When Cricket Comes to Kimana

“Papa said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this, my Papa said”, apologies to the Shirelles for adapting one of their most beloved songs, but the words kept swirling around in my head one August morning out on the front lawn of Angama Amboseli.  

My father loved many things in life, but at the top of that very long list was his family, the Angama team, belly-laughing, and the Gentleman’s Game – cricket; and when, on that August morning, those four things magically collided, I felt him close again, I could almost see his wide smile, and I knew he would have been proud…   

At Angama, we sometimes discuss whether our guests ever wonder what happens at the lodge in the middle of the morning when everyone is merrily out on safari. What happens when the lodge is quiet? 

Well, I can honestly say the lodge is never quiet! There is always busyness — someone running somewhere to fix something, someone at a laptop manically placing orders for the weekly truck; there is sweeping, scrubbing, and wiping so that it all just miraculously happens when no one is watching. In that mid-morning gap, we also grab the opportunity to set up and train new guest experiences. 

Angama Amboseli has always lent itself to slowing down the safari and enjoying all the Sanctuary has to offer: space and beautiful views of Kilimanjaro. It has also proven to be a wonderful safari experience for families travelling with children, so as a team, we sat down and thought, how could we make all these elements work better? We have space, Kili, families, and time.  

Outdoor games! Let’s offer our guests cricket, croquet, soccer, beautiful umbrellas, and Pimms on ice. We pondered, researched, sourced, and shopped, and eventually, by August, we had enough of the equipment on the property to trial a setup. The only complication was that our lovely field to the east of the lodge was just simply too delicious for the warthogs to resist. So, while we were rehabilitating that field, we decided to quickly dash out in front of the Guest Area onto the lush green grass and try the setup while the guests were out on safari.  

Well, that idea got quickly hijacked as the fun completely ran away from us. As we were setting up I overheard one of the members of our R&M team, Abdullah, ask our Camp Host, Ibrahim, how one plays this funny game? Ibrahim shrugged with a big smile (sort of questioning if any game that is not soccer is worth playing at all? Football is life in Africa.) and looked over at Seki, who was equally baffled by this bat and ball business.  

So ensued a moment in my career, that I will never forget. I immediately decided we would play a game. Now, while I may have been raised by a fantastic cricketer and an avid fan of the game, I have never played it (other than on the beach), and so, of course, I butchered the explanation of this elegant game. 

And then we played cricket. And then we belly-laughed. And in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, I witnessed my father’s great loves collide to the tune of the Shirilles.  

Papa, I wish you had been there.