us called Ogali, a maize based base with chicken and veggies to dip in. Teddy and Knox were happy to try it and ended up enjoying it the most. When it was our guide Zeb’s birthday, the group secretly made handmade birthday cards and surprised him with in the morning to celebrate his big day. Later that day when we had to say goodbye to Zeb and Tuma, we all group hugged and honestly shed a few tears!! It was a wonderful reminder that while we’re here to experience Tanzania, it’s often the people who make the biggest impact.
On our fourth morning, it came time to say goodbye to the Serengeti, although none of us were quite ready to leave. Though, we had one more day of Safari left in us! Not half a mile from camp, we spotted a cheetah perched on a rock, setting the tone for a packed day. We headed towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The crater certainly did not disappoint. Weiler made two unbelievable first sightings for our safari cars, spotting both the rare white rhinoceros and a serval, a typically nocturnal wild cat that even many safari guides rarely encounter. With that, our group had completed the big 5! A sought after accomplishment of seeing the most dangerous animals to track and hunt was highly anticipated by the crew! EC’s car discussed which animal they would be, Georgie replied giraffe while Knox was still set on a tiger. We made it to our hotel for a well-earned night of rest before beginning the next chapter of our adventure: community engagement with the Maasai. The first stop for many? The pool! Despite the freezing water, Ella, Adelaide, & Julien jumped right in without hesitation.
Both Ethan and I have been blown away by this group’s enthusiasm for all things Tanzania and Moondance. We are so excited for the remainder of our trip and cannot wait to see what is to come!
Until next time! Kwaheri!
EC & Ethan
Student Shoutouts:
Margaret- Hey mom and dad i miss yall so so much! Everyone is so amazing and fun!!We have had the best time in Serengeti! I have seen so many unreal things and animals and it is so cool. On the first day of the safari there was an elephant that was legit two feet away from us it was so cool. We slept in tents in the middle of the Serengeti and it was so cool at night we could hear the lions. We left yesterday then got to an amazing hotel to where i could finally take a shower i think pounds of dirt came off me! We are now driving to our community service for a couple days then going scuba diving in Zanzibar!! I cannot wait to show yall some pictures. Tell everyone and all my friends i love and miss them! Byeeee!
Hadley- Hey!! Im having so much fun here, the safari was amazing charlotte would love it!! Im feeling so much better like 95% and i stoped taking the medicine mom. The snacks have been so good and i cant wait to tell you guys all about it!!
Georgia- Hi everyone!! Miss you guys so much and I cant wait to tell you all about i! I literally can not believe this is real life all of the animals are so cute and look unreal. I got really cool pictures and I cant wait to show you! Miss you guys! Xoxo
Taylor- HIIIII!! I hope yall have been having fun out west and I cant wait to tell you everything i have been doing here! We just left the safari camp and we made it to an amazing hotel. I have met the cutest and nicest people that I will always remember! The first day I was completely terrified and nervous for the rest of the trip but we all clicked so fast and i have definitely met some forever friends! Tomorrow we go to the service and then we go to zanzibar to scuba and then I come home to see y’all! I hope everything is well at home and pls tell my friends (and you know who) i miss them a lottttt 🙂 LOVE YALLLLLL see u in 9!!!
Grier- Hi guys!! I love and miss you sooooo much! I am having the best time and cant wait to tell you guys all of the details when i get home. We saw some incredible things during our safari- a cheetah, elephant, and some rhinos that were all within 10 feet of the car!! My favorite part so far though was when we woke up the first morning during sunrise and a group of at least ten hot air balloons were flying along the horizon (which was sooo pretty). Our group is amazing and we have all become really close over these past few days. We have officially moved onto the community engagement and scuba part of the trip which i am super excited for! This has been the best time but i also cant wait to get back to tennis and my usual routines with all of you. Miss and love you guys soooo much and cant wait to tell you more when i get home!!!
Adelaide- Hey y’all!! I am having the BEST time ever omg it is literally amazing!! We just got out of the safari and boy was it dusty I cant even explain how cool this is it is unreal and so so beautiful! Yall the elephants are literally so insane and so cute!!!!!!! I cant believe Will is in Australia rn for mystery i am so beyond jealous of him. I love yall the most and miss sissy and minnie soo much. Say hi to my friends for me pls. I dont want to leave byeeeeee!!!!
Julien- Jambo y’all! I dont have too much time to think about missing the family not even for Charlie. Im loving Tanzania and the weather. I can tell its going to have been the best experience of my life. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Love all yall so much! Especially to Charles!
Weiler- Hi everyone!! The start of our trip has been so amazing! We started on safari and all of my bucket list is completed. I even shed a tear at the sight of a baby giraffe which I am sure you are not surprised by. I love our group and leaders so much and I am so excited for the next parts of our trip. I already have so many stories and pictures. Can’t wait to see you all! Love you all so much! 💙🐘
Stern- hey mom, i hope your doing well, ive had a very very good time and i miss you. I hope you and Spencer arent missing me too much. Please text ava and tell her i miss her and im thinking of her. I meant to tell you this before i left but i would appreciate it if you could do me this favor. On july 20th, can you open my ipad, passcode 1200 (dont look through my stuff please) and go to “heroes” the app, it should be on the hotbar on the right but if its not swipe down and look up “heroes” once you go into the app wait for it to load, then once your in the cantina (you might get a pop up if so just close out) go to the right a bit by scrolling left and look at the top right section of the screen for a section that says “events” click on that and you should see a square that says “proving grounds” press enter and scroll through it and for every available battle press “multi sim” and confirm, for this for every available thing (scroll right to left to see all) (also if there’s an update please update it). Thats it, i love you a lot and im thinking of you-stern
Ella- Hey fam!!! I am having SO much fun here in Tanzania and I cannot wait to go to zanzibar (and get my advanced certification since I DID finish my PADI). We just finished four nights in THE MIDDLE OF THE SERENGETI! Some baboons took over. Safari was super dusty but being able to see the big 5 in person made it all worth it. Missing y’all so much here – give Floyd lots of love from me. I hope the boys had fun in Europe and I cant wait to hear all about it. We have a little bit more to do on the mainland before going to the beach, but it’s supposed to be one of the coolest parts of the trip so I am so excited. Sending lots of love!!!
Knox – Hey guys 😘 i miss yall so much im having a blast like no joke . Everyone is so nice and cool and my group is amazing ive seen so many cool animals like it was lit insane there were so many cool animals like zebras and girafes and we saw a baby one and so many lions its literally insane there were some baby ones also. I saw a cheetah and there was a hyena at our camp site one night and i lit screamed. I hope kate and leah had a great birthday give them a hug for me love you guys. Were on our way to the place where we like help people with stuff i don’t know what its called but like yeah bye love you .
Teddy-Hey Mom and Dadddd. I miss yall so much and tell jake i love him do much and i miss him so much. We saw the big five which was so cool and we had the best safari leaders ever!!! We saw leopards, cheetahs, and so much more. At one point i was screaming at an elephant and it charged at our car and hit it (it was so much fun and exile rating). I love everyone here its and i love hanging with Ella, Margarette, Adelaide, and Taylor because they always make me feel so happy when i am with them and i dont think i have ever had a better group. The moondance leaders are so amazing and i love them so so so much. and i am so excited to see you guys and jake. Also again tell jake all of this and tell him that i miss him so much and i am so excited to see him and u guys. Tell me how the dogs and obviously how yall are doing. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCHHHH
Safe Arrival!
July 8, 2026
Hello TNZ Families!
We heard from our leaders this afternoon 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! 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
