Please note that the views expressed here are harsh, they in no way represent that of MAPA or its affiliates. This is my personal blog post, my personal opinion, my personal expression of what I have seen. In no way do I expect others to agree.
Our time in Yankari:
He sat, Jubba-the-hut, red eyes bleary and shifty, to and fro; to and fro. Waving away flies in a room that smells of other peoples unwashed mouths he leans back, shifting his weight uncomfortably on the small wooden chair. I look around for his princess Laya captive and realize it in Yankari herself, bonded by the stereotype that I had heard along my travels.
Yankari is a place of incredible potential, incredible beauty. Water gushes from the ground, warm water springs and warm water rivers. There are experiences to be had in Yankari, we saw confluences as the clear warmth mixes with the cool brown from outside. We saw elephant, buffalo and red pattas monkeys. Combretum trees abound and Abyssinian ground hornbill flash their blue wattled necks through the dry bush at you. Crocs slide into the streams amid egrets and lapwings. African bush wild, African bush captive.
We had made twelve hours travel to reach this place, the best park in Nigeria, the place to go. Our hopes were dashed, morale low and there he sat…Jubba the hut like, bleary eyes shifting to and fro, to and fro. Whether or not it is the general rule or just this man I do not know, I hope it is one man and not the rule. All we wanted was to see his park…. The best park in Nigeria.
We are told we need a guide, we request one…
We are told we need a guide, we ask to take a guide for the whole day......Not an option, one and a half hours maximum.
We try and pay them to let us self drive, an advertized activity...Not an option.
We try and explain that charging 24 000NgN, more expensive than Ngorongoro is ridiculous for a days drive...He answers that Yankari is the best park and that is the fee.
We ask why it is 24 times more expensive than other National Parks…he says it is a state park
We try buy him off... he is not bright enough to take the bait.
We ask for two guides seeing as there are two cars….not an option.
We ask why we can't get 2 guides because they are all sitting there doing nothing, the answer is vague
We explain that he can earn 7 times what he would normally , or he can get nothing... he opts for nothing
We manage to get a guide, who only starts at 08:00, he arrives at 11:30
We manage to get another, he is later still
There are no facilities, no bathrooms, no camping, no showers....the toilets reek of piss and shit and the floors are filthy. The shop can offer you a coke or a warm beer for 1.75$. But still there is no where to drink it. Nothing but a mosque and a church. There are beautiful new buildings, all under construction. Rather the office is run from a cockroach filled room, men sleeping on chairs, people sitting around. Alot of people just seem to sit around here.
I do not want another Kruger National Park, I do not want a Central Kalahari, I do not want another National Park…all I wanted was to see Yankari, the best park in Nigeria. This place is a joke. If a tourist ever asks me if they should come to Yankari, the answer is no.
The park is beautifull. But the park as a tourist attraction is fucked.
The only efficient system is the gate where reciepts are double checked to make sure guides don't freelance and you're back on time. 1.5 hrs in the park... pay the management. The guides make nothing off that, its a management fee. Although they cannot explain why you need a per hr management fee, or why it is so high. The guides are not guides, rather passengers who sit in your car and listen to music on their cell pones, their knowledge sparse, their facts wrong. This place is a stereotype. They have a warm spring, where employees from Bauche are bussed in, to pay another entrance fee, yet again to get to the warm stream. A short swim downstream reveals a rubbish raft, flotsam of bottles and packets left by the horde. The parking lot is rubbish tip, plastic packets, sifted through by baboons that need to be shot. People feeding them, raiding cars. The official camp site is a roundabout, we drove to a further location on an old field, it looks like it was once a campsite, taps all closed off, concrete falling apart. Rubbish, rubbish everywhere.
When we got back from our fiercely negotiated 3 hr game drive, we got accosted again by state security services, the local intelligence. C-baz dealt with them , I was too irritated with the inquisition to my motives yet again. All I want is to see Yankari…pay to see Yankari, the best park in Nigeria. Don shouted at the guy exasperated, when we tried to get the 3 hr session "Do you not want my money?", it seemed the first time he's thought that through. Even if you wanted to spend money they don't let you, no restaurant, no deck, nothing but people in your way. You fight to get a guide, they are late, they are and they are only prepared for a 1.5 hr drive in the heat of the day. I don’t want another Kruger national Park, another Central Kalahari, all I want is to see Yankari, the best park in Nigeria. We were told there were no people in the park, on the way in we saw ploughed fields, planted cassava and people hauling wood, all kilometers after we'de paid our entrace fee. Possibly the worste thing is the lethargy, no one has info, no one wants to try.... all they want is to make sure you've paid. No one moves, alot of people sitting.
Its a shame, because they have such potential. But this place is a joke.
I’ve noticed my writing has become very dramatic of late…. I’ll lighten up. Yankari was just a big let down I suppose. After all the National Parks we had been to, there everyone was so keen to have us and people were welcoming and helpful, it was just such a stark contrast to this beaurocrat at Yankari. It’s been a once off, the rest has been good times all round. I’m really enjoying Nigeria. We’re in Abuja at the moment sorting stuff out, getting Visas for Burkina Faso, inverters for the cars. Life is good, travelling is good.
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