Tom Hartley
Tom Hartley
Tom is a third-generation Kenyan who grew up in the wilderness areas of Botswana, Malawi, South Africa and Kenya. His family has been in African tourism and conservation his whole life—safaris have always come naturally to him. He spoke Kiswahili before he spoke English and has always nurtured a great appreciation for and understanding of wildlife and wilderness.
Tom attended The Bush Academy in South Africa—a branch of The International Hotel School specifically designed for training in field guiding and management of high-end safari properties. Tom graduated top of his class in 2008 and has been running top safari lodges and guiding high-end safaris all across East Africa ever since, working in some of Kenya’s most renowned conservancies, including the Maasai Mara, Samburu, Laikipia and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. In 2022, Tom joined the Nat Hab team as an East Africa Expedition Leader.
Tom is a qualified professional safari guide with years of experience managing and operating luxury safari lodges and camps in East Africa and helping guests experience incredible wildlife encounters. Attentive to every detail, he ensures that each safari is individual, carefully curated and seamlessly executed.
Tom lives on the base of Mount Kenya with his wife Nikki and their two young children, Madeline and Archer, who they are raising with the same closeness and fondness of nature he and his wife enjoy. He is completely at ease in the wild and happiest when walking in the bush, identifying wildflowers and birds, sitting quietly amongst elephants and, wherever possible, with a fishing rod in hand.