Mole National Park is Ghana’s largest wildlife refuge and your best bet for game viewing in the country. It’s quite a trek to get to so it’s usually only visited if you’re in Ghana for two weeks or more. I had to catch a flight to Tamale in the north and get an early 5:30am bus for a 4-hour journey on a really rough and bumpy dirt road, famous for being the toughest one in Ghana. It was indeed! It’s all worth it though and your aching body will forget all about it once you reach the gates (after hitching a ride on a motorcycle…the bus doesn’t go that far!).

The only accommodation in the park is the Mole Motel which sits on top of a 250m escarpment overlooking the flat savanna below.

They have rooms for all budget including dorms though the best ones are undoubtedly the chalets by the pool with balconies offering beautiful views over the park.

Observation deck

The best thing about the motel is of course its location, and the fact that you don’t even need to venture into the park to see the animals as a lot of them are just hanging out on the motel grounds daily. Warthogs (Pumbaa to fans of the Lion King) especially are everywhere, eating in front of your door in the morning and late afternoon.

Almost as frequent as warthogs, baboons get even nearer like this one standing on my balcony.

You can easily recognize them with their long, dog-like muzzles, thick allover fur…

… and let’s not forget their hairless, protruding buttocks apparently there for their sitting comfort.

They can cause quite a raucous around the motel as they often end up inside the restaurant or snatching things from tourists around the pool which is why the staff usually chase them away. They’ll either run towards the savanna or climb trees to snack on flowers.

A rarer sight which happened only once was of this Patas monkey around the pool.

It would be a shame though to get all the way there and not go on a safari in the savanna below as it’s probably the cheapest safari you’ll ever do and you never quite know what it is you’re going to see that day. The safaris leave twice a day, either in the morning at 7am where apparently the animal activity is at its peak, or in the afternoon at 3:30pm for a golden hour tour. I headed out on my first afternoon drive the first day I arrived, sitting on top of a Jeep for two hours of pure thrill!

It’s true that Mole isn’t known as a prime game viewing spot and has very little to show compared with Eastern and Southern Africa, though for first timers like myself it’s the perfect initiation and a highlight of any trips to Ghana. Just sitting on top of that Jeep, going through narrow paths, crossing rivers, and just keeping your eyes focused for anything that moves was the most fun I’ve had in a while. At about $15 for a two-hour ride it also is ridiculously cheap for such live entertainment!

The park is home to over 93 mammal species and is considered a prime reserve for a large number of antelope species of which you’re guaranteed to see a lot of.

Bushbuck

Young kob

Male kob

While you’ll often see male kobs by themselves, you’re more likely to see big groups of kobs with only one male leading.

The landscape changes regularly from wet land to colorful savanna, the red road and vivid greens forming a beautiful contrast against the bright blue sky. Even if no animals were to be seen it’s still such a nice Jeep ride you’re happy to just sit back and enjoy the view and wind in your hair.

There are sometimes breathtaking surprises and an unexpected appearance right by the side of the road remains one of my most magical moments. I heard the trumpet noise before the jeep jolted to a halt and we stared in awe at the giant form making its way towards us from the bushes…. an ELEPHANT!!!

It’s hard to describe the feelings such a close encounter provoke, as he was literally less than 15 feet away from us and as magnificent as you can imagine. Seeing an elephant at Mole is everyone’s dream fantasy though very few had that chance that week and we were amongst the lucky ones. Very lucky indeed as they rarely stay so close to the vehicles, allowing tons of stunning pictures to be taken.

We stayed there for about 15 minutes in silence, closely watching his every move, admiring the sheer size of the largest mammal I had ever seen.

Trying to make eye contact….

We were treated to a catwalk show and a lot of foraging before he starting showing signs of annoyance…

When an elephant starts extending his large ears and tapping his huge feet on the ground, making his angry trumpet noise….it’s time to run! Think we had overstayed our welcome and what was such a beautiful and peaceful moment turned into panic mode when he threatened to charge our Jeep. We had quite a few hair raising moments where we had to back the Jeep in the bushes to try and hide after finally jetting off at lightning speed to save our lives. This really felt like I had been dumped in the middle of Jurassic Park!

Although I caught a brief glimpse of him a bit later that week, this was my last real elephant sighting in Ghana and I’d say it was one I shall never forget! The rest of the safaris were a little less emotional but still pretty cool with lots more antelopes and monkeys to feast our eyes with.

Baboons hang out together so families are quite easy to spot.

Green Monkeys are a little more shy so you’ll need a good zoom to catch one.

Most of the time they’ll be running away from you…

And of course loads of warthogs are roaming the grounds though you won’t be able to get as close to them as you can back at the Motel.

The great thing about the afternoon safari is coming back at sunset which gives a gorgeous glow to the savanna.

While the Jeep Safaris are really a blast and the best way to see a large quantity of different mammals, the park also offers Walking Safaris which are equally rewarding, just in a different way. Leaving at the same time as the Jeep Safaris (i.e. 7am or 3:30pm), you set on foot with an armed guide, either alone or with a small group, and quietly make your way around the savanna and the watering holes.

It opens up a whole new set of creatures to observe, from fascinating birds to insects and reptiles, all the while getting a super informative discussion with your guide on animal behavior, plant species growing in the park, etc. Here Egrets are feeding in the swamp, almost always found in groups.

The Ground Hornbill is a little harder to spot though its large size makes it a stunning discovery.

Red-Throated Bee-Eaters are some of the most colorful birds fund in the park.

The bee eaters’ nests

Dove

White-headed vultures are everywhere, circling the grounds.

Looking down though shows as many activities such as this ant colony transporting eggs in a busy traffic corridor.

Scarab

Giant termites’ nests and another scarab

Caterpillar

An old track of elephant’s footprints

It was really hard to leave after five days, still on the adrenaline of a possible elephant encounter, but I feel I got a lot out of the Ghanaian savanna and definitely have enough pictures to remind me of this magical place!

After the frenetic pace of Kumasi, a nature break was needed so I treated myself on my birthday to a day trip to nearby Lake Bosumtwi.

About 30km southeast of Kumasi (i.e. 45 min in a taxi), Lake Bosumtwi is the largest natural lake in Ghana and lies within a crater formed by a meteorite impact. The lake makes for a beautiful escape, surrounded by mountainous crater walls in vivid shades of green perfect for walking, bird watching, and canoeing.

Besides its natural beauty, there’s an ever present mystical feel in the air accentuated by the soft fog over the lake, stillness of the water and complete silence apart from the occasional flapping sound made by the local fishermen.

Considered sacred by the locals, the lake is supposedly where souls of the dead come to bid farewell to the god Twi. Due to these local beliefs it is only allowed to fish from wooden planks (padua) on the lake and is considered taboo to touch the water with iron or any metal (i.e. modern boat).

Fishermen use their hands, or plates in their hands, to propel themselves.

Kids too are enjoying ‘surfing’ on the lake using the paduas.

There are a few guest houses around the lake and I highly recommend where we stayed, the Lake Point Guest House.  Set in beautiful landscaped grounds, the self contained bungalows are really charming, super clean, and just a few steps from the lake and a small beach where you can rent a boat or just relax in a hammock.

A true oasis of tranquility where the only sound you’ll hear are birds hiding in the trees and tropical plants.

Another excellent reason to stay at Lake Point Guest House is the food which is some of the best I’ve had in Ghana, and definitely the best around the lake. They miraculously serve real coffee (not that Nescafe you get everywhere in Ghana!), delicious crepes with syrup for breakfast and a tempting dinner menu written on a black board offering local specialties. Get the tilapia freshly caught from the lake…you won’t regret it!

Lizards of all shapes and sizes roam around the property.

Dragonfly on the lakeshore

Group of Pied Crows

Looking up you can easily spot tons of colorful birds and tropical fruits hanging high from the trees such as bananas, papayas, etc.

The guest house is surrounded by cocoa trees which are perfect for taking in some shade or even a nice nap.

While a tarmac road links Kumasi to the main village of Abono on the northern shore of the lake, you need to drive on a dirt track to get to any of the guest houses so there really aren’t many cars around here.

Though the path doesn’t go all the way around the lake, you can walk a pretty big section of it to take in the views on its hills and go through picturesque villages of which there are about 30.

We even had a local kid tagging along and entertaining us with the myriads of legends about the lake and the local beliefs.

One more reason to stay the night is for the chance to see the lake in the golden hour, the sunset turning the roads deep orange and casting a beautiful warm glow on the vegetation.

I’m getting used to having kids dying to pose in front of my camera…

One can’t travel around Ghana without hearing about the Ashanti empire and its capital since 1600, Kumasi. The second largest city in Ghana, Kumasi is filled with culture and historical sites associated with the Ashanti culture and with over 1.5 million people is a bustling and unsurprisingly chaotic center well worth a visit.

The traffic here is legendary and you can see street vendors selling anything from food to toys, dvds, coffee tables, housewares, etc. to stopped vehicles. Traffic jams can last for quite a bit so it’s the perfect time to ‘window’ shop…

Busy streets everywhere you look

It’s actually in the middle of all this chaos that I think I sort of fell in love with Ghana, precisely while wandering through its gigantic market…

Kejetia Market is supposedly the largest open-air market in all of West Africa and I have no trouble believing that! 12 hectares and over 10,000 traders make for a crazy sight, almost as if a shanty town had magically landed in a valley right off the city center.

It can look pretty intimidating from the outside, but once you step into the market it’s a whole other world, one in which you can easily get lost for hours.

I can’t really say how many hours I stayed inside, but I sure never felt like such a celebrity. My friend and I were the only two Caucasians on the site and were called every 5 seconds to chat to super friendly traders, all smiles, wanting to know our names, where we were from, and mostly what on earth were we doing there, lol! I’ll always carry fond memories of the fish ladies, by far the nicest of the bunch.

Squeezing into the narrow alleyways, looking at everything you can possibly imagine on either sides is pure enjoyment, and now on my list of ‘out of this world experiences’.

Kumasi is not all chaos though and one can find a rather nice urban center. It’s not called the ‘Garden City’ for nothing after all.

The opposite of a visit to the market would be one to the National Cultural Center which is also a must when passing by Kumasi.

The sprawling complex hosts a small though comprehensive museum on Ashanti history, an exhibition hall, and a few very good craft shops where you can watch how they make those beautiful wood carved stools, drums, custom furniture, etc. and buy a few presents to bring back home at very good prices.

There’s also a good restaurant on the premise called Kentish Kitchen where you can sit comfortably in a shaded courtyard and enjoy some basic Ghanaian fares such as Red Red, a delicious bean stew served with fried ripe plantain and in this case fried fish.

The Manhyia Palace is the seat of the King of Ashanti and the Royal Family members and is where the current King resides although he lives in a more modern building now than the former palace which you can visit. The short tour will give you a feel for how an Ashanti ruler lived, which is surprisingly a lot more modest than you would think.

The REAL reason we were in Kumasi though was for the chance to see Ghana’s football team, the Black Stars, play against Egypt in the World Cup qualifying playoff. The match was held on Tuesday October 15th at Kumasi’s Baba Yara Stadium and we all decked ourselves in Ghanaian colors from the memorabilia sellers on the street before braving the crazy crowds.

The sight was a loud and colorful bunch of over 40,000 fans, filling in the stadium hours before the match to get seats and get the party started. I got there 3.5 hours early for an afternoon filled with burning sun, national chants, blowing horns, and finally a heavy downpour which left us completely soaked minutes before the start of the match.

The Black Stars goalkeeper seconds before the match…clearly not knowing his prayers would be answered tenfold today.

Game is on, the enthusiasm of the crowd getting an early push with a first goal for Ghana after only 4 minutes and a second one following at the 22nd minute.

Food vendors navigate the crowd with tempting snacks and most importantly cold water.

Fried cassava balls with coconut

Black Stars’ youngest fan

They really did give a magnificent performance, one which should ensure their presence in Brazil next year as they literally crushed The Pharaohs under the rapturous applause of the crowd. I couldn’t have wished for a better match to attend.

Final score: Ghana 6 – Egypt 1…or what the press quickly titled ‘The Massacre’! Congrats Black Stars!!

Ghana is most famous for its coastline which is where the majority of tourists will spend their holidays, though the best beaches lay way out west, too far for a weekend getaway from Accra. I was luckily able to find an exception to the rule in a relatively undiscovered piece of paradise in the East going towards Togo – a gorgeous palm-lined and rustic beach near the fishing town of Ada Foah…and decided to give it a try one weekend. Best. Escape. Ever.

Traveling ‘short’ distances in Ghana is best done by tro-tros which are beat up mini-vans squeezing in as many passengers as possible. They’re everywhere and can take you also just about anywhere, dropping and picking people up along the road. Though not super comfortable, it’s a great way to travel with the locals and super economic as well. Our ride to ‘off-the-beaten-path’ Ada Foah took a little more than two hours and costs us about $3 each – a bargain to reach the dreamy coastal town.

We arrived in Ada Foah in the hot midday sun on a Saturday, greeted by a buzzing market right by the tro-tro station.

We waited in the shade of the market for our local pick up which would bring us by boat to our beach accommodation, observing in the meantime the locals doing their groceries of fish, fruits, and vegetables.

The fishing town has the particularity of being right at the point where the Volta river meets the Gulf of Guinea. We had a boat waiting for us on the river for a beautiful 10 minutes ride down to the peninsula where we would be spending the night.

After the long and stuffy tro-tro ride, this open boat ride felt like a dream. None of us had expected the river and surrounding vistas to be so beautiful and we quickly reached for our cameras to capture some gorgeous scenery along the bank.

Ada Foah is home to Ghana’s sailing club and apparently a favorite destination of wealthy Ghanaians who own secondary houses here for weekend getaways.

I never expected to see such posh villas around these parts.

The Volta river is a busy commute with colorful boats whisking locals away and back and…transporting disco boys??

Soon the posh villas gave way to little fishing villages and houses made of palm leaves.

The riverbanks were full of life with kids playing on the beach…

… and family going about their shores, washing laundry in the river to dry it in the hot sun.

We soon saw our final destination, right at the tip of the peninsula where a thin barrier of sand is the only thing standing between the calm river and the raging ocean.

Welcome to Maranatha Beach Camp! A true piece of paradise, easily noticed by the palm trees painted in red, yellow, and green – the colors of the Ghanaian flag.

Accommodations are simple beach huts on the sand, all with a different country flag painted on their door. And no, I didn’t get to stay in Canada… 🙁

Sand floor, double bed, mosquito net, little crabs, and the roaring sound of the ocean nearby… I couldn’t wait to sleep there! At 10$/night, this is a rustic and ideal room for volunteers on a break.

The bar/restaurant was where we hung out most of the time, so comfortable in the shade especially with cold beers an arm’s length away.

The food was amazing for such a remote place though patience was required. Meals could take at least 1 or 1.5 hours to be ready so we learned to order dinner at lunch time and breakfast at dinner time…not a big issue, just the chilled way over here.

Waiting for food meant lots of time for contemplation, and there was always a lot happening around us like adorable puppies hiding under the tables…

…beautiful babies hiding behind the bar….

….but mostly local kids vying for our attention. Seems they learn to dance before they can even walk and love to show expats their best moves!

They even dance when they walk…oh, and this will be a big bonfire tonight!

Local fashion showdown on the beach.

Nothing better than a fresh coconut on a hot day, and these kids will not only climb up the palm trees to get you one, they’ll also cut it up with a machete – a scary sight!

Ping Pong game on the beach.

Water polo match in the river?

When you eventually get tired of sitting down, walking around the camp will stretch your legs and present quite a few good photo ops whether you like the calming view of the river on one side…

…or the rough waves of the Gulf of Guinea on the other, literally just a few steps away. Pretty cool to be standing on top of that thin strip of land and seeing both bodies of water at the same time.

Abandoned fishing boat

Beach crab

My hammock siesta companions….

Of course there was going to be a sunset pic… A bit too many clouds but still quite the sight.

The evening was a bonfire party with music and locals shaming us with their dancing prowess. The night in the pitch darkness with the sound of the crashing waves was one of the best I’ve had since I’ve been in Africa. We all slowly woke up for breakfast on the beach (which we had ordered the night before!) and a lazy morning thinking how much we didn’t want to go back to Accra…

Before heading back though, we asked the camp’s manager Winfred, whom we’d just met the night before, to give us a tour of the land and the community. On top of before a super cool beach hangout and in my opinion one of the best weekend getaways from Accra, the Maranatha Beach Camp actually is a lot more than that and serves a greater purpose than entertaining expats and locals. Beyond a small lagoon at the back of the restaurant lies part of a local community which we got a glimpse of…

The beach camp is attached to a fishing community pretty much cut off from the bigger cities and lacking a lot of services including a good school to send the kids to. Buildings in various state of construction line the shore, waiting for more funds to fulfill their purpose.

Founded and built by Winfred, a local boy who grew up in the community, the beach camp generates revenues to help fund the construction and maintenance of the local school, a project that Winfred started a few years ago and is still in need of a lot of work to be fully functional.

Some basic education is already taking place, but most of the classrooms have yet to be completed, there are no toilets on the premises, no money to get competent teachers to come on a regular basis, and Winfred would also love to add a library.

An insight into a Natural Science class for the primary level…

So many projects to get done and seeing the beautiful grounds I felt like just rolling up my sleeves there and then and get to work! I know many of you reading this would love the adventure, and Winfred is looking for volunteers to contribute their time for as little as two weeks and more if they want. What could be cooler than staying in this mini paradise for a long holiday while giving back? Email Winfred at maranathabeachcamp@yahoo.com to inquire about volunteering…I promise you won’t regret it!

Good thing to know all the money from our stay this weekend would go towards the school and reason more to come back and visit which we all promised we would. I can’t think of a better reason to spend a weekend at the beach, and interacting with the local kids made our visit even more special.

Winfred & Moi…a true inspiration.

I’ll be back…

I’ve always primarily discovered a country through its sights and food, but now I’m truly discovering Africa through its craft and culture thanks to the wonderful fair trade organization I’m volunteering for. Global Mamas has been empowering women in Ghana for 10 years now, providing sustainable work for women entrepreneurs and much happiness to their families by helping them reach prosperity.

By creating unique, high-quality, hand-made African products for export, being paid a fair wage, and getting the training needed to expend their business, these women can become financially independent and get their family out of poverty.

I recently traveled to one of Global Mamas production facility in Ashaiman, a municipality outside of Accra, where batik products are being produced from beginning to end. A fascinating process to watch, it really does give meaning to buying fair trade products and will surely impact my shopping habits as I got to see where it all came from and most importantly the great impact it has on these women. Here’s a visual insight into the beautiful and labor intensive art of African Batik:

A batiker is preparing the first dye bath

A large piece of fabric (white cotton cloth) is then dipped into the cold dye bath, swirled around and lifted to help the oxygen change the color of the fabric, a task often performed by volunteers to help the batikers.

The dye bath is then drained in the most colorful bathtub I’ve ever seen…

…and the now dyed fabric is hung to dry in the yard.

The next stage of the batik process involves applying wax to parts of the fabric to create a batik pattern/design. Wax is heated up in a cauldron over fire…

…before a batiker dips her chosen stamp design in it. Thick foam blocks are carved to create wax stamps of every shape and size imaginable.

The batiker stamps the fabric with the wax in a symmetrical pattern before leaving it out to cool and dry.

Then the 12 o’clock lunch bell rang (!) and all the Mamas went out in the streets of Ashaiman to grab lunch during their hour-long break.

Unassuming bars (called spots here) and eateries painted in blue were packed with locals.

We went for a traditional workers’ lunch at ‘Thy Grace Food and Spot’, a cheap and cheerful local hangout serving generous portions of Ghanaian staples.

It was a first for me seeing the dish they call ‘Face-the-wall’, similar to many dishes here yet having its very own components (and reputation!). Originally called Kokonte, this staple made of pounded dried cassava helped a lot of Ghanaians survive during the famine of the early ’80s and is therefore seen as the food of the poor. Its evocative name of Face-the-wall refers to the people eating it outside having to hide from passerbys by ‘facing the wall’ out of shame…

I really enjoyed my dish of Fufu, boiled cassava which is pounded to a dough-like consistency. It was served submerged in Light Soup, a tomato-based soup with peppers and in this case chicken. The traditional way to eat Fufu is to take a small ball with your fingers, dip it into the soup and swallow it whole. While I got the eating with my fingers bit, I couldn’t help but to chew on it which was actually pretty good! A very satisfying lunch for less than a $1…can’t beat that!

Back at the facility, batiks from this morning were out for their final drying time, adding a colorful backdrop to the otherwise naked yard. We can see the magic of the second dye bath on this one which darkened the background while leaving the pattern where the wax stamps were the original color. This process can be repeated as many time as you want to obtain a series of different colors and designs.

More batiks were on their way, some having gone through two different wax stamping sessions and waiting to be hung to dry before being thrown in boiling water to get rid of the wax and create the final fabric.

This is what three baths and two wax stamping sessions will create…

This one is ready to be boiled to remove the wax – see the crackling of the wax stamps on the fabric, a true mark of an original batik print.

Finished fabrics are folded and stored, waiting to be cut and sewn into one of Global Mamas colorful batik clothing, accessories and home decor items.

Being part of Global Mamas also means receiving training and business development coaching to improve their business and their profits. These seamstresses were attending a training session on a new pattern for making small baskets for the home.

They were soon applying the new pattern which will improve productivity and reduce fabric waste.

The finish product is available in the Global Mamas store in Accra or to purchase online. One of my first assignments was actually to photograph all of their products in their Accra store – you can see my photos on their Facebook page.

The Global Mamas store in Accra, in the Osu neighborhood.

So this is the fair trade way my friends and the best way to spend your dollars, knowing they’ll all go directly towards the Mamas and creating new jobs so that more women in Ghana can improve their standard of living – truly inspiring.