KENYA’S NEWEST CONSERVANCY

MAASAI MARA (03/2014) – Kenya Gold Guide Calvin Cottar and his wife Louise Cottar, owners of Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp, have worked for 10 years to establish Kenya’s newest conservancy: Olderikesi Wildlife Conservancy. They have met with the local Maasai and government to create a model which may be replicated across the country, aiming to unify the Maasai instead of segmenting the land. Their passion for Kenya, its tribes and the country’s living history is reflected in their efforts.

The Olderikesi Wildlife Conservancy is 6,000 acres on the border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti National Park. “We feel that if visitors want to help wildlife survive in Africa today, they should stay in conservancies on the peripheries of parks and reserves. It’s a far more responsible choice as it helps finance the expansion of the ecosystem versus protecting wildlife within set borders,” says Calvin, explaining how easily this new conservancy model can be adopted. Kenya is changing, with some hoping to help direct that change in a positive way.

Power to the People:

The situation is ongoing local human-wildlife conflict and destruction of environment by domestic livestock. The conservancy’s solution is to lease the land from the Maasai with areas designated for wildlife only, and areas where domestic stock may be taken to graze. Instead of division by fences, there is division by shares within a community trust – and an added clause that the shares can never be sold to outsiders. Maasai land stays truly Maasai.

Calvin and Louise recognize that their property is built on Maasai land, and pay annual fees to the Maasai. Their recently opened Private House is their commitment to the Maasai that they are there to stay, to help them and the land. The Cottar’s are part of a five-generation family business, reminiscent of the colonial era when Charles Cottar moved from Iowa to Kenya with his family (seen in the white canvas tents with family antiques from the 1920s). There are ten en suite tents and a private house, which can accommodate up to 10 guests in five large en suite bedrooms.

For more information, visit www.cottars.com or email info@cottarsafaris.com.

ENROLL YOUR CHILD IN MAASAI WARRIOR SCHOOL

KENYA (07/2013) – Jump! Throw! Dance! Learn the ways of a warrior with the African bush as your classroom… Beginning August 1, children visiting Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp in the Maasai Mara are invited to join in a Maasai Warrior session. Under the tutelage of Kinyaika, one of the oldest trackers in the business, and the Maasai team, learn skills Maasai Warriors have mastered.

These skills, depending on age and ability, include fire making; spear throwing; bow and arrow practice; Maasai jumping, dancing and singing and stone throwing. Look forward to taking part in the traditions passed down for generations: participate in a blessing ceremony (involves Maasai clothing, Maasai jewelry and possibly henna). A certificate is given at the end of the experience; and, for those skilled enough to hit the targets, a wooden bow and (nonlethal) arrow is provided as a prize.

Proud parents can cheer from the sidelines, join in on the fun or leave the traditions to student and teacher and go on safari during this time. Sessions last between two and three hours.

“As a multi-generational family safari business, Cottar’s Safari Service, has always put emphasis on the family experience. The Maasai Warrior School particularly is something our younger guests will never forget,” explains Doug Nagi, Guest Experience Manager and Gold Guide at Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp.

The white canvas tented property emits the original safari tradition thanks to its roots with Charles Cottar, an American from Iowa who came to Kenya in the 1900s with his entire family. Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp is located on an untouched exclusive concession bordering the Serengeti, Maasai Mara and Loliondo reserves, guaranteeing privacy and an abundance of wildlife. Families can choose from four family tented suites, which each consist of two ensuite bedrooms with a shared sitting/dining room, and a private house, which can accommodate up to 10 guests in five large ensuite bedrooms.

The Maasai Warrior School is a complementary activity included within full board accommodation. Full board accommodation rates start at $530 per person sharing. Also included are: bush meals and sundowners; bush walks; day and night game drives; transfers to cultural visits; transfers to Cottars Airstrip and limited laundry.

For more information, visit www.cottars.com or email info@cottarsafaris.com.

BATH IN THE BUSH: ROMANTIC RETREAT WITH KENYA CANVAS BATH

An outdoor bath that overlooks the Masai Mara and Serengeti plains while in a canvas bathtub is just one of scintillating activities couples can choose from at Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp. Renowned for reaching back to its American roots (the Cottar Safari business is in its fifth generation), the camp utilizes authentic safari pastimes and decoration with luxurious modern twists.

Honeymooners can request the canvas bathtubs to be set up by the canopied verandah of a private tent, or in the middle of the open savannah – a true safari experience. Hear the sounds of the bush, watch a giraffe or dyk dyk pass by and sip on sparkling wine or champagne. Insider’s tip: a bath at sunset is ideal for anyone wishing for a swoon-worthy mood. The bath is lit by hurricane lamps as the sky changes color over the Mara and a sense of nature and wellbeing becomes the ambiance.

Without question, the honeymoon tent is the most romantic of all accommodations at the camp. An added perk is the fire pit just outside, a nighttime setting for a private dinner for two. With the tent not too far from the new swimming pool (one of the only small luxury properties in the Masai Mara with a pool), everything is at your fingertips. Game viewing is superb at all times of the year, especially during the Great Migration (July through November). A game drive with millions of wildebeest and zebra, as well as dramatic river crossings, is something everyone must have on the bucket list.

There are 10 tents and the option to stay in Cottar’s Private House which can accommodate 10 guests in five large en suite bedrooms. The house is given for exclusive use with its own living areas, staff and vehicles – completely separate from the rest of the camp.

Rates start at $490 per person sharing, depending on the season, and include guided bush walks, candlelit bush dinners, sundowners, day and night game drives, ½ hour complimentary massage per tent, transfers to cultural visits, a range of drinks and laundry. Game drives can be taken in either state of the art Land Cruisers or in an authentic vintage wooden car (for fun and atmosphere).

Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp is one of the prestigious eco-tourism lodges in The C&P Portfolio. For more information, visit www.cottars.com or www.thecpportfolio.com.

THE AMERICAN WHO STARTED AFRICA’S FIRST SAFARI OUTFITTERS

Four Generations Have Led to Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp

Cottar’s_1920s_Safari_Camp in the Masai Mara is known for recreating the traditional safari, with a modern luxury twist. After all, the camp is part of a Cottar family legacy that created Africa’s first safari outfitters and has been passed down the Cottar family for four generations – starting with an American from Iowa.

For 93 years, the Cottar name has been in the safari business, from hunting and guiding to running safari camps, always staying true to the era when Charles Cottar started it all.

The general plot: It’s 1909. An American from Iowa reads about Roosevelt’s hunting exploits in East Africa. The man decides to experience the wild himself and arrives in Kenya in 1910. After visiting year after year, Charles Cottar brought his family to Kenya and registered a company in 1919 to guide safaris. Charles recognized that sportsmen from all over the world would come to Africa to hunt for the best trophy they could get, and needed the expertise of people who live in the country and understand the animals.

Charles gained inspiration from Roosevelt’s stories, but quickly began sharing stories of his own – articles and movies that were shared in the states. He had more than his fair share of scuffles with the Big Five, his life ending with a rhino charge. So much was Africa a part of him that when his son tried to give him shade for his last moments, he refused – wanting to see the African sky.

As the first established safari outfitters in Africa, the Cottars seem to have always been ahead of the game. They were among the first to import safari cars to Kenya, and the father of the current owner established the first fixed camps in the country.

Today, Calvin Cottar, Charles’ great grandson, runs Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp, a veteran luxury property in the Masai Mara with some of the best guides in Kenya. (Three of the guides are now Gold Level KPGSA qualified, which is the highest concentrations of Gold level guides out of any property in East Africa – 15 total in Kenya.)

Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp transports a traveler to the original spirit and essence of the safari. Tents are authentic white canvas, spacious and luxuriously furnished. And, perhaps more significantly, the tents incorporate many of the Cottar family pieces from the 1920s. To top it all off, dinner is a candlelight affair with silver service and waiters dressed in cotton kanzus – regalia from Kenya’s colonial era.

There are 10 tents, four of which are family tented suites, and the option to stay in Cottar’s Private House that can accommodate 10 guests in five large en suite bedrooms. The house is given for exclusive use with its own living areas, staff and vehicles – completely separate from the rest of the camp.

Rates start at $490 per person sharing, depending on the season, and include guided bush walks, bush meals, sundowners, day and night drives, ½ hour complimentary massage, transfers to cultural visits a range of drinks and laundry. Game drives can be taken in either state of the art Land Cruisers or authentic vintage wooden cars (for fun and atmosphere). The camp is one of the 14 prestigious eco-tourism lodges in the C&P Portfolio.

For more information, visit www.thecpportfolio.com.