The legacy and lodge that Hunter built

Hunters Lodge in Kiboko is unmissable on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. The petrol station and tuck shop at the lodge’s entrance and vendors hawking tasty roast maize inspire many a pit stop.

Years of neglect saw the lodge gradually gain notoriety for being run down. All that remained of the promise of a glorious heyday was the grand signage. It might seem that those glorious days died with the lodge’s builder and proprietor John Alexander Hunter, universally known as J.A Hunter.

A surname could not fit its owner better than it did Hunter. Born in Shearington, Dumfriesshire, Scotland on May 30, 1887, this father of six and husband of Hilda Bunbury was a professional hunter.

His father had intended for him to be a farmer, but by his own account, he grew up far more interested in hunting than farming. He moved permanently to British East Africa in 1908, aged 21, with his father’s old Purdey shotgun and a German-made 7×57 Mauser, seeking a life of excitement and purpose, as did so many others.

Much of Hunter’s professional hunting was done as a game control warden near Nairobi in an age when thinning the vast herds of wildlife was considered necessary both for the human residents of the region and the animals themselves.

Hunter was the to-go-to guy when rogue beasts terrorised villages (or when they came in the way of development such as the laying of the Kenya-Uganda Railway line).

Hunter killed many leopards and more than 600 lions. He killed more rhinos than any other hunter before or since, and once led an expedition that killed 1,000 rhinos in a single year.

He also felled hundreds of buffalo and more than 1,400 elephants, putting him on a very short list of great ivory hunters, along with Jimmy Sutherland and Karamoja Bell.

However, in his sunset years Hunter, influenced by an appointment to serve as Honorary Game Warden and the brewing international awareness campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s, realised that the wildlife he had so assiduously hunted faced extinction. As a result, he began speaking in favour of conservation.

No matter your impression of Hunter — a tearaway, a farmer, a railroad guard, a big game hunter, a transport agent, a poacher, a white hunter, a game warden, a writer, a hotel keeper — he had nonetheless written his place in Kenya’s history before his death on March 29, 1963 aged 75.

The legend took his final bow within the walls of the 12-room Hunters Lodge that he had built five years earlier. The reason Hunter chose to settle in Kiboko was because it had fresh water; a volcanic spring now known as Kiboko River, whose source is Kilimanjaro.

To fit his ideal, he set about damming the stream to make a small lake that was speedily surrounded by a grove of graceful fever trees and wild figs. Given the general aridity of the surrounding bush country, Hunters truly was an oasis not only for human travellers, but for some 300 bird species.

The lodge, with a dinner gong mounted between polished ivory, and run by Hilda with sons David and Dennis, became popular with expatriates taking a weekend break from Nairobi 160 kilometres away, or a convenient overnight stop en route the Mombasa beach.

This was in the days when the road was still a cart track, and it took all day to reach Kiboko (covered head to toe in red dust). The coast was a further 300-kilometre drive, including the long stretch of the desolate Taru thorn scrub south of Voi.

That was then. Smoothening of the highway and consequent change of ownership seemingly heralded the decline of the property.

Hunters Lodge was well on its way to the brink when the Mada chain of hotels stepped in. Renovations on the facility, sitting on 25 acres, began in 2012 and two years later, it opened to the public, promising a return of the good old days.

When I visited recently, the changes were evident. An imposing wrought iron gate opened onto a stately driveway and garden, and eventually the reception where manager Wilson Kitivi and his amiable staff waited.

A 100-seater conference hall sits next to the restaurant whose standout features include a mosaic of Hunter looking down on diners and the very same locker he stored his rifle in.

A lit walkway running over a small pond leads to the 60 spacious rooms spread out in blocks of ten. The sun shines with extra vigour in Kiboko, making the pool they have sunk a practical utility. Be warned though that sunscreen is necessary. Gladly, the warmth continues into the evenings.

This is countered by a mild breeze blowing from the river and the wooden louvered overhead shades complemented by a wide canopy formed by the trees. The result is a delightful sundowner session in the outdoor bar area with wicked cocktails from one Nicodemous Musyoka.

Culinary needs are also well taken care of by chef John Ochieng and I recommend his English fish served with rice, as well as the heavy ham and mushroom pizza.

They say that the best investment in any enterprise is staff and that is what won me over: My overall stars were the waiters, the pool attendant and the room attendant, who oozed unmatchable warmth. The latter especially made the room extra habitable with the artsy folded towel and fresh flower art after each clean up.

From my observation, the good times are back. Not only is the lodge a hit with travellers heading out to Amboseli and Tsavo parks, but also with residents from surrounding towns like Makindu.