Kayak Lagos

When you mention kayaking, most people imagine some exotic locale and don’t necessarily think of the lagoon in Lagos. I imagine that if I said I went kayaking whilst on holiday in Thailand, I would be hailed an adventurous hero. However, I spotted an opportunity to kayak in the Lagos lagoon in a Nothing to do in Lagos newsletter and I guess you just have to take the opportunities that come your way, right? Cue looks of disbelief and horror when I mentioned my proposed plan. “Why would you do that?”, “But that water, will it be clean?”, “Are you sure that you won’t melt as your kayak goes into the water?” were just some of the comments I received. “Because I want to”, “I’m sure the water is in no worse condition than the River Thames and people go rowing on the Thames” and “no, but I may develop superpowers and become a mutant” were my responses. Having roped two friends in for the experience, I then injured myself at netball and had to postpone our kayaking adventure. Unfortunately, whilst Nike was still game, my other friend couldn’t make it so I already know that we are going to have to come back again when she’s back in town (just in case you are reading this Kofo, that’s for you! ;p)With some guidance from Emeka (of Nothing to do in Lagos) on how to paddle and a route recommendation for the Lekki bridge, we were off. Nike, who professed to be a novice and only have one kayaking experience in Thailand (but of course, ha!), shot off like a champion whilst I was still figuring out how to make my kayak go in the direction I wanted it to. But soon enough, I got the hang of it and happily paddled and bobbed along in intervals.          I had not had a good natter with Nike in a while, and this just offered a unique experience for a girly chat. No distractions…well apart from the water taxis and speedboats and the random fisherman who just pulled up beside us in our kayaks and then started trying to look busy! Considering how noisy and busy Lagos is, the lagoon, which is right in the middle of it, was anything but. It was just really cool, and surprisingly peaceful.  Our aim was to get to the Lekki Ikoyi link bridge and then head back to base. We would alternately paddle like kayak ninjas and bob along the rest of the time. Bobbing along offered the opportunity to just chill relax and enjoy the views of Ikoyi and Lekki from the water. I must say there are some really nice houses that I have my eye on now in Ikoyi #justsaying. This was as close as we got to the bridge before we decided to call it a day and head back to base. My arms were already aching! It probably takes about 2.5 hours to head to the bridge and back from base point at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive. Our uniform for kayaking was basically any old thing that we didn’t mind getting wet but it’s probably best to wear flip flops rather than trainers because they will get soaked through!