Crushed Rock is an abandoned quarry in Mpape, Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

The quarry was opened in 1977, just a year after the decision to relocate Nigeria’s capital to Abuja from Lagos.

During the 1980s the quarry provided much of the stone for the construction of the new city.

It has been abandoned since at least 2010.

The quarry and quarry lake are now a popular tourist location.

History

The quarry was operated by Crushed Rock Industries (Nigeria) Limited, which was incorporated on 13 May 1977.

The quarry was created after the 1976 decision to relocate the capital of Nigeria to Abuja from Lagos.

It was heavily utilised during the 1980s when it, and others in Mpape, supplied much of the stone required for the construction of new buildings in the city.

The quarry is in the nearby neighbourhood of Mpape (which means “rock” in the Gwari language).

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has called for more investments in agricultural development to curb rising food insufficiency in Nigeria.

He said that oil palm production was one area that wealthy Deltans and Nigerians could invest in to create job opportunities and economic development of the people.

Okowa, the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the call at the weekend after inspecting Oil Palm Plantation and Refinery under construction at Akwukwu-Igbo, Oshimili North Local Government Area of the state.

He said: “Four years ago, the management of Norsworthy Farms spoke to me when they were to commence and I thought it a worthy venture to have the state government stay supportive and in partnership with them to develop this oil palm plantation, now with a mill already being installed.

“Where we are now is quite interesting because we have had the opportunity to go round the one thousand four hundred hectares of land, all planted with oil palm seedlings that have grown so much; some are already producing.

“As a state government we believe in this worthy partnership because beyond the fact that it will help to grow the economy of this environment and also help the immediate communities that are around here, we are very mindful of the fact that it is going to generate a lot of employment for our people.

“I have been told that on the average, 300 persons are working on a daily basis in this place and I believe that when the mill comes on stream, we are going to have more persons engaged.”

Okowa added that the partnership would create more opportunities for outgrowers, especially in the oil palm development value-chain and urged Deltans to key into the opportunity provided by the partnership.

He commended the Management and staff of Norsworthy Farms, the Obi of Akuku-Igbo and the people of Illah for their support and cooperation towards the successful take-off of the project.

In his remark, the Managing Director of Northsworthy Farms and Allied Industries Limited, Dr Gabriel Ogbechie thanked the governor for his support and vision for the project.

He said the project, which is a joint venture between Northsworthy Farms, and Allied Industries Limited and the Delta State Government had successfully planted over 250,000 oil palm trees in over 1,400 hectares of land.

Ogbechie said that the project will indeed contributed to the agricultural development and food sufficiency need of the country.

The Okomu National Park is situated to the north-west of the ancient city of Benin, Okomu National Park is a fascinating rainforest in Ovia South-West, Edo state. It is an exciting place where even students go for excursions.

The Okomu National Park is a pleasant forest where you experience the beauty of a rainforest full of huge forest trees, several species of plants and animals. Although the forest reserve continues to shrink due to encroachment, it still holds some endangered wildlife such as the rare white-throated monkey.

There are only two rainforest parks in the country. Okomu National Park located in Edo State, the western end of Nigeria is one. The second is the Cross River National Park in Cross River State.

Okomu is, however, a thrill for many reasons. Despite its small enclosure, 118 sq kilometres, it has abundant flora and fauna resources with a very rich ecosystem that is very unique and distinct.

The Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary is a forest block set within the 1,082 km² Okomu Forest Reserve, and situated about 60 km north-west of the city of Benin. Okomu is a home of forest elephants, buffaloes, red river hogs, chimpanzees, leopards, putty nosed guenon, porcupine, pangolins, duikers, antelopes etc.

The vegetation is a typical Guinea–Congo lowland rainforest and is characterized by a mosaic of swamp-forest, high forest, secondary forest, and open scrubs.

The white-throated monkey which is one of the rarest monkeys in the world today is found at the park as well. Butterflies and birds are abundant making it one of the best places for bird watching in Nigeria.

The park has two tree houses, one 140 feet high in a silk-cotton tree, from which visitors can view the park from above and observe bird life. This is the most intriguing feature anyone is likely to see in the park.

The houses are vintage spots for visitors to relax and savour the beauty of nature that the park presents.

The park which had received some international tourists contains a viable population of white-throated monkey, one of Africa’s most threatened primates and one of the two monkeys endemic to Nigeria.

It also contains a population of rare red capped mangabey.

Okomu National Park also known as ‘Pride of our National Heritage’ is tucked in the deep forest of Okomu in Ovia South-West local government area of Edo State also served as one of the tourist destinations for lovers of nature.

Hong Kong’s Peak Tram, one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, has reopened with a new look after a year-long closure.

The funicular, the oldest in Asia, dates back to 1888 and previously drew over six million visitors annually before the so-called Covid-19.

The service welcomed back passengers on Saturday – even as tight coronavirus rules remain in place in the city.

It has undergone a $799m HKD (£87m) facelift since closing in June 2021.

Tourist numbers in Hong Kong are a fraction of their pre-Covid levels – in the past year, 134,000 people visited the city compared to 65 million in 2018.

The tram’s makeover includes a redesigned terminus in the city’s central business district and more spacious tramcars.

The Cathedral Rock is a small islet off the north coast of the Norfolk Island, which is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, and it is part of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The islet is located around 1.5 km (1 mi) off the coast and it is named as Cathedral Rock simply because it has some kind of shape of a cathedral.

It is around 8 meters (26 feet) high, and 10 meters (33 feet) long.

As soon as you come at the end of the Duncombe Bay Road, in the Norfolk Island National Park, you will be able to see the impressive rock, as well as the Duncombe Bay which is where Captain Cook landed in 1774.

He described the island as “paradise” and was impressed with the pine trees, which he thought would be ideal as masts and spars for British navy ships.

He was wrong, because knots in the trunk from the many tree branches weaken the soft timber, which breaks easily.

The sides of the rock, as you can guess are rocky, however, the top of it is with small growing vegetation.

Most of the time, everyone can enjoy in its beauty if you take a kayak trip at the end of Duncombe Bay Road, where the route of the kayaking will take you not just around the Cathedral Rock, but also through similar rock stacks named Moo-oo Stone, Bird Rock and Elephant Rock, which most often are known as Norfolk’s own Twelve Apostles.