Kenya has a way of getting under your skin — its wild drama, its quiet luxuries, and the seamless rhythm of safari life. When Jeremy Sutton embarked on his eight-day journey through some of the country’s most extraordinary landscapes, he experienced three of its finest gems: the elegant calm of Angama Amboseli beneath the watchful gaze of Kilimanjaro, the soulful sanctuary of Segera Retreat, and the iconic vastness of the Maasai Mara from the heights of Angama Mara.
From sunrise flights and airstrip-to-lodge convenience to game drives that unfolded like theatre, Jeremy’s trip became a masterclass in how to travel Kenya — effortlessly, intimately, and in incomparable style. Here’s how his adventure unfolded.
Q: We Begin with Angama Amboseli. Tell Us About Your Time There
Jeremy Sutton — We departed with British Airways from London Heathrow at 9:30 am, if my memory serves me correctly. At about 9 pm, we arrived at Nairobi airport. Upon arrival in Nairobi, once cleared at immigration and customs, we were welcomed with a meet-and-greet service, which was great. Throughout the baggage reclaim—which took a while, but that’s just Nairobi—the entire experience was somewhat hands-on. Once we were cleared, there was a Cheli & Peacock representative waiting for us at the airport. Cheli & Peacock is one of YOLO Travel’s DMCs, our partner on the ground that handles all of our clients’ travel logistics; check-ins, transfers, internal flights, schedules, and whatnot.
So, after our meetup with our representative, we were transferred to the Palacina hotel in Nairobi, about 25 minutes from the airport. Really nice property, centrally located in Nairobi. It was a great landing zone for a stopover. We arrived at the hotel at about 11 pm, and we were due to fly to Amboseli at 5 am the next morning.
We were transferred to Wilson Airport, the domestic airport, early in the morning, for our flight down to Amboseli. That flight was about 45 minutes before arriving at Kimana Airstrip. The reason for flying directly into Kimana is that Amboseli is in the reserve. You can fly to Wilson in Nairobi, but then you have about an hour and a half’s drive to the lodge in front of you.
As soon as we arrived at the airstrip, there was an Angama Amboseli vehicle waiting for us—you literally start your safari experience as soon as you step off the small aircraft.
So, as you make your way to the lodge, you see all kinds of game: buffalo, giraffe, elephant, rhino, antelope, zebra, et cetera. Amboseli is situated at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Three days before we arrived, it had rained, so that meant there was a snow cap on Kilimanjaro’s head. This made for the most spectacular photos.
The lodge itself is made up of 10 camps. We were staying in camp number 1, which, in my opinion, is probably the best one. You have uninterrupted views over Mount Kilimanjaro, but also a lot of the wildlife, elephants, zebra, warthog and even lion, will just walk past your decking area.
With their game drives, it’s the normal routine. The one in the morning begins at 6 am and is about three hours or so, before coming back for breakfast. Then, you can also go on a safari at about 4 pm, before dinner at 7 pm. We were staying at Amboseli for 2 nights, and the level of service was just incredible.
We went to Amboseli to see the super tuskers, or the big tuskers. There is an elephant called Graig, whose tusks literally hit the floor. One of only ten left in the wild. So, that was our main reason for going. Angama Amboseli is situated in the Kimana Reserve, and so, you can drive to the Amboseli conservatory, which is about an hour and a half’s drive away.
In this reserve, you’ll find lots of flamingos, zebras, and lots of wildlife. The other thing to point out, because there had been rains in Kimana before we arrived, a lot of the elephants were moving from the Amboseli conservatory over to the Kimana conservatory. So, we had more of a reason to stay put in the Kimana conservatory.
Q: Then you moved to Segera Retreat. Please share what makes this place special.
From Amboseli, we flew back to Wilson in Nairobi. We had to get a private charter up to Segera, which is situated in Laikipia, because there’s no commercial way to get to Segera Retreat. When we landed at Wilson, we waited for maybe 30 minutes, checked our luggage in, and then we were off.
Segera is a private retreat that’s owned by one of Puma’s co-owners. Segera is kind of like an oasis in the middle of the bush. You have all these palm trees, beautiful, bursting flowers, and gardens so green and lush that it almost creates a Mediterranean atmosphere. It’s truly an oasis. Segera has approximately 10 to 12 units, which can range from four-bedroom villas to one-bedroom villas. Really good for multi-gen vacations, big birthdays, honeymooners—anyone celebrating anything (or nothing) really.
Segera used to be a cattle ranch about 20 years ago, but it’s been a retreat for the last 30 years. The level of detail within Segera, with everything, from all of the staff, the quality of the rooms, the service, the food. It’s literally second to none. Probably one of the top 20 hotels in the world. Incredible attention to detail.
The game viewing—I don’t want to be disrespectful to the game viewing, but they have an enormous area of land, and they do have a lot of game there—can go up to an hour without you ever really seeing anything. But when you do see something, by God, it’s amazing. Some of the highlights: a lion cub, which we saw in the wild, is literally unheard of. They were about three and a half weeks old, again, just unheard of. We heard of a cheetah kill, so we hightailed it over to this kill site. On our way over there, we saw a cheetah mother with four cubs, which is unheard of, as usually only two don’t make it.
They’re doing a lot of rhino conservation there, so they now have 21 rhinos, if I’m not mistaken. But the ops room at the retreat is really, really interesting. This is where they track all of the rhinos. There was a notice on the computer system stating that there were some shots heard. They then pinpointed the specific area where these shots were heard and acted upon it. Effectively, the level of detail that they go into and the tracking systems that they have are a one-off. I’ve never seen something like it at any lodge before.
We had a chef’s table. All of the food was incredible. At lunch time, the chefs come to you and state what they’re planning to put on the menu for dinner. If it’s of taking, then that’s their menu. For example, on the first day, our chef came out and explained that they were cooking some white fish with some pasta and some grilled red vegetables and a few other things. Obviously, it was great.
But they do this every single lunch time to discuss your evening meal. So, they really do cater to what you’re looking for. If you don’t want what they propose, then you can state that you want some steak or lamb or something lighter, perhaps. Again, the level of detail and service is of a very, very, very high standard.
For wellness, in the coming months, they will be introducing a cryotherapy chamber in the lodge. Between now and, perhaps, next March. They have a new yoga studio and are generally focusing a lot more on wellness and creating wellness experiences.
We then flew directly from Segera’s airstrip to Kichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara for our final stay at Angama Mara. The trip took about an hour.
Q: Your final stay was at Angama Mara. Did you have a good time there?
Jeremy Sutton: Angama Mara is situated atop a cliff overlooking the Mara. So, you have the most incredible views, the most incredible location, incredible rooms that frame the Mara beautifully, and the quality is just of a very high standard. They grow all of their food, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Their garden was incredible.
Game viewing is an interesting one. In the Masai triangle, 70% of it you can’t off-road. So if you see a male lion or a rhino in the distance, you can’t really get close to it, unlike at Segera, where you can literally be two feet away from whatever. It’s the same at Angama Amboseli. Usually, my advice for those going is to take a good camera. Luckily, Angama Mara has cameras for rent too.
They do bring the Masai Mara tribes into the hotel, and overall, Angama Mara just has an authentic, local vibe. They call them the tents, but the lodge’s ‘villas’ have the most incredible views over the Mara, a beautiful free-standing bath, a walk-in shower with a window that frames the magnificent views, all the luxuries that one would expect from a lodge of this standing.
For the game drives, it’s the same process as the other lodges. You have a morning game drive and an evening game drive. The morning game drives seemed to go on longer. We went out at 6 o’clock and came back at 11 o’clock, and took a kind of breakfast with us, and it was just a slightly different experience. We had a long drive down to, almost down to the Tanzania border, where we saw three male cheetahs. Slightly different experience; lots of open plains, quite a lot of driving, not for the kind of faint-hearted, especially if you don’t like long periods in a vehicle. We saw the back-end of the migration in the distance, sort of crossing over to Tanzania.
The next day, a hot air balloon ride was scheduled. You travel about 25 minutes from the lodge. It was an early morning start, left at 5 am, but so worth it. It was one of the most impressive and beautiful experiences. The ride is so soft and gentle.
My wife was not particularly keen on the idea, but once we were up in the air, she really enjoyed it. We lifted off at sunrise, drifting over the Mara River, so you can see the crocs and the hippos and other game getting a drink and coming across the plains. This entire journey was about an hour, hour and a half. This was probably one of the highlights of the entire trip.
Read more about Jeremy’s trip to Angama Mara in Kenya here.
A Journey Etched in Africa’s Light
As Jeremy Sutton’s wild ride drew to a close, one thing became unmistakably clear: Kenya isn’t just a holiday; it offers a profound shift in perspective. From the stillness of Amboseli’s open plains to Segera’s restorative soul and the sweeping drama of the Mara, each stop revealed a different facet of the country’s magic.
Seamless transfers, warm welcomes, and days shaped by sunrise, wildlife and effortless luxury created a trip that felt both grounding and transformative. As Jeremy boarded his final flight home, Kenya lingered — in the colours, in the quiet moments, and in the unmistakable feeling that once you’ve experienced its jewels, you never truly leave them behind.
