THE EXCITEMENT OF VISITING IBENO BEACH

Wow! This is amazing and beautiful! Those were the exclamations of my belated friend, Juliana, when we got to Ibeno beach. I am absolutely sure, with the way she was excited, the scene would be playing over her mind for years to come!

We happen to storm Ibeno beach on her request that she wanted to visit any of the beaches within the country, to at least feel the aura of the sea-breeze and to have a memorable weekend escape before returning to her normal office bustling the following week.

When we reached Akwa Ibom, little wonder the state is called “The Land of Promise” as we unravel the beauty of the land, paved with clean streets and wonderful road networks. Akwa Ibom is a destination for leisure pursuits. The people’s culture is as diverse as the attractions- beaches, theme parks, monumental buildings and historic sites- complemented by a delightful mélange of things to experience.

As we unravel the wonders of the land, we journeyed up the eastern part bordering the Mbo Local Government Area, traversing the lovely Eket town, the Ibeno beach stretches to James town along the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ibeno beach is a long beautiful sand beach, and it is said to be the longest sand beach in the West Africa. Anyway, this I am not sure because I have not visited all the beaches in the West Africa to discover if actually what is said virtually hold.

The Ibeno beach is an eye-catching sea coast; and it is perfect for recreation and offers excellent opportunity to have fun at the water. That is if you are the type that can swim very well.

For those wishing to have a quiet day there, it would be impossible to enjoy a solitary time as the beach welcomes lots of visitors even in the afternoon.

At the beach there are also restaurants that offer good food. Visitors can have a taste of the local dishes like Afang soup and Edikan Ikong soup. You can also look forward to diverse shopping experiences ranging from modern shopping complexes, night markets to simple roadside stalls.

Wonderful surprises abound are more than enough reasons to make Ibeno your perfect getaway!

MY GURARA WATERFALL’S EXPERIENCE

                                             

We took an expensive trip to Gurara Waterfalls on the 19^th of Jan; 2018, a trip that shouldn’t have cost us much if we had embarked on it before the fuel scarcity that rocked the nation during the yuletide. Although the gravity of the energy crisis has lessen, compared to what it were during December and early January, I could still say the country has not been relieved from the endemic fuel crisis.

I think you should understand why I say the trip was an expensive one by now. God! It costs us more money in terms of transportation! But that didn’t dampen the spirit of adventure in us. Yes! That’s what I basically love to do- to adventure around!

My experience at the waterfall is far more than I could put down on papers! But you should permit me to say it was fantastic!

We reached Abuja from Enugu in an Audi Saloon car just around 5.15pm, and had to pass the night in a relatively cheap hotel at Gwagwalada Area of Abuja, so as to proceed to the waterfall which is about an hour drive from Gwagwalada the following day.

Although we got to the waterfall as early as 9.30am the following day, it was not without some challenges. In addition to the headaches we went through queuing for fuel the previous day, we had our car tyre punctured by the potholes-filled road, just about 35km when we’re almost getting to the fall. Amidst the challenges, we got ourselves amused, as the experiences were all part of the adventure stories!

As we approach the fall, the sound we heard was deafening and we turned to one of the guides leading us, who beckoned with smiles, telling us that we’re already approaching the fall.

On sighting the waters rolling from a top of a high cliff before falling majestically to the pools below, Cynthia, a fellow adventurer, screamed “ Oh, my God!” with her eyes wide opened. “You are amazed at this?” Suleiman, one of the guides leading us asked. “You only came when the waters are not in their full glory”, he said metaphorically. “If you come here at the month of July, probably you may be scared coming near the foot of the waterfall.”

The Gurara Waterfall is a majestic and a breath-taking waterfall located at Suleja, Niger State of Nigeria. It’s one of the country’s famous and amazing tourist attractions. The source, according to Suleiman, is from Gura in Kaduna and passes through Niger State into Yarba in Abaji Area Council of Abuja, then unto the River Niger somewhere in Lokoja.

Here are some of the touristic features ascribe to the fall:

·        Ideal for fun-loving adventurers. If you’re the types that love climbing rocky and hilly landscapes, then you’ll find Gurara Waterfall an interesting place to be addicted to. The place is too rocky that requires good hiking shoes, unlike the ones Ifeanyi, one of us wore, and you have to trek along a rocky road down to the waterside, as there are still plans to develop the roads to the waterfall.

·        Perfect scene for romantic re-union. Aside being a good place for adventurers, the waterfall can be an interesting place for couples to rekindle their love. You could both have a bath in the pool together, splashing the waters against each other, or chasing each other while swimming together in the pool. You could also cuddle each other as you sit on the rock watching the beautiful waters fall into the pools below before returning to tranquility. But it is safest to swim in the dry season when the waters are calm and clean, as Suleiman said.

·        An excellent spot for film-making. The waterfall is simply an amazing site to shoot films. The beautiful and impressive green environment that surrounds the place; the small streams that run softly around the rocks make the place an excellent spot for all kinds of movie making, especially movies on epical story. I still wonder why our Nollywood people have not identify the waterfall as a nice place for this!

·        A rich ground for intellectual learning. The waterfall presents ample areas to be explored from. Students can go on excursion to unravel the history of the waterfall. Only few who had visited there knew that the waterfall was named after two deities- ‘Gura’ and ‘Rara’, but did not know the source of the waters, and how its flows! For scholars of Geography and Geology, the rocky and hilly landscapes of the area offer them a good research thesis.

·        An enticing place for perfect picnicking. Maybe you are the types that enjoy picnicking a lot, and then you ought to consider visiting Gurara waterfall with your friends, families, or colleagues on weekends or during the holiday periods for a fun-catching escape! The waterfall has a vast land where visitors can explore. You can stage a DJ music competition for the group on tours. You can also have a nice bird-viewing and other activities you had planned to make your picnicking memorable.

To cap all, the fresh air, the green vegetation, the waters rolling from the tops of the cliff and falling mightily below the pools, are all mind-blowing experience you wouldn’t like to leave in a hurry! To have an enriching experience of the waterfall, it is best to visit the place in the raining periods at least to see the waterfall in its amazing glory!