2016: The Year in Review

Last updated on June 14th, 2021; Published on January 1st, 2017

The curtain is finally closing on the year 2016 and once again, the time has come for us to reflect and review our plans for the new year. This year has been particularly exciting for me and I’m so grateful to see the end of it. Here are my highlights for 2016;

January: Explored India a little. I visited Pune, Lavasa, Lonavala, spent New Years day with friends in Mahabaleshwar, took a tour of the golden triangle and explored New Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Jaipur. I also got to experience my first safari in Ranthambore where I went searching for Bengal Tigers.

February: Wrote an article about my Indian holiday and this was published on Social Prefect’s travel blog.

March: Took a trip with my sister to South Africa. We explored Cape Town, went paragliding, spent 33 hours on a train from Cape Town to Johannesburg and went in search of the big five in Kruger National Park.

April: Went on my very first group tour with Unravelling Nigeria to Idanre Hills. I also explored parks in Lagos like the Lufasi Park and Lekki Conservation Center; went in search of some of the best beaches in Lagos but ended up visiting only Eleko beach. We’ll see how many I can get to in 2017.

Also in April, my article on the Unravelling Nigeria trip got featured on Eat Tech Travel

May: I got shortlisted for the Saraba Manuscript Award. Out of over 70 entries, my book, along with 3 others, made the shortlist. Even though I didn’t win, I’m quite pleased with the overall outcome of the event.

July: was for exploring South West Nigeria. I visited Erin Ijesha Waterfalls, Arinta Waterfalls, Erio-Ekiti, Ikogosi Warm Springs, Cocoa House in Ibadan and the University of Ibadan Zoological garden. I also took a road trip to Enugu and went on a tour to Olumo Rock, Abeokuta with Social Prefect.

In August, I attempted visiting Okomu National Park in Edo State. I wasn’t able to get into the park as the time of visit wasn’t suitable due to the rains. I planned to go back during the harmattan season in December/January but I am doubtful that this trip will happen in January. Maybe December 2017, we’ll see!

September: My sister and I visited Tanzania hoping to meet the annual wildebeest migration. We weren’t able to do so but we had an amazing time regardless. We started off the trip with a short stay in Nairobi before heading over to Arusha. We then went on to visit Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara NP.

We had an amazing time filled with new experiences. From dancing with the Maasai to gliding in a hot air balloon and sleeping in a tent in the wild, this trip was all we wanted in a vacation and more.

Then we headed over to Zanzibar, where we spent a couple of days exploring Stone Town, the beautiful beaches of Jambiani and the spices of Zanzibar.

October: Went on another Unravelling Nigeria tour to Agodi Parks and Oke-ado mountains.

Also got interviewed/featured by 3 amazing bloggers. I was featured on CassieDaves’ 5 new blogs to read, then I had an interview with Ufuoma of theufuoma.com

And later with Naija Nomads.

November was for super budget trips and exploring my adventurous side a little bit more. I explored sites in two countries for N20K only, experienced my first ever land border crossing at Seme, slept in a stranger’s home for 2 nights in Fidjrosse, (barely) touched a live python in Ouidah and walked the slave trade routes in Ouidah and Badagry.

Also in November, this blog turned one. I celebrated this by giving out three tickets to three amazing tours within Nigeria organized by Social Prefect, Naija Nomads and Irinajo.

And in December: I got interviewed by Jumia Travel

won a Samsung phone from Titlope and Samsung Nigeria for this video below; (PS: contestants were required to share some of their best moments in the year 2016)

and started a YouTube channel with NaijaNomads and Folaswaka

This year was certainly filled with lots of fun and running this blog inspired me to do a lot of things I never imagined I could do. (I really hope it does the same for you too). I am happy to have been able to share this journey with everyone of you and I am grateful for all your support, emails, comments and feedback.

PS: The articles below explain how I am able to travel with respect to time and money.

5 ways to balance your work travel life | How I afford to travel

PPS: My number 1 goal for this blog is to encourage Nigerians to travel more (and differently) and to help dispel certain travel myths – one of which is the myth that ‘only rich people can travel‘. Like I’ve said a few times, you don’t always need a large budget to travel (if that is your passion). Don’t be afraid to start small and scale up later…

I hope 2017 would be a wonderful year for us all!

I would love to hear about your year. Did you try anything new or exciting? What are your (travel) plans for 2017?

Amarachi

Thank you for visiting Travel with a Pen today! I hope you enjoy the articles here and I hope that they inspire you to create your own adventures too!