Visiting ocean beach fronts, most especially in Lagos and the coast of West Africa, is one of the pastimes of many local tourists and leisure lovers. The surge of the relentless ocean waves, the noise as the waves crash on the sandy beach, and the splash of the white foamy water on sand, are precious optics that rejuvenate the mind and the physical body. That is why many always keep on returning to the beach fronts for those few hours of communion with nature.
However, the huge population of leisure seekers trooping to the beach has made finding a piece of wet ocean beach front for such moments of solitude to become elusive. With the long stretch of beach fronts, people keep searching for hideaways and exploring for a beachfront to simply dissolve and be one with nature, albeit for a few hours. Yet, these places are difficult to come by these days.
Araromi Beach in Ilaje Local Government area of Ondo State is currently attracting leisure seekers trying to avoid the beaten paths to explore new experiences and sights. Araromi Beach front is like finding a rare gem. Here the beach stretches further than one’s eyes can capture. On most days, the beach simply dissolves into its own quietude, only punctured by the strong breeze whizzing in one’s ears, and the ocean water crashing on the shore intermittently.
There are also scattered on the beachfront fishermen’s boats, some with nets inside. Some are there for repairs, while others are lying idle, perhaps because the owners decided to rest from the ocean for a while. The boats on the beachfront would make for perfect postcard pictures.
Here in Araromi Beach, the coconut trees are arranged in perfect order a little further from the shore.
The beachfront can take thousands of tourists at a go yet it is mostly empty. It takes a determined visitor to access the beach.
Visiting Araromi Beach from the Ondo State capital of Akure is a whole day’s journey. It takes between four to five hours to get to the beach from Akure and almost the same amount of time to return. So, from Akure, leisure seekers have to set out very early. However, it is important to note that the road from Akure to Araromi is good, except the area between Ondo town and Ore where construction work is currently on-going.
Because of the pristine ambience offered by Aramoni Beach, adventurous tourists from Lagos follow the ocean shoreline route to get to the beach by commercial bikes.
For a trip to Araromi Beach from Lagos, one needs to get to Eleko Beach junction along the Lagos-Epe expressway. From from the junction there, board a cab to Folu town. From Eleko beach Junction to Folu town is about an hour’s journey by road, passing through Dangote Refinery complex, the Lagos Free Trade Zone and La Campagne Tropicana Resort at Ikegun. It is a relatively long journey but the road is busy.
At Folu town which is in Lagos State, there are commercial motorcyclists waiting and ready to take any visitor to Araromi Beach. The bike men jostle for passengers and haggle over prices.
However, the standard price from Folu town Lagos to Araromi Beach, Ondo State is N4,000 for a single person on a bike, but they carry two persons for N5000 on a single ride, N2,500 per person.
Although the short cut from Lagos to Araromi beach is still not popular, with time it will gain more visitors, especially those who are searching for adventure.
Although a fabulous place to visit, Araromi Beach is far from being a developed destination. Tourists visiting the beach either from cities like Akure or Lagos and staying beyond a day must make adequate preparation for their accommodation and feeding. There are no standard lodging facilities around the community. There are also no standard restaurants or eateries. This means those visiting Araromi Beach must make adequate preparation for their catering, even though it is a beautiful location for picnics. In addition debris pushed to shore by the ocean waves are not cleaned for days.
However, the Ondo State government has indicated interest in investing in tourism, most especially eco-tourism in which the state is abundantly endowed. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said tourism is part of his key agenda for the state and plans building an international standard resort in the Araromi Beach.
Members of the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) led by the association’s president Hajia Bolaji Mustapha recently visited the beach for a daycation and identified it as one of the prime tourist attractions in Ondo State that the association intends promoting.
The National Secretary of NATOP, Otunba Michael Balogun, a tourism consultant, spoke about the beach and its economic potential: “It is a pristine coastal virgin beach front, about 73 kilometres stretch. It is a hell of an opportunity for investment in real estate, if properly harnessed. Also, with the coastal road coming along that axis, it makes the place a prime area for investors in tourism. You know with tourism development comes job opportunities. It will also open up the fishing occupation of the locals, and other business opportunities.
“The Ondo State Governor, when we had a meeting with him, said he has a couple of investors he was talking to on that. It is my belief that the governor is really looking forward to opening up that place for tourism business. I think he is from that axis as well.”
The consultant also advised indigenes of the community on how to make economic gains from the gradual influx of tourists to the beach: “It will be more of what they have locally, that is in form of tourism souvenirs. For example, if you go to Gberefu Island in Badagry, you will see women selling coconut bags and other by-products of coconuts. For the people in Araromi, it could be more of culinary or gastronomy tourism for visitors since they are coastal fishermen. They could also give tourists lessons on local fishing and all that. Also this would be a hit with white tourists. They like community tourism. They don’t want to come from such distance and stay in a five-star hotel. They want the experience. These are some of the options for the locals in Araromi.”
While the Araromi Beach in Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State is a fascinating attraction, there must be concerted efforts by the state government and the host community to improve all round facilities within the area. Also many believe that with the Nigerian coastal highway fast approaching the beach area, the beach will be more accessible to a greater number of visitors.
Meanwhile, for those in search of pristine, less visited beach front, Araromi might just be your ideal spot to visit.
