To go on safari is one thing. To understand it is another.
Northern Kenya, with the people who know it and the person who'll help you see it.
To go on safari is one thing. To understand it is another.
Northern Kenya, with the people who know it and the person who'll help you see it.
I've spent years photographing wildlife, and eventually you stop asking how to capture the moment and start asking what it will take to make sure moments like this still exist in the future. For me, that question led to documenting wild horses across the American West, producing conservation films, and building a nonprofit and sanctuary dedicated to protecting them.
It's also what brings me to Northern Kenya. The wildlife is what brings us here. The conservation story is what makes this place extraordinary.
Northern Kenya is one of the most inspiring conservation success stories in the world. Not because it's untouched wilderness, but because communities, conservationists, trackers, rangers, and local leaders have worked together to keep it wild. Together, they've created a model where wildlife and people can coexist and thrive.
Over the course of the week, we'll get up close to elephants, big cats, and some of Africa's most iconic wildlife. We'll visit the world-renowned Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, spend time with the Samburu community, meet wildlife rangers and conservation leaders, and experience firsthand how community-led conservation is helping wildlife recover across the region.
This isn't just a chance to see extraordinary wildlife. It's an opportunity to better understand the people, partnerships, and conservation efforts making its future possible.
And while I'll bring my experience as a photographer, filmmaker, and conservation advocate, I'm not coming with all the answers. I'm coming because I'm curious too.
This is a journey of learning together. Hearing from the people doing the work, asking questions, and gaining a deeper understanding of what it takes to protect wildlife in a rapidly changing world.
If you're as interested in the story behind the wildlife as the wildlife itself, I'd love to explore it with you.
This isn't the Africa of travel brochures. Northern Kenya is vast, rugged, and remarkably wild. Semi-arid landscapes stretch to the horizon. Ancient river systems cut through acacia-dotted plains. Elephants move through country where they had nearly disappeared a generation ago. You'll spend time in places where you can drive for hours without seeing another vehicle. Places that still feel untamed.
We're not just coming to see the animals. For decades, communities across Northern Kenya have built one of the most successful conservation models in Africa. Wildlife recovery, community conservancies, and coexistence aren't concepts here. They're realities. The animals are the visible part. The interesting question is how all of it works, and who are the people behind it.
You'll see it clearly. And you'll help it last.
Up close, in no hurry.
Morning and afternoon game drives, guided walking safaris, and a morning on horseback through wild country. We won't rush from one sighting to the next, the best encounters tend to come when you stop chasing them.
Time with the Samburu community whose land this is, and with the rangers and conservation leaders behind one of Africa's most successful community conservation efforts.
A visit to the first community-owned elephant sanctuary in Africa, where you'll learn how local communities are helping orphaned elephants return to the wild.
Jamie alongside you throughout. Not teaching from the front, but exploring alongside you. Curious about the same questions. Looking for the same stories. You’ll leave seeing more than when you arrived.
You’ll have more in common than you think. Not because you share backgrounds, professions, or walks of life, but because you each chose to spend a week in Northern Kenya trying to understand the same things.
A small group, eight to twelve. The kind of people who’d rather do one thing deeply than rush through ten. You'll arrive as strangers. By the end of the week, you’ll be sitting around the fire with friends.
Jamie brings the eye. We handle everything else.
You see a week that simply works. Behind it: a Swiss company that designs high-end journeys most people never find. This is one of them.
It is all arranged. Accommodations, transfers, meals, the experiences. Out here that is not convenience, it’s what lets you be fully present for what you came for.
This is one week of what we do. Come earlier, stay longer, or let us build something entirely your own, here or anywhere else worth going. The trip is fixed. The rest is open.
Our travellers consistently rate us five stars. Read what they say.
We've travelled a lot, but this one felt different.— Maximilian R.
Everything after arriving, really. Flights to camp, all transfers, seven nights (one in Nairobi, six in camp), every meal and the drinks alongside. Game drives, walking safaris, a horseback safari, time with the Samburu community plus on conservation projects, and an exclusive visit to the Reteti elephant orphanage. And Jamie alongside you.
Just your international flights, visa, travel insurance and tips.
This trip is for people who want to go deeper, not just visit, and who are good company over the long days that come with that.
We read every application ourselves, and reply to each one personally.
Still have a question? A few practical answers just below.
Applying isn't paying, and it isn't a commitment you can't step back from. When you apply, you're requesting a place while we confirm details together, it's the start of a conversation, not the final step. A deposit is what secures your participation on the trip; nothing is binding before that.
We'll be in touch personally to go through the details, dates, room arrangements, anything specific to you, before anything is confirmed. Once you're ready, a deposit secures your place. Everything from there (documents, logistics, the finer points) we handle with you directly.
We'd rather you knew this upfront than discovered it later: deposits are non-refundable once paid, reflecting the commitments we make to lodges and guides on your behalf. But you're not necessarily stuck, if someone can take your place, and both we and the host are happy with the fit, we'll do what we can to arrange the replacement. We also strongly recommend travel insurance, which covers you for the situations we can't.
This is the one to feel secure about: if a trip doesn't go ahead, you receive a full refund. That risk sits with us, not you.
Everything once you're with us: full board, all scheduled activities (game drives, guided walks, your visit to Reteti, time with the Samburu community, and more), bush flights, local airstrip transfers, and laundry. What's not included: international flights, premium wines and spirits, tips, visas, and travel insurance.
In glamping-style safari tents with en-suite bathrooms, set in the wild of Namunyak Conservancy in Kenya's far north, the kind of place that takes a deliberate effort to reach, which is part of the point. Comfortable and well looked after: proper beds, generous bedding, a hot shower. Considered rather than minimal, comfortable enough to relax into, simple enough that you still feel like you're in the wild, which is exactly what this stretch of Kenya is.
Absolutely. Tell us when you apply and we'll plan accordingly.
Manageable for most people in reasonably good health, this isn't an endurance trip. The days are built around game drives by vehicle, with guided walking safaris and one morning on horseback. None of it is especially intense, and you don't have to join the walks or the ride if you'd rather not, nothing is compulsory. Mornings start early to make the most of the cooler hours and the wildlife that's active then.
Still have a question? Write to us at info@theoccasionist.ch.