Sunday, November 20, 2011

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.


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