Cottars 1920s Camp

a genuinely historic property with deep roots

Cottar’s 1920’s Camp is located in the Mara Southeast Conservancy area of the Maasai Mara in southwest Kenya.

The lodge is privately owned by Calvin and Louise Cottar, whose family has been directly involved in the safari business since their ancestor Charles Cottar came to Kenya in 1909, inspired by Theodore Roosevelt’s exhilarating accounts of his big game hunting expedition of 1906.

This camp was first established in 1992, which is a very long time ago in safari years. Naturally the camp has an impressive safari pedigree, so you really can expect a very rare degree of authenticity and subtlety here.

You will notice the 1920’s themed decor in the camp. This has been much copied over the years, during the 1990’s it seemed like there was barely a camp in Africa which didn’t have a wind-up gramophone. But this place is the real deal, many of the antiques have been in the Cottar family and decorating their camps since those times. We particularly enjoy looking at the old sepia tone photographs of the various members of the family in classic safari poses.

Set in a prime hillside position, this gorgeous camp has sweeping views out over the surrounding plains.

From the vehicle turnaround we first arrive at a large and rather superior gift shop known as the Dapper Flapper. Next come the very elegant public areas, contained within a broad Moorish tent, with the dining area to one side, the lounge to the other. Out front is a nice campfire area and a broad path which slopes gradually down to an unusually nice swimming pool area, where there is a further mess tent.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Cottars 1920s Camp is in sixteen units of various specifications …

• Standard Tent : x6 : Very large and luxurious tented suites, which are very widely spaced across the hillside, fenced to the rear with grass thatch and open onto the view, they are mainly canvas structures, but with more substantial stonework bathrooms.
• Family Suite : x4 : Similar to the above, but much larger and featuring two bedrooms with private bathrooms, either side and a lounge area in the centre.
• Honeymoon Tent : x1 : A slightly pimped version of the regular rooms.

In addition, there is Cottar’s Homestead, a detached building with five bedroom suites, which can function completely separately from the main camp, to provide a very private and exclusive experience.

Activities

Cottars 1920s Camp provides the following guided activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the room rate …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Mountain-bike safari
• Bush meals
• Cultural interaction
• Conservation activities
• Night vehicle safari

The Maasai Mara tends to feature in almost all safari trips to Kenya. As well as being the best known reserve, it is also the most productive for wildlife.

The usual stay duration is 4-8 nights split between two camps, less frequently 3-4 nights in just one camp.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit the Maasai Mara area is generally considered to be the Jul-Oct dry season, when the weather should be reliably good and the wildlife concentrated around the permanent water sources.

The Nov-Jun green season may be much less dependable for weather, but remains really strong for wildlife viewing.

Visitor traffic is less of an issue in this private area, but you can expect the camps to be fully booked during the Jul-Oct and Dec-Jan high seasons. So there can be slight advantages to visiting during quieter periods.

Getting around

You’re most likely to arrive into the Maasai Mara area via the regular light aircraft services that operate from Nairobi, which means that you will travel around the area with a guide and vehicle from the camp in which you are staying.

If you’re staying in more than one camp in the greater Maasai Mara then inter-camp transfers are usually operated by the departing camp and generally pass through wildlife areas for most if not all of their routes.

It’s also possible to travel down from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara by road, which is quite a long and tiresome journey, but not without interest. The trouble is that the better lodges in the Mara will offer you no discount for having your own guide and vehicle along, so you end up paying for both, which works out more expensive than flying down.

the only lodge in this unusually remote area