BELLE EPOQUE SAFARI IN THE LAND OF THE MASAI

Belle Epoque Safari in the Land of the Masai

a feature by Isabelle FOUGERE & Stephane FRANCĂˆS / Onlyworld.net

There, close to the Masai reserve, lives the Cottar family, a dynasty devoted to wildlife, and who have successfully preserved the authentic spirit of the safari – the art of the safari and its lifestyle. Visitors stay in their luxury 1920s style tent camp, dreaming perhaps that they are Karen Blixen. There, close to the Masai reserve, lives the Cottar family, a dynasty devoted to wildlife, and who have successfully preserved the authentic spirit of the safari – the art of the safari and its lifestyle. Visitors stay in their luxury 1920s style tent camp, dreaming perhaps that they are Karen Blixen.

COTTARS 1920 Camp

COTTARS 1920 Camp

Cottars’ Nineteen Twenties Camp is a wonderful way of winding back the wheels of time.

It is in a secluded spot near the Serengeti National Park and the Kenyan Masai Mara reserve, one of the finest nature reserves in Africa. This is the territory of lions, elephants and monkeys, and here is a large canvas living room surrounded by rocks and umbrella acacias; it could be the set for Out of Africa, complete with club chairs, record players and crystal decanters. The delicate walls flap in the breeze, and visitors have the impression of being guests in a grand home where many generations have lived.

Nothing is overstated. It could be a home in Scotland, near Bordeaux or in Rajasthan, with sepia-colored family portraits hanging on the wall, neatly framed and set in rows.

When Calvin Cottar drives his vintage car over to pick you up at dawn and promises that you can get close to the lions, ever so quietly, you realize that other diversions, the sofa and general musing will have to wait. The camp will soon disappear behind the trees and in the back of the car, a young Masai will be craning his neck, peering out the window, scanning the horizon to spot animals stirring at dawn. This bushland is his kingdom and he knows every corner of it: as a child, he traveled across the region with his nomadic family in search of pastureland for the goats and cows. The Masai are the only people living in the reserve; they have always been herdsmen and have always been warriors too. They walk across the plains, dressed in red, light of foot, to the gentle click of their beaded jewelry as it moves in time with them.

The camp is near a manyatta (or village), and young men from the local

community work at the camp as guards or night watchmen. Time seems to have no hold on them; their silent, impenetrable ways create an aura of mystery.

It is a privilege to have this first-hand experience of nature and wildlife with the last of the Cottar dynasty, and the introduction is a quiet, gradual experience.

That day Calvin announced it would rain, much to everyone’s amazement as the sky was clear and blue, and the air very dry.

Calvin smiled, pointing out that the acacia flowers were never mistaken; they only open before rain and there were white-scented blossoms everywhere. It might not rain for another three days, but there would definitely be rain, so he said. Calvin, like his forefathers, Charles, Mike, Bud and Glen, is a man of the savanna, and knows every smell, warning and trap; he knows secrets and is familiar with things vulnerable and ephemeral. (‌)

Isabelle Fougère

COTTARS 1920 Camp

COTTARS 1920 Camp

COTTARS 1920 Camp

COTTARS 1920 Camp

Belle Epoque Safari in the Land of the Masai

a feature by Isabelle FOUGERE & Stephane FRANCĂˆS / www.onlyworld.net