Our story

From the moment I first set foot on the African continent in 1979, I felt a primordial hook that I had arrived home. From long range expeditions to luxury safaris, I built my travel expertise over four decades to get Explorer where it is today. As a creative, I’m able to see things from a different perspective and craft experiences that are not obvious or run of the mill. I consider travel to be a multi-layered masterpiece in progress. Each experience adds a different layer to the canvas of life that one day hopefully results in a work of art.

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After so many years living in the African wilderness, raising a family and guiding safaris, I still wake with a renewed sense of wonder for what the day might bring.

My extensive travels throughout the world eventually led to a trip to Africa. After arriving on the continent for the first time, I quickly realised that I wanted to make it my home. As a teacher, I’ve been able to explore the minds of my students and see life in Africa through their eyes. My own experiences have helped shape their lives, while bringing up my own family in Tanzania has continued to shape my life.

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As well as being Explorer’s CFO, I use my design background to shape the visual elements throughout our portfolio of properties. To do this, I blend colour and texture, shaping the visual elements to enhance our guests’ experience of Africa’s natural beauty. 

Having grown up watching my father run Explorer, by the age of 24 I knew I wanted to be a part of the company. After learning how the business operated and working on the administrative side, I began doing trips with my dad. I loved being in the bush, I loved learning from the guides - I loved it all. 

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I spent a few subsequent years guiding with as many different private guides as I could, which allowed me to find my own style of curating an itinerary and delivering on my word to my guests. It’s so special to be there with them from start to finish, at every step, every wow moment and every challenge. I’ve now been leading safaris for ten years.

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Having been born and raised in Tanzania, and now raising my own family here, I have a deep passion for sharing it with others. I’ve also inherited a love for North Africa, specifically Morocco and Egypt where my Dad has a long history. I’m also passionate about visiting areas outside of the national parks where communities are fighting for the balance to coexist with nature.

Born and raised in the wild landscapes of Tanzania, Jamie has always felt a deep connection to nature and wildlife. A gifted musician, she weaves rhythm and soul into every part of her life. Currently living and volunteering off-grid on a forestry project in the mountains of Southern Ecuador, Jamie blends her passions through holistic wellness by offering massage and reflexology grounded in both intuition and training. Her love for wild places and mindful living is at the heart of everything she does.

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Though not formally part of the Explorer team, Jamie occasionally joins Gary on journeys through Tanzania, Morocco and Egypt. If you’ve been on an Explorer journey before, you may have met her along the way—sharing stories, songs or simply providing her warm and grounded presence.

Having grown up in the safari and travel industry, I’ve always had an interest not just in the product that is created, but in how the industry works. This led me to pursue a degree in business management at Newcastle University. 

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Growing up in Africa creates an innate sense of belonging to the continent, so once I finished my degree, I knew I wanted to return to Africa and work within the wildlife sphere. I moved to Gabon to help run a gorilla rewilding project in the Bateke Plateau before beginning work with Explorer. Today, I specialise in travel experiences to Socotra and Oman while managing a mobile camp in the Middle East. I’m also involved in setting up a selection of permanent camps in Saudi Arabia. 

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I’m passionate about finding travel experiences that not many people have done or seen. I want to create a platform from which people can push the limits of tourism, away from all-inclusive hotels towards true hidden gems. For me, the future of African tourism is about helping guests see areas of natural beauty, immerse themselves in cultures in their truest form, and experience areas of raw wilderness.