Capturing the Moment

   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.  The team on their big 5 mile hike     I was amazed at all the improvements ...

  Acacia camp has a special place in my heart, as it has become our base for baseball4africa and a wonderful stopover for any Kenya driving safari. It is located in between Amboseli and our next park in the Aberdare Mountains. And while the old tents that I used to stay in are now gone, in their place new thatched huts have gone up. Changes are underfoot here at Acacia camp, although a pool is still planned for 'next year', which I hear every year. Check out another recent visit to Acacia Camp here . Roomy interior The new bandas   The real beauty of Acacia camp isn't the chill vibe, regulation dart board, or even the wonderful staff (which they are truly wonderful), it is the ability to walk the roads and the plains which surround the camp that are filled with zebra, ostrich, wildebeest, hardebeest, jackals, elands, and giraffes. Fences keep out the big predators, although cheetah have been seen from time to time. This opens the possibility for morning walks o...

Acacia Camp Dining Room Friendly Eland Baseball4Africa season 10 has started here in Kenya. Jim, Jack, and I spent the first day at a quaint hideaway on the edge of the African savanna wildlands called Acacia Camp. Accommodations were rustic, highlighted by ants covering the toilet, but the meals were plentiful, and animals strolled through the grounds. We dove into the 400lbs of baseball equipment brought by the three of us and divide it up so each new team would have a full bag of equipment. It always amazes me to see how much equipment is needed for this sport; helmets, bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, and catchers gear. We also had to piece together the dismantled trophies which proved difficult at first. We also took a couple of nice long walks into the savanna to see some of the local wildlife. The usual suspects of zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, a gazelles all made appearances as well as a rare sighting on foot of fringe-eared oryxs and some skittish wart hogs. I was...