All You Need To Know About Lekki Conservation Centre.

LEKKI CONSERVATION CENTRE

Lekki Conservative Centre (LCC) has been the number one on my bucket list since I became aware of this tourist destination in Lagos Nigeria. But I have been caught up with work and life. Opportunity, however, availed itself sometimes in April 2019 when my friend told me she would like to celebrate her birthday in LCC but she knew I would not be available. Wait!! What did you just say? I am over chanced. I am going to LCC💃💃

Here You Go;

Lekki Conservation Centre which covers approximately 78 hectares of land is located at KM 19 Lekki-Epe Expressway. It is endowed with an abundance of plant & animal life.

The highlights of LCC include:
The delectable canopy walkway which is in fact the most important highlight.

The canopy walkway features six towers that rises over 22 feet each. They are connected by series of suspended (and swinging) walkways. It is actually the longest canopy walkway in the whole of Africa.

It is not for the faint hearted I tell you. If you are acrophobic, I wouldn't even advise you to attempt climbing it.

 I could not climb at my first visit but I sure climbed at the second time. I did not have a choice at the second visit because I was the tour guide.


The wildlife that are left to roam about freely and this includes the Monkeys, Peacocks & Tortoise (Male & Female)

Watch out for those monkeys, they can harass especially if you are holding eatables.

The pathway which is made up of rustic wooden walkway

 that leads to a large span of grassland with Gazebos which they call FAMILY PARK for relaxation

Family Park

The Human Size Chess Board

Furthermore, there are fish ponds in the family park for aquatic lovers

If you are an ardent lover of nature or you are planning a picnic with friends, family's day-out or you love adventure, LCC should be your number one destination.

Extra Tips
The gate fee is #1000 while to access the canopy walkway attracts extra #1000

It is advisable to go with your food & drinks to avoid story that touches the heart.

Recommendations
1. A conspicuous signboard should be mounted at the entrance of the centre because I can remember a friend of mine who drove past the place because he was looking out for a signboard

2. The game centre I. e the human sized  chess could use a make up

Have you been to Lekki Conservation Centre before? If yes! Would you mind sharing your experience

If No! Would you like to visit?

Your comments will be highly appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Follow Damilola discoveries, travel stories and guides on Instagram (@damiehindero).

 ‘Damilola is available for writing or travel expo opportunities.

TOURERS NG  organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria/ Africa as a whole. You can also book a private/ group tour   with TOURERS NG(@tourersng. 

Click Here to book this trip

Lil Zanzibar, A Private Beach to Behold in Lagos

LIL ZANZIBAR PRIVATE BEACH

Lil Zanzibar Beach was our debut hangout for TourersNG(@tourersng on Instagram). I heard about it from a friend and I thought it won’t a bad idea if I plan a trip here. Then I made my research and I packaged it and people bought it.

Why Lil Zanzibar?
I wanted a safe and ideal place that we could have maximum fun yet with no disturbance. Lil Zanzibar qualified.
The person who told me about the destination doesn't even like beach but has to be there for a meeting. He emphasized on the tranquillity of the place and that got me. It was the name that struck me at first. I remembered convincing a lot of people that it is not the Zanzibar in Tanzania but a private beach in Eleko located at the far end of the Ajah axis right after Amen Estate, Ibeju.

We went on a Saturday, so there was not much traffic to deal with but I kid you not, its quite a distance if you're coming from mainland like most of us on the trip, except a couple of people who joined us at Lekki.
The beach has to be booked prior to arrival & the fee has to be paid in full. The booking is made per group with some exceptions for those doing musical videos. We were pretty excited to see what it looked like. My friends didn’t believe it would look as good as it appears pictures.

DID IT? YES …

We had an attendant at our beck & call who was super polite, cheerful and helpful and that made the experience much better for me.
It is a self-service beach so all the food & drinks were brought in by us but the attendant helped us grill the chicken that has been marinated & refrigerated overnight by me (this is me trying to stimulate your appetite 😉)

What I love most about the beach was that, provided you've made the booking validated by payment, then it is yours and yours alone to enjoy and it is actually a pretty fascinating serene.

So if you want to host a small party with friends, reunion, get-together, less populated destination wedding or even a retreat. This private beach is the perfect destination for you. Oh lest I forget, the beach is sparkling clean as well.

The features include:

A Tree House

A Swimming Pool (the best part) at least if you're afraid of the sea, there's the water for you to enjoy

Double Swing Chair

Beach Sun beds

Picnic Benches

Cooking

Your grilling can be done for you but you'll provide all the ingredients


Corn Hole

Restroom for both genders

Shower.

And we also had a lot of games to play

The place has been constructed in a way you'll have no choice but to have fun.


Recommendation
The beach house should have a big signboard that says LIL ZANZIBAR so as to distinct it from other private beaches there. Though direction was given but we lost our way when we got there and the beach house was right behind us all along so I thought had it been there was a signboard we would've just strolled in.


The environment is just so serene and the facilities are top notch and you will actually love it.

This was our after reaction so you can actually guess if we had fun or not😉

Have you ever been to Lil Zanzibar Beach? If yes, how was your experience?

 If no, have i been able to stimulate your interest?

Your comments will be highly appreciated.

Thanks for Reading

Follow Damilola discoveries, travel stories and guides on Instagram (@damiehindero).

 ‘Damilola is available for writing or travel expo opportunities.

TOURERS NG  organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria/ Africa as a whole. You can also book a private/ group tour   with TOURERS NG(@tourersng. Click Here to book this trip.

You Should Experience Tarkwa Bay At Least Once In A Lifetime And Here's Why???

Tarkwa Bay

Tarkwa Bay is an artificial sheltered beach located near the Lagos harbour in Nigeria.

My journey to Tarkwa Bay was not my first time on water but it was definitely my longest trip on water. A whole 30 minutes on water and the engine going off 4 times before we arrived at our destination.
I don't like solo trips but this one I had no choice than to go alone but I met people who would later be my friends.
It was my first time in Tarkwa Bay and I must say the Beach is tranquil and neat for me, it was not even about the water or having fun but more of the joy the sounds of the waves gives. Tarkwa Bay has that special features.

Getting There.

I got on a boat at the Marina and paid N500  for the 30 minutes ride. I guess that was the cheapest but I made a mental note to try out other Marinas to check what other boat options they have.

Click Here to see the video of my boat ride to Tarkwa Bay Beach

On arrival, I met with a guy (one of the vendors there too) whom after I told him I would be coming with a group of people at the end of the month turned my partner for the day  but that was after haggling and agreeing on prices for our chairs and tent for the number of people I would be bringing. 

Note: You have to haggle your way out in Tarkwa Bay, there's no definite price.

I begged him to take pictures of me👇👇

Rate the picture over 100😉

I was tired of sitting alone so I took a stroll to the end of the beach and to also check out hotel options in case of a sleepover. Firstly the stroll was therapeutic and I recommend it for meditation. 💯

Just imagine being clad in your bikini or your shorts and strolling on a white sand, cool breeze slapping your face,  kids surfing on the beach, a white man racing on the beach with his quad bike and children running after him. It definitely would be one beautiful sight to behold.

Also it is interesting to know that Tarkwa Bay has quite a lot of hotels that has the resort feeling. Sadly I don't have quite a lot of pictures as my phone decided to act up hence I could not take pictures of beautiful scene

Then again, to enjoy Tarkwa Bay beach to the fullest, go with your food & drinks.

Tarkwa Bay will be amongst my top 5 destinations to visit in Lagos. It houses a variety of interesting characters like the Rasta man playing guitars and fun activities like beach volleyball. I dare say it’s one of my favourite public beaches in Lagos.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Well, after this fun-filled and most exciting visit to Tarkwa Bay, I actually do not have any recommendation than to encourage you to make it a number one on your get-away destination list if you are yet to experience the Tarkwa-Bay fun. I love it that much. But I know it definitely can be better

Have you been to Tarkwa Bay? Kindly share your experience in the comment section.


You/your group can book this trip with @tourersng
Call 08160787914
Send a mail :theworldtourers@gmail.com

TOURERS NG  organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria/ Africa as a whole. You can also book a private/ group tour   with TOURERS NG(@tourersng)

Follow Damilola discoveries, travel stories and guides on Instagram (@damiehindero).

 ‘Damilola is available for writing or travel expo opportunities.

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT IYAKE LAKE ON ADO AWAYE MOUNTAIN

Exploring Ado-Awaye Mountains has been on my bucket list since I was a teenager when I was staying with my maternal grandmother in Oyo town. She was the one who told me about the mountain and its wonders but I never made any attempt to visit the site as I knew that no matter how I tried, I would not be allowed to go on a visit, anyway. Fast-forward to some years later, the destination’s rave started going up again. Then I said to myself, this is the perfect moment for me to explore this mountain. During one of my calls to Oyo to spend some time with my grandma, I seized the opportunity to visit Ado-Awaye as Oyo is closer to Ado-Awaye (1hr 20mins drive) than from Lagos.
When I informed my grandma about my proposed visit to Ado-Awaye before leaving for Lagos, she expressed her surprise at my unrelenting desire for travels and tourism. I told her that is where my passion lies; and then she went into a session of prayer (I love that woman)...

Now to business

I set out with my not-so-young younger brother- Adewale.
Oyo-Iseyin road is pretty much bad. (Oh scratch that!) I meant worse, but the driver seems to know his way perfectly, so when we are not flying over a curve, we are either avoiding one pothole or we are hitting another. I almost passed out! However, Iseyin to Ado-Awaye road was a deserving compensation for all our earlier troubles, it was all tarred and smooth down to our destination. We slept off immediately the Ado-Awaye car moved only for one of the passenger's to wake us after sometime that felt like just 10 seconds "Eyin tourism, e ma ti de be" (tourism people, you have arrived at your destination).

Ado-Awaye Mountains
  We met Mr Wasiu at the foot of the mountain and we explained our mission to him, then he told us he's the man for the job. We heard his colleague mocking him "iwo ati oke yi sha" (you and this mountain)but I assured him not to worry as they will envy him when he starts reaping the fruit of these numerous tour guides. Well, he requested for a sum of N1000 for his service, which in my opinion was too cheap for such an amazing tourist hub.

  Mr. Wasiu said that I will not be able to get to the top of the mountain. I asked him why and he said It’s a long crooked way to the top and that he doesn’t think a woman would have the vigour to climb it to the top. Well, I told him never to underestimate the power of a determined woman. Although, he still raised his nose in mockery. That was actually enough motivation for me, as I ensured that I made it to the top, just so I can drive home my point. Mountain hiking is not for the weak hearted, I kid you not.  With a stair of 369 steps through a bush path, we got to the plains of the mountain top.

  I will share notable attractions I came across on the mountain. Although there were more but I'm going to discuss just the ones I was able to capture in pictures. Shall we?

NOTABLE ATTRACTIONS ON ADO AWAYE MOUNTAIN

IYAKE LAKE
This is the only recognized suspended/hanging lake in Africa. One of the only two in the world (the other is the Hanging Lake in Colorado). The depth of the lake is reportedly unknown and it is said to have swallowed those who have tried to measure its depth (superstition, I guess).

I asked Mr Wasiu (our tour guide) if there was any particular story behind Iyake Lake. He said of course. OK then let's hear it. 👇

He said a woman was angry and she stormed up the hill with people running after her & begging her to take it easy but the next thing they discovered was that she turned to a large body of water and was screaming so the people behind her has to go back & tell the people in the village that Iya n ke(Old woman is screaming) so that was how "Iyake" was formed.

ISHAGE ROCK
This is a large elongated boulder of rock, balanced and standing upright on one of its small edges. This is quite mysterious that this rock has not fallen off despite standing with a small hedge on another rock. Ishage rock is regarded as a powerful god. It is said that it grants the wishes of people who prays at its foot. Our tour guide was so convincing that my brother had to stay back & pray.

ÌYÁ-ALÁRÓ LAKE.
This is a prominent lake out of the many lakes on the mountain. The lake was said to be named after an old woman in the Ado-Awaye village, who specializes in clothes dying. It is said that the old woman, known as “Iya Alaro”, worships the lakes and sacrifices to it at specific times during the year. The lake is filled with overgrown colourful vegetation.

THE ELEPHANT TREE
This is also a notable attraction on the Mountain. It is a collection of many coiled trunks or probably roots of a fallen trees which mysteriously takes the form of the head and trunk of an elephant. I was too tired to climb on the tree and snap pictures but here's my brother's picture on the tree.

ESÈ ÀWON ÀGBÀ TRANSLATES TO “THE FOOTPRINT OF THE ELDERS”.
These are some large “footprints” found all over the mountain. It is believed that the footprints belonged to the gods who surveyed the mountain to protect the indigene.

 Of course it ended in Amala😉 The trip isn't complete yet if you didn't have this sumptuous meal

RECOMMENDATIONS
Firstly the stairs leading to the mountain is dilapidated and nothing to write home about. So proper renovation of the stairs is needed.

Secondly, there is the need for promotions and publicities of the destination to create awareness for tourists both in Nigeria and beyond.

Furthermore, Side attractions should be put in place to make the tourists’ journey well fulfilled.

Lastly, the road leading to the destination should be rehabilitated for easy access.

Follow Damilola discoveries, travel stories and guides on Instagram (@damiehindero).

 ‘Damilola is available for writing or travel expo opportunities.

Thank you

To book tours & experience to Ado Awaye & other destinations, Kindly CLICK HERE