From The Horse’s Mouth | Ejiro & Olivet Unravel River Ethiope
THE BLUE GREEN RIVER AKA RIVER ETHIOPE
With all its faults and misleadings, Instagram can also be an amazing place to get information and meet people. We put up this picture of River Ethiope 3 weeks ago and it garnered a lot of comments.
A post shared by Unravelling Nigeria (@unravellingnigeria) on Nov 17, 2017 at 5:06am PST
Two people mentioned that they had been there and instead of having to choose who our horse would be, we decided we would change things up a little and have two horses. I mean that’s what every normal blogger would do right?
Everytime you see a picture of River Ethiope, the one thing you notice is how clear and green the water is. It was nice to know that in reality that’s how it looks and that the River actually does exist and isn’t a figment of someone’s imagination.
Look at that!
Our horses’s spill on everything about this potential holiday spot and this post is particularly interesting because you can see similarities in their answers and the differences in the others is what makes the world beautiful as we all don’t think the same way or look out for the same things. You can also tell from the stunning pictures that Ejiro ventured out a bit farther from the beach.
Read, enjoy and add River Ethiope, Delta State to your holiday destination or 2018 plans.
Ejiro is an uncle to Ejiro & Ella, god-father to Temidara, works with Jumia Group (Inbound Marketing), loves gaming, traveling & Photography
Ejiro
Olivet is single, in her late twenties, is a lover of God, family, friends, movies, novels and good food. She’s also a lawyer working in a labour organisation, loves to travel and have fun, hates beating about the bush, says it as it is and prefers to hear the truth no matter how hard it may be than to be led on with lies.
Olivet
Give us a brief description of where you went and what the trip was about.
Ejiro: I visited the Gordon Resort Hotel in Abraka. I was actually just passing by on my way to see my brother in PH (Port Harcourt). I decided to stop at a restaurant in Warri (can’t recall the name) – they have this awesome Owo soup (big grin). I then took a bus down to Abraka to visit the Resort. It is one of the 3 mini resorts in Abraka. Throughout my 4 years of study at DELSU (Delta State University), I never visited this one since it was a bit far from where I lived. I know people come from other states and outside Nigeria to visit that particular resort so I decided to pay a visit.
Olivet: Every Christmas holiday for the past 5 years my family and I have been going to Abraka in Delta state for a family day out. We usually visit Macarthy Beach Resort. It is a hotel built on the banks of the Ethiope river with a little improvement to make it more attractive.
We’re big lovers of Elephants here at Casa Unravelling
Was accommodation required for this trip? If yes where did you stay and what was it like?
Ejiro: Honestly, I don’t like the hotels in Abraka. I took a bus to Asaba to spend the night. However, there is this nice hotel close to my old man’s house in Oria (still Abraka) …it’s called Abraka Turf – decent place, don’t expect too much.
Olivet: No we didn’t. Abraka is a 45 minutes to 1hour 30 minutes drive (depending on traffic) from Warri where my family lives. However, there’s accommodation at the hotel if necessary.
It’s so clear you can see everything including the sand
What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
Ejiro: The canoe ride. I felt like a child drifting slowly down the Ethiope river. The scenery, the chirping of birds and water drives me mad every time. The sun in Abraka seems different…extremely hot but the water is always there to balance it off. Taking a swim was just as if I was on summer vacation in the Caribbean..
Olivet: The river was so clear I could see fishes swimming right by me!
When you’re enjoying your canoe ride and you don’t know what’s coming next
What was your best moment of the entire trip?
Ejiro: The canoe ride was the best moment for me I guess. It was scary and fun(considering I nearly drowned)
Olivet: Jumping into the water. Gave me the thrills
Blue Green
Look Ma, no hands
What was the scariest moment (if any)?
Ejiro: I fell off the canoe…can’t swim. END.
Olivet: Jumping into the water for the first time. I’m not a good swimmer so you can imagine my fear of diving into a water so deep.
Did you find any sights or activities a bit off the beaten track ie beyond the tourist traps?
Ejiro: Not really
Olivet: No. If you dare, you are free to try. But there are lots of warnings against it though.
What are two interesting things about where you went that the average person doesn’t know?
Ejiro: The source of the river is from the bottom of a cotton tree.
During the dry season, the water level around the source is higher and lower during the raining season…I find this really amazing.
Olivet: Could be a folklore but I learnt that the indigenes of Abraka never get drowned in the Ethiope river only strangers.
Did you meet any locals? If yes, what were they like?
Ejiro: The locals, my people are awesome. I had this awesome guy take me around in his keke(not free). Pro tip: The police aren’t your friend.
Olivet: Yes. They were friendly and helpful
What was the funniest/strangest/most insightful thing a local said?
Ejiro: “Bros, how e be you naw, make I take one bottle for your head make I take see front” In English, buy me some bottles of beer so I can merry. I learn new pidgin phrases every time I visit
Olivet: Nothing comes to mind right away.
What was the hardest or most frustrating part of the trip?
Ejiro: I was harassed by the Police. I usually carry my PC everywhere I go but everything I had in my backpack were ingredients to profiling a yahoo boy. Sad stuff.
Olivet: Hardest thing I could think of was having to pack up and leave. Sometimes I almost want to cry. Lol
Did anything go wrong that seems funny now?
Ejiro: Above (the policeman saga)
Olivet: Nothing I can readily think of.
Beach huts along the bank
Did you eat anything locally, if yes, what was your favorite?
Ejiro: Starch & Owo Soup – anytime!
Olivet: We brought most of our food and drinks. But I tried their suya and it was delicious.
If you ate locally, what was the strangest thing you ate
Olivet: Just the suya. Nothing strange about that.
What were the cost implications of this trip?
Ejiro: I spent less than 10k in Abraka( I don’t drink so…)
Olivet: It was pretty cheap because I spent most of my holiday in Warri which is a short distance from Abraka (all in Delta state). All we needed to do was fuel the car and head over. We had to pay a gate fee of 500 Naira per adult and 300 Naira per child (at the time of writing this post) to gain entrance into the resort
Now that you’ve been there yourself, when you think of your trip what’s the first image that comes to your head?
Ejiro: The water
Olivet: Clear blue, calm water and trees round about. So serene and peaceful. It is my go to happy place when I’m feeling down.
Would you revisit or ever move there?
Ejiro: 100%. Plan to visit with my cousins and some friends.
Olivet: I would go there over and again. Infact I’m sure we are heading there this holiday too. But no I wouldn’t move there. It’s a little too quiet for me when all the tourists are gone. I might lose my mind with boredom after a while.
So what did you think about our horses? I loved their responses and didn’t want it to end. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO RIVER ETHIOPE, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT? If you haven’t visited will you be making the trip down?
LINK UP WITH US ON FACEBOOK, SHADOW US ON INSTAGRAM, BANTER WITH US ON TWITTER & WATCH US ON YOUTUBE
*Reviews are based on opinions and personal experiences, and may differ from person to person
*prices written are based on the time the visit was made and is subject to change by the owners.
*pictures are provided by the ‘horse’ interviewed.
#McCarthyBeach #NigerianTourism #RiverEthiope #UnravellingNigeria #DeltaState #GordonResortHotel #AbrakaTurf #travelnigeria #DELSU