By The UNCHARTED® editors · 4 min read
Letter From the Editor
The Safari Rock Stars of 2001
Where Are They Now?
Many years ago I worked with a writer who was writing an article for Travel + Leisure magazine. Dave Herndon had called me up and pitched an article on the greatest guides in Africa, we went back and forth for a few weeks, I told him about the younger generation of guides, the up and coming stars, many of whom had had very little or no press at all, Dave loved the idea and pitched his editors. They gave it the green light and I wove together an intricate 6 week-long itinerary for Dave and shortly after he departed I started working on an itinerary for the photographer who would follow in his footsteps - a world-renowned photographer named Kurt Markus (if you don't own one of his prints I highly recommend taking a look at his website, the scope of his work is immense). I dealt almost entirely with his agent/wife Maria, an absolute force of nature and one of the funniest people alive. The four of us became lifelong friends and as life would have it, we all ended up living in Santa Fe. Dave joined our company in an editorial capacity and created our first-ever digital magazine UNCHARTED.
“Old school caucasian guides in Africa ran a good show in the past, but young tourists from the U.S want insight into the new Africans,” says Ron Beaton, “The future of the country is people like Jackson.” - David Herndon, Travel + Leisure, August 2001
Ralph has been busy, he has a son named after his late father Jack, he launched a safari clothing line, and right as covid hit he had completely rebuilt Jacks Camp, one of the most legendary camps in Africa in the Kalahari, a place that has been inhabited continuously for the longest period of time by the same people. Like most of our partners in Africa, he runs a small family business in the middle of nowhere, making a huge difference in the lives of the community there. Older and perhaps a little more silver fox in appearance, his broad smile, and twinkling eyes remain the same.
Nowadays Dave is found adventuring with his family in the mountains of Santa Fe and is the Communications Director for the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kurt is still to be found in his darkroom printing his mesmerizing work which his fabulous wife, agent, producer, and muse Maria posts on Instagram every day.
After 30 years of guiding safaris all over Africa and seeing firsthand, the serious decline in animal numbers, and the fast diminishing habitat. Ivan decided to dedicate his time to connecting people to people who care about conservation to give them the tools, financial support, and training that they need to truly thrive in their conservation missions. His new tv series Carter's War is the untold story of one man’s quest to save his homeland—the world's most wild continent. Today Ivan takes you inside the real Africa to the front lines of the wars being waged with its wildlife, it is scary, real, and highly entertaining.
So where are the guides you may ask…
Jacksons' legacy continues to evolve, from his early days being mentored by the legendary Ron Beaton, to being an overnight sensation as one of the guides on the BBC Big Cat Diaries series. Jackson is still to be found in his home - the Masai Mara and together with his partner they have built and own their own camp - Tangulia Mara. It is here where he continues to weave his magic every day and the family safari tradition continues with his daughter, Damaris, who is now the camp manager.
“Ralph’s success with Jack’s Camp-built on the Makgadikgadi pans, where he grew up and named after his father-places him among an elite group of safari guides. They are steeped in rich tradition, yet have come of age in a post-white hunter, postcolonial environment.” - David Herndon, Travel + Leisure, August 2001
Originally from Oklahoma, Calvin's great grandfather Charles Cottar moved to Kenya in 1909 after reading Teddy Roosevelt’s book Game Trails of Africa. He started his own outfitting business called Cottars Safari Service, and the rest is history. Five generations later, his great-grandson Calvin Cottar continues the tradition. Today Calvin’s driving force is to make biodiversity itself valuable enough for the rural communities in Kenya to keep it intact so that they don’t have to convert the land to unsustainable subsistence agriculture that requires fencing and the removal of biodiversity. His passion for changing how tourism works to achieve this goal is what is fueling the next chapter in his life.
"If the Cottars are the Kennedys of the East African safari industry, Calvin is Bobby Jr., embracing his background as a tool, not a birthright." - David Herndon, Travel + Leisure, August 2001
“It's important for children to see and understand what true conservation is and what it takes - indeed they are tomorrow's conservationists.” - Ivan Carter
