Obudu Ranch was a 2 night stopover for artists and facilitators to rejuvenate after a long, arduous almost 1000km bus journey from Kano en-route to Calabar. The journey itself will be remembered forever by all for the rib breaking fun from start to finish. Visual artists turned comedians to provide an endless stream of laughs from start to finish. What began as daunting, ended up being heartening, leaving the entire crew gratified.
We arrived at midnight, winding our way up through the Obudu mountain roads, navigating through the clouds, guided by ghoulish eyes of a few owls that seemed to track our journey. When we got to the ranch, we received a warm welcome from host Paddy Prendergast and a buffet meal. We then retired for the night, exhausted from the drive.
The next morning the team went on an exploratory trip around the resort. We went on a breathtaking cable car ride from the top to the bottom of the mountains and back. It was nail biting, the cranking mechanism and jerking stops giving the illusion of fear whilst balanced at precarious heights. This was all part of the thrill, the outcome exhilarating.
Next was a trip down the canopy walkway and Leventis tree platform. The canopy walkway was a suspended bridge across a deep gorge. It swayed in the wind leaving some too scared to cross. The tree platform wasn’t much better, a steep vertical climb through a framework of wood the only way up. Looking down was frightening but the reward on getting to the platform was intense, adrenalin fueled.
Afterwards we saw the leisure pools and waterfalls, exotic gardens, some cattle on the ranch then walked up through the clouds and were shown the mud hut 5 star lodgings and cabins. It was great. Finally we perched at the top of the mountains for a few pictures, rejuvenation complete. The next day our journey continued to Calabar.
