Kenya National Parks And Safaris

Swara Plains Conservancy

The latest addition to our portfolio of camps and wildlife conservancies is the Swara Plains just 30 minutes out of the city of Nairobi. This 20,000 acres ranch is old wild Africa at its very best: wide open savannah grasslands, tall yellow fever trees, endless views, over 3000 resident population of easy to see plains game and +270 birds species. Swara Plains is part of the Tsavo/Amboseli eco-system and with the exception of Elephants, Rhinos and Buffaloes all the other plains game found in Tsavo and Amboseli are found here. You will see big herds of Oryx, Elands, Wildebeests, Giraffes, Monkeys, Hartebeests, Zebras, Impalas, Grant's and Thompson's Gazelles, Warthogs and the occasional Gerenuk in total absence of mass tourism.

There is also a good number of Cheetahs and Leopards but unlike the cats in other national parks which are now socialized to act for visitors (a Cheetah sitting on a car's bonnet is not natural!), the cats here will grant you a sight but soon sneak into the bush - their natural reaction. Environment conservation is top priority here e.g. numerous dams have been dug to trap the scarce rainwater and there are well-maintained earth roads for game drives and nature walks. Not surprisingly the ranch and the camp have long been used for wildlife management research.

Eland with Yellow-billed Oxpecker on the back in the Swara Plains.

The number of visitors to the ranch is deliberately kept small by having Acacia Camp with only 13 rustic and still comfortable bandas (cottages) making this a place to see game without being surrounded by safari mini buses.

Good food is a big part of a travel experience, and as the owner/manager of Acacia has a long history of managing some of the well known tented camps in Kenya, in Acacia Camp you can expect top kitchen with a touch of home cooking.

For birders, walkers as well as anyone looking for a nature based tour in Kenya, we invite you to Swara Plains for all the right reasons: one-off wildlife viewing experience, guided nature walks, colourful and easily found Kenyan birds, yes right outside the bandas as you relax e.g. Hoopoe, Hunter's and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Fisher's Lovebirds, Black-faced Waxbills, Superb and Rüppell's Long-tailed and Hildebrandt's Starlings, Von der Decken's Hornbills, Slate-coloured Boubou, White-bellied Canary, Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu, Crested Francolin among others.

We recommend a minimum of 2 nights in Acacia Camp, then proceed to Tsavo and/or Amboseli to add the other big game that you didn't see at Swara.

Travel tip: if taking a morning flight out of Nairobi, an overnight in Acacia Camp, which is only 30 mins to the airport, is a good alternative to a city hotel.

For bookings and safari planning in the Swara Plains, please contact us