Safari Planning Team
Meet Kelly McBride
Kelly McBride
Safari Specialist, The Wild Source
Kelly’s love affair with Africa goes back to very early childhood in Illinois where she remembers fondly pouring over the pages of National Geographic Magazine. Completely captivated by the imagery of African wildlife, landscape, and culture, she dreamed of finding herself there one day.
That day finally came in 2001, after college, when she joined the Peace Corps as a health education Volunteer in Kenya, East Africa. She had the privilege to live with a host family during the 10-week training and experience daily life firsthand. It was a memorable time, and she continues to cherish those relationships today. In 2010 she even brought her husband Chris and 2 sons Henry and George to meet the family in Kenya and see where she stayed during Peace Corps. Kenyans adore children and the boys were showered with love and kindness everywhere they went.
That trip fostered a love of Africa for the rest of the family and eventually resulted in a 9-month road trip throughout East and Southern Africa when the kids were 8 and 5. Starting in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania where they imported a car from Japan, a Toyota Hilux Surf, they drove up to Kenya and then down to the Southernmost point in South Africa before making their way back up and eventually out. They visited 8 countries, spent at least 100 nights camping, and made memories for a lifetime. Some of the highlights included the camping trips to the Serengeti as well as Etosha National Park in Namibia.
It was after this trip that Kelly realized her heart was with the wildlife and the desire to learn as much about it as possible, so she took the big step of getting her safari guiding qualification. Despite the travel restrictions and complications of Covid she managed to complete the course in 2020 in person in South Africa at 2 different conservancies adjacent Kruger National Park.
Today she is putting her experience to work at The Wild Source where she collaborates with the rest of this incredibly talented team to ensure every client can experience firsthand, all the magic of an African safari.
When she is not at The Wild Source, Kelly is daydreaming of her next safari, running, renovating her home, and enjoying every moment she can with her family and friends.
