If you’re looking to spend a day out of Lagos’ city centres but not willing to go that far off, then Omu Resort might be just the place you’re looking for. Omu Resort is a theme park located in Bogije, Ibeju Lekki – about 30 minutes after Ajah on a good day. For some reason, I expected it to be much further and prepared to leave home at about 8 am. I also expected the traffic to be crazy if I dared to leave later but I was happy to be wrong on those two counts.
Things to Do at Omu Resort…
I went along with my friend and we left home in Lekki at about 12 pm. It was a straight, traffic-free journey and we arrived about an hour later. After sorting out our tickets, we headed into the park and began ‘exploring’. The first place we checked out was the zoo which houses about 40 animals and reptiles.
See the Omu Resort Zoo
To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the animals kept here. Even though I can say (from my little travel experiences), that the zoo at Omu Resort is certainly one of the best zoos in Nigeria, I still have some reservations about the conditions of animals kept here.
The main attraction is, of course, the lion and when we visited, it was to be fed a live goat. This was announced over a PA system and we got to watch that. This is as close as I have ever gotten to an actual kill even after going on several safaris in the wild. (See Safari in India, South Africa, Tanzania). I cracked up a little when the goat started eating as soon as he got into the cage. If only it knew…
Have Fun at the Play Area…
Apart from the zoo, Omu Resort features other attractions such as a mini water park area for kids, archery, park rides, horse riding area, go-cart arena, quad bikes (which were unavailable at the time of our visit), a play area (where I demolished my friend in a game of table tennis – he would argue otherwise though), a mini aquarium (which should be shut down or revamped at the very least) and a mini-golf area.
I tried my hands at archery for the first time, hitting the blue mark with my first arrow and bull’s eye on the second try!
Okay, I lied. After my first attempt- which did hit the blue mark, the others went really awry. Archery is not my calling and I am at peace with that. If I was Princess Merida (from the animated movie, Brave) I would have been married to whats-his-name by now.
Enjoy a Park Ride (or not)…
As for the park rides, we really weren’t in the mood for any of that, so we skipped them all but we still had a good time, regardless.
Enjoy the Photo-Op Opportunities…
PS: Omu Resort keeps adding on activities to the park. Since my last visit, they have added activities such as skating, paint balling and kayaking.
Other Things to Note | Omu Resort Location and How to Get There…
The park is located in Bogije, Ibeju Lekki. You’ll need to drive past Ajah, Lagos Business School and Lufasi Park until you get to Bogije bus stop. Google maps provide accurate direction until just before the turning that takes you into the park. The turning is on the opposite side of the landmarks mentioned above. There is a small sign that points you in the right direction. The road into the resort (as of this writing) is not paved but it is motorable.
Omu Resort Gate Fee (2020)
Omu Resort (at the time of this writing) offers tickets in the following categories: Gold (₦4,000), Platinum (₦7,000), Prime (₦9,000) and Super Prime (₦16,500). You can check out the full details on the Omu Resort website.
Can you Bring your Own Foods and Drinks…
Yes, however, they are now subjected to corkage fees. When I first visited, this wasn’t the case. The corkage fee charges range from ₦1,500 to ₦17,500, depending on the number of people visiting.
Omu Resort Opening Times…
The park operates from 9 am to 6 pm every day except for Sundays when it opens at 12 pm.
Finally, do I recommend visiting Omu Resort? Yes, however, there are still lots of areas for improvements the park can make and I think the place can also look better.
Have you visited Omu Resort before? What was your experience like? If you haven’t, is it somewhere you’d like to go to?
