Instead of stopping at a regular hotel for a night in Nairobi, I took our group to a private ranch located about forty five minutes drive down the Mombasa highway from Nairobi. The lodge is called Acacia Camp, and it is set in the Swara Plains, which are traditional migratory routes for wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, impala, gazelles and more. The ranch is fenced, but the animals always find a way in and out. It is very rare to see any big cats in the area so it is one of the few places where we are free to go for a walk, or even a jog. Our group did a five mile walk before dinner, which felt amazing after a week of sitting and standing and jostling about on game drives.
The lodge itself is a a series of bungalows nestled among old acacia trees. It comes with exclusive access to 25,000 acres of wildlife conservancy. It is a true secret, unkown to many on the safari circuits.
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| The team on their big 5 mile hike |
I was amazed at all the improvements that had been completed over the last 3 years since I have visited Acacia Camp. The dining area, bar, and fire pit have all been totally redone. They are spacious, open, and airy with a classy classic safari touch. We have used Acacia Camp as our base of operations for Baseball4Africa for years, but now I think it deserves a firm spot on any level of Kenya safari. The dinner was a la carte with many options, and everyone was quite pleased with that as well.
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| The new dining tent |
There were only 7 other guest staying while we were there. A young woman who was born and raised in Thika, a small town north of Nairobi, but had somehow managed to break all kinds of social bounds for women here and had gone on to get her PhD in Belgium and post doc in Iowa. It was a wonderful story of perseverance. She had brought her brother who had never gone farther than Nairobi to experience Acacia Camp. There was also a middle aged couple with a young girl, who befriended Amy after joining her for some handstands.
The hyraxs in the trees over our bungalows were not too loud, so everyone managed a good nights sleep, which was good, since a big drive around the capital of Nairobi up to the central Mt Kenya region was next.
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| Amy, Sarah, and Sarah |
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| Mike preparing our morning coffee |
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| Central play area, great for kids |
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| Bungalow 1 with a beautiful porch |
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