Lara is known for her attention to detail and meticulous planning and she takes great pride in making sure that our safaris run smoothly. She coordinates each safari, taking care of the behind-the-scenes logistics that are necessary to make a safari seem effortless. Her unique style has determined the look of our mobile camps and she is the inspiration behind our menus. The Leakey family has been in Kenya since the 1890s and a deep-rooted interest in Africa has been handed from generation to generation. Much of Lara’s childhood was spent in remote areas of Kenya and Tanzania; she learnt to walk on the Serengeti plains and the shores of Lake Natron while accompanying her parents and grandmother Dr Mary Leakey on digs at Olduvai Gorge. Home was a mud hut built on the edge of a gorge overlooking Nairobi National Park. Her father Philip Leakey was a Member of Parliament in Kenya for 15 years, giving her a front-row seat to Kenyan politics. After school Lara did an Art Foundation course before going on to gain a law degree at the School for Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She returned home to work with UNICEF’s Operation Lifeline Sudan, first with the humanitarian principles programme and later in the information department. Lara has been running safaris ever since she married Ninian in 1999.

See some images from the Leakey and Lowis family archives.