Meet Tanya and Mikey Carr-Hartley, founders, directors and hands-on safari guides of their shared vocation in life, their unique Carr-Hartley safari business, Specialised Safaris.
“ Like our parents and grandparents before us, we grew up on an African safari and have dedicated our lives to protecting Kenya’s wilderness areas.
We founded The Specialised Safari Company (Specialised Safaris) in 2000 to give our guests the kind of authentic private safari experience we’d been lucky enough to grow up with as children.
After getting married in 2001, we had our first daughter, Sala, three years afterwards. Our twins, Kinna and Tisa, arrived another four years later.
A few years after starting Specialised Safaris, we decided to open our first permanent camp to complement our mobile operation. We chose a magical spot in the Masai Mara where we had enjoyed taking our mobile safari guests for years. We named it Sala’s Camp, after our first daughter. Sala’s Camp was followed by Sasaab Lodge in Samburu, Solio Lodge in Laikipia and the now iconic Giraffe Manor in Nairobi. We’re proud to say that these have gone on to become some of the most awarded and internationally recognised camps and lodges in Africa.
Family is everything to us, and we love nothing more than being out in the wild together. Specialised Safaris is not really business for us, but more of a family vocation. Part of this vocation is ensuring that we protect Kenya, our beautiful home, for our children’s children and beyond. Making a positive impact on Kenya’s wildlife and communities is embedded in everything we do.
Having real experience in the African bush is not something you can learn from a book, but only from decades of watching, listening and learning – and you could say we’ve each done a 50-year apprenticeship leading us to where we are now!”
“Mikey took me to Virunga in the summer of 2014, just after its southern sector had re-opened after years of war and political upheaval. Together we tracked mountain gorillas and climbed Nyiragongo, a live volcano 3,470 metres high, where we camped on the rim of the world’s largest lava lake. He was a superb guide - extremely knowledgable, a very good judge of risk and great company. ”
Mikey Carr-Hartley
Mikey Carr-Hartley was raised in the bush in northern Kenya, where he spent his childhood gaining invaluable first-hand knowledge of African wildlife and the landscape around him. Growing up on a large game ranch, his early memories include hurtling around on the back of a Land Cruiser, accompanying his father on game-capturing missions and experiencing close encounters with all sorts of animals. Carr-Hartley family road trips to the furthest reaches of Kenya were commonplace, camping out and exploring the wilderness. It’s no surprise that Mikey Carr-Hartley is a true bush boy at heart and loves nothing more than being out in the wild to this day.
Riding motor-cross was a favourite pastime of his as a child, and Mikey’s adrenalin-loving, thrill-seeking side remains with him today and is perhaps what helps him design the best Carr-Hartley safaris for guests! As a child, Mikey remembers attending the famous Safari Rally, one of the toughest events in the World Rally Championship. The Carr-Hartley family went along each year to be the ‘mud-car’. This involved being on standby to tow cars out of extreme muddy sections of the rally course, which was no easy feat after the rainy season.
After completing his younger schooling days in Nairobi, Mikey Carr-Hartley studied in South Africa for two years, followed by the south of England for four years, before returning to East Africa. He was then employed by one of the World Rally teams, travelling the country and assisting them with every logistic needed to become the next world rally champions.
Get to know more about Mikey Carr-Hartley.
Tanya Carr-Hartley
Tanya Carr-Hartley was born in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. She spent her childhood days between the city and Loldia Farm on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. This was the family farm of her mother, where she adored spending time - walking, riding, pressing wildflowers, practising water sports on the lake, but above all, being with her grandparents. When in Nairobi, Tanya and her mother loved horse riding together, which in those days could be done straight from their home as there were no fences or houses in the suburb where they lived, just open plains filled with wildlife. Nairobi then was almost unrecognisable from the cosmopolitan city that it has become today.
Her parents’ love of wildlife and travel ensured there were plenty of adventures into the African bush for Tanya and her sister growing up. Trips were usually undertaken in their trusty old Subaru, packed to the roof with everything needed for camping expeditions to Kenya’s wildest corners. From fishing trips to Lake Turkana in the far north to coastal road trips to visit their cousins at the Tana River Delta, they drove for miles exploring the country’s wildlife and landscapes. This was to set the tone for the adventurous spirit of Carr-Hartley safaris today.
Tanya’s parents dabbled in the safari business, but eventually her father committed his career to the conservation of Kenya’s indigenous mountain forests, whilst her mother moved from professional catering into auctioneering. As the daughter of Kenya’s first auctioneer, it is no surprise that Tanya adores art and design and has a natural flair for creativity, an asset she channels into Carr-Hartley safaris today.
After completing her schooling in Nairobi, Tanya Carr-Hartley left Africa to study Fine Art and English at Exeter University in the UK. Photography was her one of her passions, and she completed a thesis documenting public life in Kenya. This saw her travel throughout Kenya, photographing all aspects of daily life and deepening her love for the country she had spent most of her life in.
Read more about Tanya Carr-Hartley.
