The hard-working Finnish embassy only celebrates Finnish holidays, but me and Anna decided to take the Nigerian holiday on Friday off work, for a weekend trip to the national park Yankari.
One from our roadtrip group knew the Governor of Bauchi state, and when we finally arrived after the seven-hour drive, the Governor himself welcomed us to the park and invited all twelwe of us to stay in his mansion’s “presidential lodge”. I was very grateful for the hospitality, but couldn’t help but think of what he might be expecting from his friend in return. But this is how Nigeria works.
After the long drive we were happy to grab some ice cold beers and chill out in the grand living room.
Just before midnight we headed to the wikki warm springs, to bath in the 31-degrees warm crystal clear water in the moonlight. The springs were definitely the best part of the trip. I couldn’t count the hours I spent in the water during the weekend.
Saturday started early with a game drive in the park. We were extremely lucky as besides the abundant birdlife, we got to see one of the park’s rare lions.
The wikki springs’ magical atmosphere of the night turned into a tropical paradise setting in the afternoon, and later into a water-park frenzy when a school group invaded our peaceful spot.
The day turned into evening and we lit a fire on the mansion’s backyard for some barbecue. After a feast for the non-vegetarians, we returned to the spring with music and partied and played in the water until late morning hours. I don’t need to tell how fun that was!
On Sunday morning, after our three drivers were good to go, we cleaned the lodge and collected our garbage neatly, just to see one of the staff members empty the garbage bin over the lodge’s fence to the park. Still, I think Yankari was a great weekend destination. Last year visited by three Finns, I think we could break the record this year.
(note: more pictures to come later!)
