[dropcap custom_class=”normal”] Situated at the geographical North-Eastern part of Nigeria, Bauchi State remains the best tourism haven with a warm and hospitable weather as well as over 15 different destinations that rightly earned it the slogan as ‘The Pearl of Africa’s Tourism’. [/dropcap]Continue reading
[dropcap custom_class=”normal”]Mount Patti is a massive hill that towers over Lokoja. It has a plateau that measures approximately fifteen square kilometres, from which one can see the confluence point of Rivers Niger and Benue. Patti is a Nupe native name for a “hill” Hence the famous mountain towering about 452.3M above sea level over the city of Lokoja once provided refuge sites for natives has come to be known as Mount Patti as it was first referred to by early European visitors. [/dropcap]Continue reading
[dropcap custom_class=”normal”]The main town on the island of the same name just off Kenya’s northeastern coast, tranquil Lamu was founded in the 14th century, making it the country’s oldest living town and the best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa. Lamu Museum (with its prized siwa horns) and the two-centuries-old Lamu Fort are two of the main attractions. The restored Swahili House Museum is small but quite interesting. About a 30-minute walk north of town, white sandy Shela Beach is one of the island’s best. [/dropcap]Continue reading
[dropcap custom_class=”normal”] The French bazaar was held on the 6th of December in Lagos. Most artisans came from different states in Nigeria to exhibit varieties of products; hand made jam, arts, crafts, sculptures, scented candles, unique gift items and many more. Bellafricana was amongst the artisans, as always, I saved you some interesting pictures.. [/dropcap]
[dropcap custom_class=”normal”] I’ve enjoyed writing many posts about the things I like and love about Nigeria as well as providing insight on subjects based off of my experience. This post however is going to cover a subject I don’t like about Nigeria; The Famous Lagos Traffic. There have been so many things that have happened to me or that I have witnessed in my years of riding through Lagos. And the only word that comes to mind to really put it all in perspective is ‘Insanity’. [/dropcap]Continue reading
The Seafood festival Lagos, Nigeria. The beach is a place to be and this is not only for the eternal view of the sea but also for the display of varieties of fishes in different ways on this day. Fish lovers and visitors from Lagos and from other parts of Nigeria came down to have a good time and enjoy the best of fishes gotten by Lagos fishermen.
Lagos fishermen had stands apportioned to them with fresh fishes, smoked fishes and all things marine on display. Maltina and Maggi brands as official sponsors of the day set the atmosphere up for interesting performances for the audience. So with enough fishes to eat and take home, music to dance to and the pepper soup competition which had three contestant winners take home the prize money, it was fun all the way.
Gabriel Olufemi, a fishermen cooperative representative from Badagry had this to say about the seafood festival: “It is a good development for us and it presents our trade to the world. Lagos fishermen get to know themselves too so that we all can work together to move our trade forward. We’ve been selling our fishes since morning to the extent that we had to bring more for those who keep requesting. We are grateful to our government for this festival. We wouldn’t limit our work anymore now that Lagos and the world are aware of us.”
Source: http://connectnigeria.com/
[dropcap custom_class=”normal”] Lost in Lagos hosted a lifestyle event on the 29th and 30th of November where various artisans exhibited. I hope you were able to make it, if not I saved you some pictures as always. [/dropcap]
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Here are some facts about Ghana. The name Ghana was adopted from the ancient West African kingdom of Ghana which flourished between 750 and 1068AD and was located in what is now southern Mauritania and western Mali. It is believed that the Akan of modern day Ghana originally came from the area of this ancient empire.
Lake Volta in the centre of Ghana is the largest man-made lake in the world. The lake covers 45% of the Ghana’s total land area.
The Asantehene is the traditional rule of the Ashanti people and the most prominent traditional ruler in Ghana. The Asantehene rules from Kumasi in the central Ghana and his power is symbolized by the golden stool
(sikadwa).
Ghana was the first colonized country sub-saharan African to win back its independence, doing so in 1957. The first Prime Minister of Ghana was Kwame Nkrumah, who is particularly remembered for his fight against colonialism and as a founder leader of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
Ghana largest national park is the Mole National Park which covers 4660 square km. It lies in the Northern region of Ghana and is home to over 30 different species of mammals including Elephants, Hyenas, Antelopes, Buffalo and various primates.
Ghana is made up of ten regions, These are Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Volta, Western, Upper East, Upper West. The most populous region is the Ashanti region in the centre of Ghana and the least populous is the Upper West in the north.
Ghana’s major cities are Accra the capital and largest city, the historic city of Kumasi the capital of the Ashanti region, Cape Coast the old colonial capital of Ghana, Sekondi-Takoradi an important seaport and industrial centre, Tamale the main administrative centre of the north of Ghana and Koforidua another historic Ashanti town.
Another fact about Ghana is that they have been one of Africa’s prominent footballing nations having won the African cup of nations four times (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982) and reached the World Cup second round on their first appearance in 2006. Famous Ghanaian footballers include Michael Essien, Abedi Pele, Abdul Razak, Samuel Kuffour, Tony Yeboah and Robert Mensah.
Ghana is considered to be one of the homes of Highlife, a genre of music that was extremely popular in the English speaking West Africa. Popular proponents of the music from Ghana included E.T Mensah, Jerry Hansen and Osibisa amongst others.
Ghana is one of the major producer of gold in the world and the gold mines in Obuasi in Ashanti region are some of the largest in the world, every day about half a million dollars worth of gold is brought to the surface.
Ghana boasts the title of being the country within sub-Saharan Africa to own the oldest European building called the Elmina Castle. Built in 1482 by the Portuguese, Elmina Castle is situated on the Atlantic shores, particularly in the central region. The name Elmina means the “mines of gold” in Portuguese due to the abundant supply of gold found along the Ghana’s modern day coast
Source: http://tours42plus.com
Pictures: Mole National Park – Ghana’s Largest Wildlife Park (easytrackghana.com)
The early settlers of Kintampo who discovered the waterfall believed that the site was inhabited by dwarfs, pythons, and bees and legend has it that no individual could go there alone, especially on Fridays, the holy day of the river goddess. Alternatively, the goddess of the river was believed to be a good spirit. In addition to those who go there to see the wonders of nature, or cool off, are those who go there to pray for good fortune and success. Every year during the Moslem festival of sacrifice, thousands of worshippers converged at the falls to fetch the water home for use in religious ceremonies.
The Kintampo waterfall have changed names more than any other water falls in Ghana. In the 1940s it was known as Saunder’s fall, named after British medical resident of Kintampo who tried to develop the site for tourism. Then in 1957 after the country gained independence from the British, the falls were renamed the kwame Nkrumah waterfall, after Ghana’s first President who built a private lodge close by. At the end of the Kwame Nkrumah regime in 1966, the name of the waterfall was finally changed to Kintampo and has ever since remained so.
Kintampo Waterfall in the Brong-Ahafo Region is one of the most beautiful in Ghana. The most memorable thing about it, and one which distinguished it from other falls in Ghana, is the shape: resembling a gigantic staircase, with series of small falls tumbling down the dark rock face, and lined on both sides by evergreen trees.
The Kintampo waterfall is made up three separate falls, stretching over 100 meters, and each is distinct from the other. At waterfall number one, half of the river drops off the face of a cave while the rest pushes through perfectly circular holes it has drilled through the hanging rock. Waterfall number two is marked by a small cataract and layers of large rocks through which the river disappears underground and away from the tour path. It is not seen again until the sudden and spectacular appearance at the main kintampo waterfall, depicting the unique step-like nature of the water falls described above, and thundering with loud noise down into a rock-strewn pool below where the river gathers to continue its journey into the Black Volta River.
The full grandeurs of the falls is best seen from the base. To reach there, visitors descend 154 steps from the edge of the entertainment area to the bottom of the deep gorge cut by the river, from where the magnificent waterfall looms about 30ft (9m) high above, glittering in the foreground. Rare birds like herons, moorhen and wild ducks may be sighted along the Pumpum River and colourful trees around the entertainment area attract hundreds of radiant sunbirds when in bloom.
Near the entrance is a parking space and an entertainment grounds dotted with a few summer huts and shade trees. A modern receptive facility for the site comprising eco-lodges, restaurants, a craft centre and shopping areas is ongoing. Meanwhile, inside Kintampo town are a few medium to budget rated hotels. Visitors may also arrange to stay with local families to experience the everyday life of the local people and for further exploration of the nearby attractions.
Culled from dearghana
Lekki Conservation Centre situated on Lekki Peninsula was established in 1990 as biodiversity conservation icon and environment education centre.
The nature park which covers a land area of 78 hectare is one of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) foremost conservation project sites.
Lekki Conservation Centre which is normally a 15 minute drive, is under the management of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation and it consists of swamp and savannah habitats.
Visitors are ushered into the reserve by a boulevard of coconut trees which leads to a well laid out car and Visitors Park. The reserve is a resort which provides the serenity and beauty of nature in a world class environment.
There is a cone-shaped building which serves as the auditorium for lectures, conferences, and seminars. First timers to the resort have the opportunity of seeing rare collection of beautiful pictures of endangered species of animals and plants arranged in glass stands around the oval hall.
The reserve has 1.8km nature trail behind the main buildings in which you are ushered in by two wooden tracks.
A death-defying 21 metre-high tree platform known as the tree house where you can have a panoramic view of the reserve, visitor’s center, picnic area and children’s playground among the trees and a bird hide overlooking a swamp/marsh which is home to crocodiles and monitor lizards.
In the trees are Mona monkeys and other species of monkeys while the open grasslands are home to bushbucks, Maxwell’s duikers, giant rats, hogs, mongooses and an impressive variety of birdlife. Park rangers are available to be your guide into the reserve.
The Nature Reserve: The nature reserve traverses a mosaic of vegetation types, namely: secondary forest, swamp forest and Savanna grassland. The secondary forest has witnessed significant growth since the centre was acquired and this has a notable impact on the centre. It is this natural secondary forest in which animals like Mona monkeys, bushbucks, giant rats, Maxwell Duikers and others reside. The swamp outlook affords tourists, especially nature lovers’ mouth watering opportunity of sitting back to beyond aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem interaction. On the other hand, the bird hide enables avid bird watchers snipe at unaware avifauna that are wading through the pool overlooked by the hide or foraging within the vicinity.
The Tree House: The tree house is one of the most fascinating features one can ever come across in an ecotourism zone. The tree house, stylishly seated on a stout dawadawa tree (Pakia biglobossa) rises above 25m. A well protected ladder is ruggedly mounted behind the tree to enable nature enthusiasts reach to tree house to savour the panoramic view of the tree canopy. The rest stops as the name implies serve as rest points and picnic site for small groups of visitors. They are located at about 250m apart on the nature trail boardwalk.
The Trail Boardwalk: A trail boardwalk was constructed in 1992 to the enrich tourists/visitors view of the vast resources of the nature reserve which is encapsulated on a mangrove terrain. The trail stretches a length of 2 Km. some of the side attractions along the trail are swamp outlook, bird hide, rest stops and the tree house. At the end of trail boardwalk seats the nation station – a recreation island in the middle of a forest. It has a semi-enclosed block structure containing the indoor picnic facilities and conveniences. The outdoor has outdoor game facilities mostly for children.
Bird Watching: Visitors get to see some of the African rarest birds with its unique walkway through the swamp forest at Lekki Conservation Centre. Among the birds recorded at the centre are Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Lizard Buzzard, Harrier Hawk, Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus), Red–Eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata), Blue Spotted Wood-Dove (Turtur afer), Green Pigeon, Wood Land Kingfisher, Allied Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (Bycanistes fistulator), Common Bulbul (Pyanonotus barbatus) etc.
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