Easter Egg
Spencer Dutton's Africa
The real locations behind 1923
Paramount's 1923 put Spencer Dutton on a Kenyan safari — big game hunting, colonial hotels, and a Zanzibar love affair. Here's where they actually filmed, and how you can visit every location.
By episode
Filming Locations, Scene by Scene
Episode 1
Spencer's hunting camp & savanna
The sweeping savanna scenes where Spencer Dutton stalks lions and operates his safari camp were filmed in the Serengeti — the same ecosystem where real 1920s professional hunters operated. The landscape is unchanged.
Explore Serengeti National Park →
Episode 2
The Stanley Hotel, Nairobi
The grand colonial hotel where Spencer meets Alexandra was shot at Kearsney Manor, a lavish sugar baron's estate built in the 1800s. The real Stanley Hotel still stands in Nairobi and was the hub of 1920s safari society — Hemingway, Roosevelt, and Denys Finch Hatton all drank there.
Visitor note: The real Stanley Hotel is at the corner of Kimathi Street and Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi. Still open.
Episode 3–4
Tsavo lion hunt
Spencer's mission to hunt man-eating lions mirrors one of history's most extraordinary true events: the 1898 Tsavo maneaters, two maneless male lions that killed 135 railway workers over nine months. Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson eventually shot both. Taylor Sheridan drew directly on this story for Spencer's character arc.
Visitor note: The Tsavo maneaters are on display at the Field Museum, Chicago. Tsavo National Park (East + West) is Kenya's largest, 3 hours from Nairobi.
Episode 4
Spencer & Alexandra's Zanzibar hideaway
The romantic beach scenes — turquoise water, white sand, the couple falling in love — were filmed at Diani Beach on Kenya's south coast, about 30km south of Mombasa. Diani is one of East Africa's most beautiful beaches and is easily combined with a Tsavo or Amboseli safari.
Visitor note: Diani Beach: fly into Ukunda Airstrip (45 mins from Nairobi) or drive 5 hours from Nairobi via Mombasa.
Episode 5
Mombasa harbour — Spencer's departure
The working harbour where Spencer and Alexandra board the ship to begin their journey to Montana was filmed in Kalk Bay, a small fishing harbour near Cape Town. The real Mombasa Old Port — a UNESCO-listed dhow harbour used continuously since the 9th century — is far more dramatic and still operates today.
Visitor note: Mombasa's Old Town and Fort Jesus (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are 15 minutes from the harbour.
Historical context
The True Story Behind Spencer's Safari
Taylor Sheridan based Spencer Dutton's Africa arc on real events and real people. The professional hunter character draws on figures like Frederick Selous and J.A. Hunter, both of whom operated in British East Africa in the early 20th century — hunting for wealthy clients, controlling problem animals, and guiding expeditions across what is now Kenya and Tanzania.
The Tsavo lion storyline directly references Colonel John Henry Patterson, who shot the famous Man-Eaters of Tsavo in 1898. Patterson's account, published in 1907, became a bestseller and was later adapted into the film The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). The lions killed an estimated 135 Indian railway workers during construction of the Uganda Railway — the same railway that opened British East Africa to the safari era.
The Stanley Hotel, where Spencer operates, was the social hub of colonial Nairobi. Ernest Hemingway stayed there before his 1933 safari. Theodore Roosevelt passed through in 1909. Denys Finch Hatton — the real-life inspiration for Robert Redford's character in Out of Africa — operated from Nairobi in exactly this era. The world Spencer Dutton inhabits in 1923 was real, documented, and not so long ago.
Real history
The Safari Era: 1895–1935
1896–1898
Tsavo Man-Eaters terrorise Uganda Railway construction. 135 killed. Lt. Col. Patterson shoots both lions.
1907
Patterson publishes 'The Man-Eaters of Tsavo.' Becomes a global bestseller and defines Kenya's dangerous reputation.
1909
Theodore Roosevelt's famous safari: 11 months, 11,000+ specimens collected for the Smithsonian. Safari tourism begins.
1913
Karen Blixen arrives in Kenya. Her memoir 'Out of Africa' will document this exact world — the world Spencer Dutton inhabits.
1920s
Denys Finch Hatton operates as a professional hunter out of Nairobi. The Stanley Hotel is the meeting point of colonial safari society.
1977
Kenya bans all trophy hunting. The professional hunter era ends. The ecosystem Spencer worked in transitions to photographic safari.
1923 is a Paramount+ original series created by Taylor Sheridan. SafariPicked has no affiliation with Paramount or the production. Filming location information sourced from published interviews and production reports. All safari tours and destinations on this site are independent of the show.