April 3, 2016
We're driving through Ghana, north to south. On the way we stop for a safari in Mole National Park where we get to see plenty of elephants, and where a baboon makes its way into our truck.
Finally in Ghana and finally an English-speaking country! My French is definitely improving but it’s still extremely basic. So much easier when the locals speak English!
Ghana looks like a pretty small country on the map but with a slow truck, stops for sightseeing, and a few hundred potholes and speedbumps it takes a while. Between Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and the Ghanaian coast we spent five nights bush camping. That did however include a few nice stops too.
The first big stop was Mole National Park, the first game park of the trip. In the park we did a walking safari and got to see warthogs, kob antelopes, baboons, and, the best part, a herd of about ten elephants. The elephants kept an eye on us but didn’t care too much and we could get fairly close. No sitting on the animals this time though.
Before we left the park we went to the park hotel for lunch and a much needed swim in the pool. This was on the first of April, and some people decided to go for a fun April Fool’s joke and got the bartender to tell the driver that there was a baboon in our truck. They went to check but of course there’s no baboon. Less than half an hour later there is an actual baboon there that somehow managed to sneak into the back of the truck. Apparently the leftovers of yesterday’s dinner smelled really good. It also thought it was fun to take a crap on the seats. There was quite a bit of cleaning to be done before we could keep going. The baboon found a garbage bin not to far away where it sat watching us, probably hoping for another opportunity to raid the truck.
Next stop was Kintampo Waterfalls, a set of three waterfalls of various sizes where you can go for a swim by the last one. There was a big group of local kids, probably form a school nearby, swimming in the water under the fall. Some people in our group joined them and we, exotic and white as we were, quickly became the main attraction, especially the girls.
The last stop before the coast was a short stop in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. This was just a short stop to visit the market for lunch and to get some supplies for the evening. A fun thing about Ghana, especially noticable around Kumasi, is all the names of small companies, and we drove past lots of them on the way through the city. How about God is King Furniture, Thank You Jesus Refrigerator Services, God’s Way Plumbing Services or why not Clap for Jesus and Fripo Ent.
Now that we’ve finally reached the coast it’s time to explore coastal Ghana and get some beach time. Last time we saw the ocean was exactly a month ago in Senegal. So good to see it again!