It was after this that Mikey Carr-Hartley’s journey into safari tourism got going. Mikey found himself employed on the world’s largest tropical lake, Lake Victoria, on Kenya’s border with Uganda. Here he worked at Mfangano Island Camp as a manager, boat boy, construction supervisor and general jack of all trades. But most importantly, it was here that he met his future wife and together, their dreams of Carr-Hartley safaris were sown.
Prior to founding Specialised Safaris together, Mikey and Tanya Carr-Hartley worked alongside one another for the first time back home in Kenya as managers of Ol Jogi Lodge. Living and working on this stunning private ranch in central Kenya was an amazing experience and an incredible (if not steep) learning curve. It gave them each the crash-course in high-end hospitality that would spark their desire to run their own Carr-Hartley safaris operation in the future. They soon figured out where each other excelled and fell into their separate roles.
‘We are a great team; we balance each other out. Tanya is the creative force of Specialised Safaris and takes care of all the logistics. She has an eagle eye for detail that makes our trips run so smoothly.’
Mikey is very much the practical guide on the ground when it comes to guiding guests on safari. Leading guests on a walking expedition through the bush, tracking wild dogs and telling campfire tales in the evening, bringing alive the days of old. Mikey jokes that his role is to keep guests from being eaten. Whilst this is said with a smile, it is true that the African wilderness can be a dangerous place if you don’t know what you’re doing. With Mikey’s years of experience working and living in the bush, you won’t find anyone more attuned to his surroundings, the behaviour of wild animals and the safety of everyone around him on safari. He has a natural ability to make people feel totally at ease and at home in the bush.
Mikey Carr-Hartley excels when it comes to designing the ultimate adventures to make people fall in love with Africa. The more remote the better, in his eyes. One of his favourite trips he has designed was to Virunga National Park in The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), because the biodiversity, the landscapes and the experiences that are possible there are so incredible.
‘Virunga must be one of the coolest parks in the world as there’s so much variety. From three species of great apes (eastern lowland gorillas, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees) to some of the biggest erupting lava lakes on the planet, the ice-capped Rwenzori Mountains and game-filled savannahs, all in one park.’
As well as taking him to incredible places, one thing Mikey loves about owning and running his own Carr-Hartley safaris business is getting to know the people they take on these incredible African adventures. With such a varied client base, Mikey and his family get to see the world through so many different eyes. Equally, Mikey loves being able to influence how people get to see and experience Africa, which is only made possible through such personalised and intimate trips like the ones they design for their guests. Spending such consolidated time together is simply not possible from a short stay at a lodge or camp.
We have such a varied client base, we get to learn from and grow our own knowledge of the world outside of East Africa, as well as shaping how others view Africa in a way that’s simply not possible from a short stay at a lodge.
So what’s left on the bucket list of Mikey Carr-Hartley? There are always new possibilities for exploring the wild and he is a firm believer that through experiential travel a great deal can be done towards creating a more sustainable future. Possibilities for Carr-Hartley safaris future explorations include Gabon and the Central African Republic (CAR), where forest meets the golden coastal sands and its possible to see lions and elephants on the beach and hippos bathing in the surf. Southern Sudan is also on the list, to see the one of the world’s largest wildlife migrations: the white-eared kob, a type of antelope, as they move in their thousands chasing the rains. Through his position in the luxury safari industry, Mikey’s hopes revolve around continuing to explore new avenues and ways to unite high end tourism with impactful conservation initiatives that make a real different to Africa’s biodiversity.
When not on safari, Mikey loves to go fishing and get involved in different sports, preferably with his three children. Ultimately, there is nothing better in his eyes than being on safari with his kids, exploring the wild and having fun together.