Heart Strings Pulled to Africa

By Kate Webb, Managing Director of Orbis Expeditions

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My name is Kate Webb and I am a mother to Sam and Emmie- 4 yrs and 2 yrs. I used to be an adventurer in Africa and now am very content planning other peoples life changing journeys and pottering around with the kids on the beach in South Devon.

I am married to my business partner Dom. We got together in our early twenties and ran away to Africa- from our lives in London- and spent a year travelling through 7 countries by any means. It was a year of adventure, a year of freedom and above all a year that I learnt I wasn’t a wanderer, I needed purpose in my travels and wanted to work for myself. 

After trying to return to our lives in London, Africa began calling again and we found ourselves living in a remote part of Uganda running a high end safari lodge. We spent our days training the staff, managing the lodge and most of all hosting and talking to guests, many who had come to Africa either for safari or for charity work. Why not create something that combined the two… and offered a sustainable form of economic development for local communities.

We moved to Malawi and created The Responsible Safari Company. Ensuring tourism benefitted local communities and offering travelers an experience that combined holiday, experiential travel and adventure. Seven years of set up, eleven staff, a solid base in Southern Malawi and it was time to start our second family and return to our home. Sam and Ems were born.

We now have Orbis Expeditions and the heart of the company is still everything we wanted it to be. We are constantly pushing the boundaries of travel, pushing our expeditions to include that little something extra, reaching for the stars to achieve ridiculous things but at every point being encouraged further by our guests- they LOVE what we provide, they are enriched by travelling with our guides in Malawi, they are inspired to return, they are educated about global challenges and they want to be part of our story and journey. People seem to be just like me and want to travel with a purpose.