We camped at beach cabins in Lagos last month and we got one of our campers, Timah, to do a trip review. Timah was one of the 18 nomads on the trip and this was her first time camping with a group of strangers. It was everyone’s first time to be honest. Read and enjoy her review below:

Hey Timah!

CAMPING WITH STRANGERS

Life’s a Beach and you should always try to enjoy it as much as you can! Also, being an adult is stressful. You need doses of vitamin sea and all sorts of vital things related to having a good time to rejuvenate your awesomeness.

It was exciting to be at the take off point, BICS Garden, seeing a lot of beautiful faces and charming guys too. The thing is we were asked to pack light and my bag was heavy so I was scanning through to see how “light” other people packed as I approached where they were seated and next thing, a tall lady threw her arms around my neck and welcomed me with a hug. I blushed, it was unexpected (That was the head nomad herself) and every one of the nomads were cheerful. Awesome!!! We all got along and started talking about work and stuff that adults talk about and as scheduled, we were off on the boat cruise with the wind in our hair in no time.

You can also learn and enjoy surfing in our very own Lagos! Some of us had been communicating with the Surfing Instructor before signing up for the trip with Naija Nomads and it was quite expensive. However, the package for surfing on this get-away was amazingly affordable!

It was a 20-minute ride to Tarkwa Bay and as we approached the view of the beach was really exciting. The berm of the beach was clean with refreshing coasts. There was a hidden secret, which was roughly a 5-minute walk from the beach… walking on hot sand with bare feet was a form of therapy because it was torture while it lasted, yes, the sun came out to play!

THE CABINS

The Cabins were like the type you see in movies, those ones out of this country and not in Lagos. But, we were in Lagos! The Naija Nomads crew definitely planned it out nicely. There were cabins for the single ladies and another for the single dudes, both having the Beach view. There was also another one for married couples, of course, the crew thought they needed privacy! The environment was safe and serene.

The room had camp beds laid on the wooden floor of the cabin, which could accommodate about 8 people comfortably. We were surprised to see that the cabin had fans and electricity, for us to charge our phones and cameras! The information provided by the Naija Nomads Team was handy. Hanging out at the beach was pleasing but camping at the beach was unusual and definitely winning this time.

The best part of camping with strangers was that the awesomeness of each nomad was intense – embracing our differences and listening to unique things about each other. It was thrilling to know that someone’s hobby was collecting knives! (No, she’s not a dangerous person, very pleasant actually).

As we opened the door to our cabin room, there was a little note on the door to welcome us but there was a twist to it. Our first adventure was to look for hidden gifts in the room! We found perfumes, pocket mirrors and other interesting stuff. It was fun hunting for treasures.

We had “small chops”. Enough said! We also had spicy “gizdodo”, wildwings, drinks, enjoyed the view of the ocean, felt more relaxed and networked!

LET’S GO TO THE B-EACH!

The Nomads took their beach clothes and nice beach bodies to the beach. We enjoyed a team bonding game organized by the crew, had coconut water and enjoyed the beach view, gearing up to go play. The right motivation for that was the water guns the crew had provided. Always in the mood for a water fight, especially on the beach.

HAWAII OR LAGOS?

So usually, when you go to Hawaii and you see cute guys on the beach with boards under their arms, what do you think? SURF! Yes! You can also learn and enjoy surfing in our very own Lagos! Some of us had been communicating with the Surfing Instructor before signing up for the trip with Naija Nomads and it was quite expensive. However, the package for surfing on this get-away was amazingly affordable!

It was thrilling catching the waves of the ocean. Learning for the first time like a child, here’s to acquiring new skills. The adrenaline rush that comes with the excitement of standing on water was a whole new experience and felt good. A good prep’ for that fantasized trip to Hawaii, maybe.

BON FIRE PARTY…

Spending the night on the beach in a comfortable cabin is one of the serene experiences you can treat yourself to, however, having barbecue, music and great people with you is even better. The dress code was white on denim and we were ready for it.

We all enjoyed coming together by the fire, roasting marshmallow sticks and enjoying good music. It was all fun and games until it literally rained on our parade. It was windy and we all had to run into one of the cabins to continue the party. I like to call it an exploratory mishap, so here’s to new experiences, I’d tell you why. I bet you do not know what it feels like when it rains on the beach! A-ha!

The grill was out in the rain – covered though, but the food came through as we found warmth in the cabins. We learned a lot more about each other with cool music playing in the background. This was particularly amazing. The best part of camping with strangers was that the awesomeness of each nomad was intense – embracing our differences and listening to unique things about each other. It was thrilling to know that someone’s hobby was collecting knives! (No, she’s not a dangerous person, very pleasant actually). We talked about countries we wanted to visit, found travel buddies and fellows who had travel reviews of the countries they had visited to enlighten aspiring nomads. We played Charades till the rain stopped.

SERENDIPITY

The best things in life are not planned. Taking a walk on the beach after the rain, at night was not planned but was tranquil. The freshness of the scent of wet sand and the cool breeze was surreal. There were crab holes everywhere and the watchman mentioned that they could get nasty and bite. Consequently, we walked carefully. Some of us were freaked out with the fear of having crab bites on our skin…but thank goodness, we had a Clark Kent look-alike to assure us of our safety. *rolled eyes*. We took pictures, laughed and even listened to someone do freestyle rap. Surrealistic experience in a nut shell.

The highlights of the trip with Naija Nomads was absolutely F.U.N! The perfect way to cool off from the hassles of work, a striking and highly effective trip that defined the “Life” in Work-Life Balance.

We walked back to the cabin happy and fulfilled. We stayed up by the fire to warm ourselves to discuss relationships, business, technology and travel, before finally going to bed. Bimbo (part of the nomad crew) is a hard worker!

Sleeping that night was peaceful and it felt safe, even in the middle of nowhere.

THE MORNING AFTER

After a restful evening, we attended yoga lessons the next morning, doing warrior one and warrior two…meditating and stretching on the beach. Have you tried yoga on the beach? Just do it! Bread Basket came through with specially made gluten-free loaves for each and every one of us, Simply Green came through with a variety of juices, the fruit basket was grand and breakfast was absolute! We found some swings on the trees and played around a little too.

MEMORIES

Its closing time, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here!

Basking in the euphoria of all that happened in one weekend, in a nut shell, the highlights of the trip with Naija Nomads was absolutely F.U.N! The perfect way to cool off from the hassles of work, a striking and highly effective trip that defined the “Life” in Work-Life Balance. Most importantly, was the quality of nomads on the trip, the awesome 18! Uncompromised happiness is what is it is when you are able to have that type of fun in Lagos! Naija Nomads pulled it off nicely.

So, we left in a bigger boat this time, with loud music, nostalgic feelings and the fulfilment of playing as hard as we worked!

Life’s a Beach and you can never have too much Beach…

Big ups to our AWESOME 18 Tope, Daniel, Mide, Michael, Denye, Dominic, Taofeek, Hakeem, Hamida, Yusrah, Ebere, Ijeoma, Elizabeth, Agboola, Funbi, Tope (girl), Olivia, Tola, and finally Timah for sharing her experience with us. 

Ever had a beach camping or camping experience in Nigeria? We shared our first one here and here. Do let us know if you will be camping soon.

Cheers to an adventure filled 2017! You can find our trip calendar for the rest of the year here.