Overview
Named after Beryl Markham's luminous memoir of East Africa, this journey combines an in-depth literature study with the transformative beauty of Kenya's greatest landscapes. In this seminar, we will explore the Kenyan landscape through the lens of literature, and explore the question: What makes an adventure an adventure?
- Literature seminars with guided reading and discussion
- Small group departure
- Luxury accommodation
- Private Masai Mara reserves
What's Included
- Accomodation at five star beachfront hotels at Lamu and Watamu
- Accomodation at Luxury Safari camps in the private reserves of Masai Mara
- All meals indicated in the itinerary
- Domestic flights within Kenya
- Gratuities for local guides and drivers
- Flights to/from Nairobi
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses
- Personal Gratuities
What makes an adventure an adventure?
Reading List
- The Odyssey
- West with the Night
- The Snows of Kilimanjaro
- The Dragonfly Sea
- Out of Africa
Motivating Topics
In The Odyssey, adventure isn’t only the faraway journey—it’s also the return. We use Odysseus’ homecoming to ask what really makes something an adventure: risk, the unfamiliar, new experience, or the kind of inner change you can’t undo.
A novel of identity and becoming—how a person grows into themselves through displacement, belonging, and choice. We read it as a quiet, powerful study of the journeys that happen inside us.
Two lenses on East Africa where romance meets reality. We trace intimacy with place, the risks we take for love or freedom, and how encounters—tender or brutal—become the stories we carry.
A sharp portrait of regret: what it feels like to realize you’ve held back from the work—and the life—you meant to live. We ask what the character is truly mourning, and what courage looks like when time runs short.
Faculty
Itinerary
Pre-read The Odyssey — reading guide sent in advance.
Arrive in Nairobi. Transfer to hotel, check in, and rest. Welcome dinner.
Fly Nairobi → Lamu. Transfer to beachfront hotel. Unstructured time to settle in — beach, pool, reading.
Morning quiet reading block (self-paced). Midday swim or gentle beach walk (optional). Late afternoon small-group conversation circles.
Spacious day for rest, reflection, and reading. Optional guided slow reading hour.
Morning reading block. Afternoon beach time and conversation.
Morning reading block. Midday leisure.
Morning final coast reading block. Afternoon leisure.
Fly Lamu → Nairobi → Masai Mara. Camp welcome and settling in. Late afternoon or sunset game drive.
Early morning game drive. Midday rest. Optional afternoon game drive.
Morning game drive (focus on attention and observation). Midday rest. Late afternoon leisure at camp.
Morning game drive. Midday rest. Late afternoon leisure at camp.
Morning game drive. Afternoon final leisure time at camp.
Fly Masai Mara → Nairobi. Connect to international departure.
Activity Level
This is a genuinely easy journey, designed for anyone who can walk comfortably and spend time sitting outdoors. There are no hikes, no strenuous activities, and no requirement for physical fitness beyond everyday mobility.
- Coast days are leisurely — reading, swimming, walking along the beach at your own pace
- Safari game drives are seated in 4x4 vehicles on unpaved tracks — no walking required
- Evening seminars are seated discussions, held at camp or on the coast
- Accommodation involves minimal walking between facilities
Pricing
| Double | Single | |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | $8,500 | $11,000 |
| Deluxe | $9,000 | $13,000 |
All prices per person. Double occupancy shares a room; single occupancy has a private room. Deluxe includes superior room categories at each property.
Stays
Hemingways Nairobi
A colonial-era luxury hotel set on tranquil grounds in Karen, the same neighbourhood Beryl Markham and Karen Blixen once called home. Named for one of Africa's great literary voices, it sets the tone for the journey ahead.
Peponi Hotel
Perched at the edge of Lamu's channel, Peponi is one of East Africa's most beloved small hotels — a whitewashed, low-key haven with ocean breezes, a dhow-filled waterfront, and the unhurried pace of the island itself.
Palm Garden Boutique Hotel
An intimate boutique property tucked into the Watamu coast, surrounded by lush gardens and steps from the beach. Quiet, thoughtfully designed, and built for the kind of unhurried days that reading demands.
TBD
We will stay at a premium safari camp on a private reserve in Masai Mara. Details to be confirmed.