More adventures in Nigeria

In November during mid-term break, Caleb and I decided to get out of Lagos again and do a bit more exploration. We decided to find some hot springs that we had heard about, and on speaking to a couple of Caleb's work colleagues, found out they were heading in that direction as well. We tagged along and found ourselves in a city called Ile-Efe, about 2 or 3 hours north-east of Lagos.

We were lucky enough to be hosted by a friend there who is the Head Teacher of a high school. He gave us the use of his driver to explore the local area. 

First we checked out the 7-tier waterfall.

If this was in New Zealand people would be screaming! Trash everywhere unfortunately spoils the natural beauty.

At the bottom waterfall... the best level actually.

At the top of the 3rd tier after a feed.

We got totally mauled by a hundred uni students who were on a field trip. I don't think they had ever seen oyibos before!

The waterfall itself was stunning, it was quite a scramble up to the different levels, and unfortunately Neriah didn't enjoy herself as much as we thought she would. She protested the whole way up and back down again, and promptly fell asleep on the drive to our next destination.

We then visited the meeting place of the hot and cold springs. This is a big tourist destination in a country where there is no tourism infrastructure at all. 

One foot hot, one foot cold.

Perfect opportunity for a bath in the warm water.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Neriah is the best traveller! She is such a cruisey baby and such a delight to everyone we meet along the way.  Neriah also got to visit her first 'food-is-ready' stand. We ate beans, rice and plantain, and also got offered some bush-meat... translate... giant rats that scavenge round the bush. Not my type of food thats for sure....

There's the bush meat on the plate on the left. You can kind of see the claws at the end of each leg. Thanks, but no thanks.

Women pounding yam.

Here are some more random pictures of our journey. You know, most expats that we have met have not even been out of Lagos. I would like to be known that once you get out of the city, Nigeria has a lot to offer... its a legit West African experience... I can guarantee you won't see another white face.

Fun times at the beach

Last week we were lucky enough to have not just one trip but TWO trips to the beach with our good friends. The Tates are the most loving, kind, fun-loving, generous family and we are lucky enough to have been adopted by them as their surrogate kids.

Lagos doesn't have a lot going for it, but it does have a coastline. Yes this coastline is littered with trash washed up from the ocean, but a swimmable ocean none the less, and it definitely keeps us sane from the chaos of the city. 

The Tates' house is right on the beach, off from a small Muslim community, and a local guy keeps the sand outside the front of the house raked free of trash. If we stare straight out to sea, and ignore the rubbish in our peripherial vision, we are in a tropical paradise!

Note the clean sand where we are, and the rubbish just off to the right there.

The waves here are massive, strong and very dumpy. This particular day I got smashed a couple of times, and tumbled like I have never been tumbled before! Finally though, I actually listened to what Caleb was saying about just letting your body go limp and just go with it.  This helped a lot!

I absolutely love going to this beach. It totally refreshes my soul and reminds me that Nigeria is beautiful too! Neriah loves the beach too - my sister Kelly gave us the most awesome little mosquito netted tent which Neriah just chills out in.

Something we've started doing lately as well is staying until dark, building a bonfire and making smores. MMMM. Real American smores.

The most awesome beach house in Nigeria!

10 weeks old and home in Nigeria

I can't believe we are finally here! Neriah is 10 weeks old and we are finally home with Caleb. I can't believe we have been apart for 8 weeks. Neriah has grown from a squishy little newborn to a charming, smiley, happy little girl. 

10 weeks and UBER cute

The love began from the moment I walked out of the Lagos International Airport. One of our school drivers practically bowled me over with love, and then he jumped on the phone to call Caleb who was waiting at the other terminal 'I FOUND THEM!'. Then I see my hubby running towards me with red roses. Yes! FLOWERS! I get these very rarely, so its even more special when I do!

It made my heart melt to see Caleb with his precious girl, he's missed out 8 weeks of her life, which is not that many in the big picture of Neriah's life, but they are the first weeks of her life, and she has grown so much, and she will NEVER be that small again. 

We arrived back to our apartments, and there are 'Welcome Home' signs and balloons in the elevator, that smelled of the Tate girls a mile away! Then, a million gazillion balloons and more signs filled our shared hallway. As if that wasn't enough, I walked into our home, and it has had an Extreme Home Makeover. Our wonderful American friends had come in, with their surplus home furnishings and totally made our sparsely furnished apartment into a home. Not one room was left untouched from my fairy godmother, Jodi Tate!
This meant so much to me - Caleb and I haven't really seen the point in spending money on buying things for our house, since we will only be leaving again soon, and we can only leave with a suitcase of clothes each. Yes, I cried. 

And then I saw Neriah's room. I still can't believe how wonderful my friends are here. That they spent so much time painting and decorating, to create the most peaceful, beautiful bedroom for this little cherished one. 

The journey home

We spent a week in Brisbane before we getting back to Nigeria. I am so grateful that Danella was able to fly back to NZ and then come with me to Brisbane. Getting through customs with a baby strapped to my friend was a total mission, and it was definitely the part Neriah hated the most! Having my wonderful sister there helped so much and taught me that when we are travelling alone we need to remember the following:

1. Don't overpack the nappy bag and the cabin bag. It is absolutely impossible to put a cabin bag in an overhead compartment, with a baby strapped to your front, when it is double the 7kg weight limit.

2. Don't pack anything in the nappy bag or cabin bag that will mean you get searched at customs, this includes metal objects such as bangles. You are already having to get a laptop out and put that through seperately, the less you have to take out the better.

3. Do a half feed BEFORE boarding. While mom thinks its a great idea to save the feed until taxi-ing/take-off, baby has other ideas. A crying baby makes it harder to focus on organising putting bags in lockers, getting seatbelt attachments, etc. 

After learning these things, it made our following three flights so much easier.

After awaking at 3am and making my poor sister take us to the airport, we flew to Sydney for a 2 hour layover, and then the 14 hour flight to Johannesburg. Neriah was such a dream traveller thanks to my earlier lesson. I was constantly told what a good girl she was, and she had the stewards and airhostesses totally charmed!  We then stayed in a flashy hotel in Johannesburg for the night, courtesy of reward points, and I felt like a million bucks! 

The flight from Johannesburg to Lagos was definitely eye-opening. On my previous flights, I had so many offers of help - people offering to hold Neriah, putting my bags up in the plane, helping me pull luggage off the carosel, etc.  On this flight, there was no such offers. A plane full of men, and not ONE of them offered me any assistance at all. I couldn't believe it. It must be a cultural thing? I hate to put it down to that but there can't be any other explanation.

Caleb met me at the airport with some beautiful red roses and I promise I did not want to let him go!!