|
I’m sitting on our private little porch, overlooking vistas of African
wilderness…
Embraced by the coolness of our cream colored luxury canvas tent, I’m
smiling about the perfection of this moment, the splendor of another African
dusk, the tradition and the hope in this camp. There is an acacia on our
doorstep, a pot with indigenous succulents, 1920’s style lazy chairs and a
lantern with solar power at the push of a button. Later we will have a silver service dinner by candlelight, our African guides joining the party
for some thrilling reminiscence of the day’s game sightings, and probably a
long set of answers to our animated questions. This is Africa… Karen Blixen
style.
Calvin Cottar and his wife Louise have skillfully recreated the sense of
adventure, style and luxury of their ancestors, and today the family and its
heritage is as strong and beautiful as ever. Cottars Camp has perfected the
romance that early colonialists had with Kenya. The whole camp seems to be
in a love affair with the surrounding colors, smells and textures of the
African bush, all mingled up with traces of excess and style as pioneered by
the 1920’s Europeans. It seems as if you have stumbled upon a rare and
valuable treasure, content and thrilled that it still exists.
|
|
The front of each luxury tent opens wide to welcome in the morning hues and
sounds of Africa. You can almost touch the hills, the trees, the sounds… It
draws into your soul – this perfection of place and pace and color.
The lovely tented dining hall / lounge is conceptualized around 1920’s
luxury, with silver ware, ostrich feathers and eggs, classic old gramophones
and typing machines, tapestry cushions, and North African rugs scattered on
the floor. The waiters wear full length Swahili tunics and a crimson fez –
colonial uniforms of the past. (Do staff members mind this? “No, they
realize its theater.”) On the canvas walls of the large tent, you’ll find
sepia pictures dating back to the 1920’s of the three Cottars brothers,
Mike, Bud, Ted and their father Charles.
Charles is the great grandfather of current owner, Calvin Cottar. It seems
like this family embodies the quintessential African adventurer and many a
visitor has likened Calvin to Denys Finch-Hatton, famous as being Karen
Blixen’s partner in her novel “Out of Africa”. In my mind, he certainly
deserves this comparison. You needn’t talk with Calvin very long to realize
the sincerity of his life’s work. “I wanted to create something we could be
proud of… I want to help change the perception of wildlife among local
tribes and get conservation working… If this lifestyle of bush and
wilderness is in your blood, you can’t get it out – there is a magic, and I
want to share it… Its about people, values, integrity, honor. If I can be a
medium of happiness, to help guests experience a moment of truth out here in
the bush, then I want to do it … This is all I know.” And it seems that this
is enough, judging by statistics that 40% of guests are return customers.
Lizanne
Malherbe holds a Masters degree in Environmental Ethics
and is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Design |
