My Experience in Yankari Game Reserve by Hadiya Tilde

Updated: Oct 25, 2021
By Editorial Staff
My Review of Tahir Guest Palace Hotel Kano

My Review of Tahir Guest Palace Hotel Kano

Tahir Guest Palace Hotel Kano is known as the most prestigious, elegant, and luxurious hotel in the northern region of Nigeria. Tahir Guest Palace Hotel Kano is said to have set the standard for all other hotels to follow since its establishment in 1994. Tahir...

How to Apply for International Passport in Nigeria Online

How to Apply for International Passport in Nigeria Online

I saw someone post on Twitter the other day that they could not afford one hundred and twenty thousand Naira for an international passport and I was like… wait, what? Since when did it cost that much? I recently got mine for only seventeen thousand Naira. In light of...

Prince Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

Prince Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

Prince Hotel Kano is one of the most popular hotels in Kano, Nigeria. Located in the central part of the city, the hotel offers easy access to local attractions, shopping, and dining. The hotel is known for its exceptional service, luxurious accommodations, and...

Porto Golf Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

Porto Golf Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

The Porto Golf Hotel Kano is an opulent and sophisticated hotel situated in the center of Kano, Nigeria. It is a great option for anyone looking for a pleasant and opulent stay, whether they are traveling for work or pleasure. The hotel is conveniently located for...

Tags:

Visiting Yankari Game Reserve, inarguably the apple of Bauchi State’s eye, was something I always looked forward to as a child. Being one of the lasts, I only visited the game reserve a few times, but there was always the thirst and hope for more. The long drive with a car full of family, the warm spring, the roaming wilds, it was always beautiful. When I grew up, and the cohesion that usually binds a family together ends with everyone scattering here and there to start their own lives and families, such trips ended too.

Finally, on the 27th of March, 2021, I got a chance to revisit that place that has always held a special place in my heart. It was a school trip. I would like to share my Yankari Game Reserve experience with you.

It was approximately a distance of an hour and a half trip from Bauchi town, a total distance of 110km. We started along the Bauchi-Gombe road for about 20 minutes and then diverted left to the Dindima-Maina Maji Road. We were on that road for 40 minutes and voila!

The Yankari gate was before us. We got off our bus and took pictures before the ‘Yankari Game Reserve’ letters on the muddy-red wall, bought out tickets, and then went back on the bus. We drove a long way through the reserve that harboured all the wild animals roaming there. After another 20 minutes, we made it to the warm spring. There was so much excitement!

I couldn’t get off the car because some monkeys were roaming and my friends said they were going to snatch our bags if we got out. A friend that grew up on the reserve before moving to Bauchi town was not scared at all, so he got down and fed them biscuits that they fisted over. After learning that monkeys are afraid of sticks (I still don’t know if it’s true or a myth), I got down and we made our way to the warm spring.

The Yankari Spring

My experience in Yankari game reserve
A view of the Yankari spring

The spring is such a refreshing green sight, laying there way below, having you take hundreds of steps in hard courtship before you reached its refreshing waters. After taking several stairs before reaching the water, I sat on one of the benches to relieve my motion sickness.

Many of my friends dove right in, swimming and splashing and having the times of their lives. I am a terrible swimmer, I didn’t dare! So, I took up my job as the photographer of the group with my DSLR camera, one of the best cameras for travellers out there, and went around taking pictures of amazing sights and friends.

Several times, we caught some monkeys trying to sneak upon us. They steal phones and bags when you are not too careful.

The Yankari Safari

The Safari is equally as refreshing as one of my Yankari Game Reserve Experience. For the experience, officials will arm you with the reflective jacket, and you get the tour in their carts. The forest has a whopping size of 2,250km square, so do not dream of exploring all of it in a tour of an hour or so.

However, the tour is even more promising than it sounds, full of all rare breeds of wild animals, some that are found in no other place in Nigeria.

The Restaurant

Back in the spring, we got very hungry, but our drivers were nowhere to be found so we couldn’t take our food from the car. I and one other friend were starving, so we went to the restaurant. It was very hard making that walk up all those steps when you are starving. We stopped several times just to rest and take some more steps.

When we got to the restaurant, the food was a bit expensive for our budget, so they gave us a discount and we shared a single plate of fried rice and salad. It was the BEST fried rice I have ever eaten, no exaggerations! We sat at the restaurant for a while, talking about the meal and the whole experience, then we went looking for some drinking water.

Shortly after, we were back in the spring. Our drivers were back and food was brought. We bought some sponge cakes and drinks at Sky Crown Bakery back in Bauchi before coming. I began trying to gather us back in a clique so we could leave. It was the most exasperating experience. When you get a group of four people and try to get some more back from the water, you come back to find the slippery bunch of four you initially gathered gone. I was almost in an anger fit. I finally tried to gather at least enough people for one car, but that too proved to be impossible. So, I sat back and seethed.

After a long while, they were all ready to pack. One of my friends got me a bottle filled with sand and water that still, as I write, holds a very special place in my room. I have a thing for collecting sand from special places I have been to. We packed and left. At the entrance of the spring, as we were leaving, we saw some folks from some neighbouring village jumping off their buses. It was getting dark. They were probably there to party all night. As I watched them run the steps to the spring, my eyes also caught a gang of men sitting just outside the spring entrance, smoking shisha.

For the first time, I realized how much Yankari Game Reserve had grown with us, too. I recalled seeing no kids jumping in glee in the shallow waters. It is now an adult place, a good place to visit with friends in the daylight, a good honeymoon location, a good place for night-crawlers to party. But the spring, in particular, does not seem like a very good family location at the moment.

We all have to choose our markets, and Yankari’s customer base is adult at the moment, and that is good if that is what they are aiming for.

Conclusion

All in all, Yankari Game Reserve still gives one a very refreshing experience. It was good to revisit and revive all those memories from almost fifteen years ago. The greens, oh the greens! Take some time to visit and be reborn.

Popular Reads

Everything on JUMIA

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Whats new?
Crocodile Hotel Kaduna Review and Detailed Guide

Crocodile Hotel Kaduna Review and Detailed Guide

Crocodile Hotel Kaduna is a stone-excavated boutique hotel conveniently situated on a tranquil one-way street in the city of Kaduna, Nigeria. The three-star boutique hotel prides itself on polished decor, excellent room and customer service, and top-notch facilities....

Bristol Palace Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

Bristol Palace Hotel Kano Review and Detailed Guide

Bristol Palace Hotel Kano is a lavish accommodation situated in the heart of Kano, Nigeria. The hotel boasts excellent customer service, sophisticated decor, and top-notch facilities, making it a preferred choice for discerning travelers visiting the city. The hotel...

10 Incredible Honeymoon Destinations in Northern Nigeria

10 Incredible Honeymoon Destinations in Northern Nigeria

Northern Nigeria is more than just farmlands, settlements, and herds of grazing cows. It is rich culture buried in sceneries of beauty portrayed by nature at its best. Contrary to popular belief, Arewa is blessed with destination sites that will make your vacation...

My Visit to Kajuru Castle

My Visit to Kajuru Castle

A few days after the night Rihanna turned down my proposal of being her boyfriend because of her commitment to her new boyfriend - which plunged me into emotional chaos, I decided to embark on a trip to Kaduna state to get over the issue. This is because I couldn't...

My Visit to Sobi Hill, the Highest Hill in Ilorin Was Memorable

My Visit to Sobi Hill, the Highest Hill in Ilorin Was Memorable

Even though on most occasions I do visit my uncle whose house is located at Alagbado, area of Kwara State which is a few turns away from Sobi hill,  It has never occurred to me to go see how the Rock which happens to be the tallest Rock in the whole of Ilorin, looks...

12 Interesting Places to Visit in Kwara State

12 Interesting Places to Visit in Kwara State

Kwara state happens to be one of the most popular states in Nigeria, created on the 27 May 1967, under the military Government of General  Yakubu Gowon. This state came into being after the 4 regions which constituted what is  Known as Nigeria were broken down into 12...

I Went to Benue State Searching for Love, and This Was What Happened

I Went to Benue State Searching for Love, and This Was What Happened

"Otukpo main market." He flinched while pointing in a direction. I barely heard the driver say due to the heavy rain hitting hard the vehicle, causing a great momentum of noise in the middle of the night. "Can we make it to Markudi  by morning?" I couldn't help but...

6 Best Places to Visit in Katsina State

6 Best Places to Visit in Katsina State

The home of hospitality as it is fashionably called, Katsina State was carved out of the old Kaduna State on Wednesday, 27th September 1989 by the then military Head of State, Maj. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), GCON. Katsina is primarily a Hausa-Fulani...

These Are the Best Cameras for Travelers in 2021

These Are the Best Cameras for Travelers in 2021

Are you trying to go on a vacation with family and need a good digital camera to document? Do you need an HD video cam to record all your memories? Are you looking for the right Polaroid on the best trip of your life? Whatever it is, we are constantly looking for...

Top 10 Essential Travel Items Every Traveler Needs

Top 10 Essential Travel Items Every Traveler Needs

When considering what top 10 essential travel items to add to your travel bag for a trip or a holiday, it can be overwhelming in the blink of an eye. You’re conscious and confused about what to include and what not to, what is needed the most and the least. You most...

Explore more

You May Also Like…

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.