Nomad issue #23

SPOTLIGHT
F
rom the moment I picked
up a book offered for
entertainment in one of
the tents at Cottar’s 1920s
Safari Camp, I get through
the entire thing in one
sitting as it makes for quite
the captivating read. The
beginning chapters chronicle the life of
Charles Cottar, the writer’s (Calvin Cottar)
great grandfather, described as a rebel
often in search of the unregulated freedom
afforded by wide open spaces, who, bored
by the already won Wild West, was inspired
to come to Kenya after reading Theodore
Roosevelt’s book on his safari across Africa.
Kenya turned out to be exactly what his
restless soul yearned for. The early 1900s
were a different time with a different set of
regulations that would probably make a
modern day conservationist recoil, but back
then, wildlife hunting was legal, socially
accepted and big business. Hunting, just
like he did back in Oklahoma, Charles
would set up Cottar Safari Services in 1919,
specialising in filming, big game hunting and
animal capture for circuses overseas.
Chatting about filming safaris with Calvin
Cottar, Charles’ great grandson who set
up Cottar’s 1920 Safari Camp in the mid
90s with his wife Louise, he explains that
the earliest filming safaris were nothing
like today. Animals were known to hide
in the bushes. A photographer would
therefore set up his equipment a little far
off from the bush, and when he was ready,
his counterparts would scare the animals
and they would go charging towards the
photographer who would get his pictures,
fingers-crossed that he didn’t get trampled
in the process. I see an old black and white
advert; Big Game Hunting in Africa and
Asia with Cottar Service. In it, a man on
a horse, a pack of dogs charging in front
of him, pursuing a leopard leaping over a
bush close to the camera. Pictures of Charles
show a man mauled by a leopard, later
being killed by a charging rhino that he was
trying to film in 1940.
With the onset of wildlife conservation
and management laws, the landscape
has drastically changed. Calvin explains
that when they set up in the mid-90s, there
was a lot of poaching and insecurity in the
Maasai Mara, and it was hard to ascertain
that the money that was flowing in through
tourism was actually doing good. At the
time, he was a guide working with KWS
(Kenya Wildlife Service) which resulted in a
lot of thinking about Kenya, its people and
its lands. One of his tasks was to develop
forums where landowners and communities
had a voice in wildlife conservation policy.
We have an interesting chat about the place
of big game hunting in securing lands today,
a story I am keen to follow up on.
Set in Ol Derkesi Community
Conservancy, Maasai Mara, the classically
elegant ambiance in the tents draws
inspiration from ‘old Africa’, with the tents
being outfitted with colonial antiques, pops
of colour coming from the bedding or cotton
dhurries. The staff, most coming from the
local community, have been with the family
for decades. We stay at the five bedroom
bush villa which has plenty of comfortable
lounging areas and terraces, boasting
unobstructed views of the surrounding
savannah, best taken in from a hammock set
on a ground floor lounging area.
Perks include a staff of eight at your
disposal, a private chef, a 25-metre private
swimming pool, a dedicated game vehicle
and guide (some of the best guides I have
ever encountered on the numerous game
drives I have been on) and WiFi. As I was
there for the first-time unveiling and tasting
of the Louis XIII Cognac in Kenya, we
had a round of befitting sundowners and
magical dinners out in the bush. I am also
quite certain that I got married to a Maasai
warrior during a dance I got swept up in at
around 10:00pm around a bonfire. If all else
fails, I will be returning to Cottar’s to find
him.
www.cottars.com
NOMAD MAGAZINE 2019 49