Our team is dedicated to making your travel experience as seamless and safe as possible, and to keep you regularly informed throughout. The below link provides our latest ‘need-to-know’ travel update.
Don’t miss out on the best ever Great Migration. Book now !!
The great wildebeest migration is one of the most phenomenal natural shows in the world and this year will be one of the best years ever to witness it. Normally camp is booked out up to 2 years ahead but because of the pandemic, there are still some gaps and we would love to welcome you.
Speaking to Enock (Cottar’s Guide), he is in close contact with colleagues across the border. Enoch has received reports of great numbers of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, starting to build up nicely in the Northern Serengeti ready to cross back into Kenya and the Masai Mara soon. It is not too late to book a last-minute stay with us to witness this incredible spectacle between June and October 2021!
What the Media says about Cottar’s
Cottars has enjoyed some fantastic media especially recently and we would love to share some of these articles with you to entice you into a stay with us. Below are some links to recent articles and a few snippets from media articles from the past.
FINANCIAL TIMES – ‘Romance full of pedigree and promise’
‘For those who find themselves hooked on Africa, there comes a time when they want something different… not every guide can take you there. Some do not have the taste for it and some do not have the know-how, but Calvin Cottar and his 1920s safaris come with the kind of pedigree and promise that is hard to resist.”
ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST – ‘EVOKING THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE EAST AFRICAN ADVENTURE’
‘One very special place, however, aims to give its visitors a unique encounter with Africa. Cottars 1920s Camp harmoniously fuses the elements that make for a stylish, comfortable, one-of-a-kind safari adventure’.
BLOOMBERG – ‘TREKKING INTO AFRICA’
‘Over the years, Cottars has guided royalty, sports figures, assorted tycoons, and scores of more down-to-earth types on safaris completely tailored to meet their needs and desires.’
CONDE NAST TRAVELLER – ‘INTO THE BUSH WITH THE BEST’
‘If you ask any Africa-hand to name the best guides, Cottar appears at the top of every list’.
Global Big Bird Day
The 8th of May was Global Big Bird Day and is an annual celebration of all birds around us. It ran from midnight to midnight and our team proudly joined up with the Kenya Birds of Prey Trust to get out on the ground and see what we could see.
Here is Doug Nagi’s account of the day. “The Global big day birding started early at Cottar’s and even though the rains had been pouring the whole night, it didn’t stop us. Our first sighting of the day was a green-backed Camaroptera which is a small passerine bird. We also saw Spot Flanked Barbet, Red-headed Weaver, Paradise Flycatcher, Speckled Mouse Birds and the Grosbeak Weaver among many others.
After about three hours in this habitat, we chose to go up the hill in search of a rare Rock Loving Cisticola. Again many species were flying up and down the hill, among the Variable Sunbird, Scarlet Chested Sunbird, Rattling Cisticola, Verreaux Eagle, Red-Winged Starling, Superb Starling, Hildebrandt’s Starling. It is up here where we came across the common Fiscal Shrike ( sometimes named Jackie the Hangman, or the Butcher Bird due to its habit of catching insects and sticking them into thorns or sticks, to eat at leisure). This species had been marked as declining in our part of the Masai Mara due to habitat loss so it was super exciting to see that there is a likelihood that it will come back.
By now the clouds had filled up the sky above us and we had no option but to descend quickly before it started pouring and wait for the rains to stop but it went on and we set off after dinner in search of the elusive nightjars. We saw the African Scops Owl, montane nightjar and, finally, a freckled nightjar, rare for this area. By the end of the evening, we recorded about 70 species of birds in our bird paradise!
For all the keen birders amongst you, come join us next year for the annual Global Big Bird Day !!!’
Meet our Guides – Joseph Ole Mpoe – Cottar’s Silver Guide
Going out with Joseph will make you excited from the moment you step in a vehicle with him. The pure passion and joy he shows for his profession and the environment, he is lucky enough to call his office, is totally contagious, and you will head off in excited anticipation of the drive ahead.
He is a master at finding the cats, in particular, our elusive leopard Georgina and her babies. Surprisingly maybe, they are not his favourite, giraffes are, and his most significant sighting of late was a very moving 2 hours witnessing the birth of a baby giraffe. January through March are great months for seeing the babies.
Vaccinations & Tests
We are really delighted that a third of the Cottar’s team have now received their first vaccination and are working toward all of our team being vaccinated as it becomes more widely available. We do continue to follow strict protocols in camp. We can easily arrange covid tests for guests staying with us at Cottar’s 1920s Camp and Bush Villa for onward travel and help with anything needed.
Awards Awards Awards
We are incredibly excited to have been nominated for some fantastic awards in the World Travel Awards / Conde Reader’s Choice.
For all of us, the last year has been so incredibly challenging and tough so now more than ever we really need your support and would love your vote, please. Awards like this are just so wonderful and a true reward and a huge boost for our team to stay motivated knowing things will get better soon.
A huge thank you for all your support. Please find below the details
Cottars has been nominated under 2 categories:
Africa’s Leading Luxury Private Villa & Kenya’s Leading Tented Safari Camp.
