By Ismail M. Kabir
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| The trek begins... |
To add flavour
to the sallah festival (eid-el-Fitr), Ebira Youth Tourist Group
organised a Picnic/Hiking of Cowry Mountain, Eika in Kogi State to
engage adventure seekers in a thrilling but strenous Sallah
get-together.
The
hiking of the Cowry Mountain was attended by participants from Abuja
and local youths from Ebira communities. At about 10.30am on Saturday
August 10th 2013, the hikers left for the long and exhaustive trek from
the Eika Ohizenyi area fully kitted with food and other supplies.
The service of a local entertainment
group from Royal Family and the Amu Ohiuto comedy group was employed to
provide the participants the thrill and fun. After forty minutes of
exhaustive trek, the hikers made the first stop at hut where farmers
locaaly process Garri flour. A brief photo session was conducted while
the hiking guides interacted with local farmers that cultivate the
mountain soil.
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| The hiking team converging |
As the hikers
left for the last leg of the trek to the camp on the mountain top, they
made a brief stop at the point where they were presented with a
captivating aerial view of Ebira land. Hikers with binoculars enjoyed a
beautiful view of Ebira communities resting within the valleys as the
cool breeze from the zenith blew their sweats away.
The
camp on the mountain is a cave that provided safe shelter to the
ancient settlers of the mountain. The entrance doubles as the gateway to
the Valley that is home to what the hikers regard as The Garden of
Life. From the mountain top which rises about 1000fts above sea level,
the garden of life lies in a valley of oaks, cactus and an array of
trees.
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| Hiking in progress |
From the camp,
the hikers embarked on a downhill exploration of the rocky landscape,
descending into the garden leaving behind the unfit participants to
share the smoky moment with the female cooks while experience the yam
roasting session. This descent led them to the valley in preparation of
the real hike which formed the return journey back to the camp.
After three hours of exploration,
the hikers began what seemed an enldess,weary and exhaustive return
trip. While the experience hikers burnt their energy uphill, the
amateurs lagged; some finding solace in cold water drink while others
laid on the rocks to catch their breath.
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| Hiking in progress |
Back
at the camp, lunch was ready, this brought relief to the hikers. On the
rock, roasted yam was served with stew as the local Ochoku menu hit the
fire. Live song performance by local singers, listening to folk tales
and playing of Ludo and the local Igori games kept the team busy in wait
for the competitions.
Later, the participants competed on
Rope climbing, Archery and Singing. A raffle was held before the closing
party that followed the presentation of gifts to the winners of the
competitions.
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| Hikers at first stop-point |
As the team
descended the mountain, the night fell. Even as the descent to the foot
of the Cowry mountain under the dark clouds was as long as it was scary,
the chit chat and reminiscence of the exciting moments on the moment
made it a short return.
Just as the case with previous
participants, there is always a burniong desire for a repeat of the
experience. It was, as usual, a memorable experience.
I love this picnic and impressed with the reportage. Well done and more grease to the elbows of all involved in the organisation. We shall be happy again by the grace of God.
ReplyDeleteThanks engineer.
ReplyDeletePlease join us Dec. 25th this year as we hold the biggest picnic on the mountan on the eve of eve of Ebira carnival holding on the 26th December, 2013