NFS Start

Council

Abeokuta

Benin

Ibadan

Ile-Ife

Lagos

United Kingdom

As we started our trip towards Okomu National Park, we had no idea what we were going to experience. The trip to Okomu - more than 300 hundred kilometers – was surprisingly fast as we were chatting and admiring the green view along the road.
The only small incident happened when in the middle of the journey the escorting police car hit one of the convoy’s car. Luckily that car survived as well as the people in it, but the police car had to stop the journey and return back to Lagos. After that, the trip continued even faster without any more interruption.

On arrival we were surprised in a positive sense by the standard of accommodation. We had thought that it would have been worse. We even had fans in our rooms. However, the generator was “resting” most of the time.
On Friday we made a long, sweaty walk in the jungle with a great local guide and saw lots of trees. The guide was mentioning that the fresh air would make us all feel like new people after the Lagos air. And he was correct!!! After three hours we had seen lots of trees, trees, trees, trees and more trees.

In addition to that we also saw some butterflies, which Robert Warren tried to catch with his net. He was not too lucky the first day, but at least he got some new butterflies to his great collection. Luckily Robert had also remembered to take (in addition to his butterfly-magic-box) lots of food along and we certainly had two great dinners. However, he also produced some bad smelling fish, but this turned out to be bait for the flying creatures in order to attract them to his net. The first night nobody slept much as it was so hot, but it was interesting to listen to all the sounds of nature. The other new experience for many was the “bucket shower” which worked perfectly and was refreshingly cold.

On Saturday, after an ‘English breakfast’ (bacon and eggs in the jungle) we were ready to climb to one of the highest treehuts in Nigeria. Most of us could sense the climb even next day in our non-existent muscles. On the same evening there was a wonderful dance performance and that certainly was one of the highlights of the journey.

On Saturday evening a goat was slaughtered and the local cook put lots of spices on it. The fire in the grill we stood out in the middle of the dark jungle and the grilled food was very tasty.
The second night we all slept much better and we woke up on Sunday morning feeling fresh and energetic. Some of us climbed to another treehut which was a bit more shaky than the first one. However, the view was astonishing again! We could have stayed in the jungle even longer enjoying the fresh air and the tranquility.
It was our first three-day-trip with the Nigerian Field Society, but certainly not the last one. Everything was organized so well (mostly thanks to Robert Warren and Phil Hall) and we made lots of new friends. Thank you for everybody who made it such a memorable long weekend!