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GHANA
Day 94 13.04.05

Watched intently by the children we packed up and moved off without having breakfast. We later turned off the road and found a shady place to stop but it was already incredibly hot even in the shade and we were bombarded with little flies. With some distance to drive and a border crossing ahead of us we felt a need to chill out so we retreated to the land rover, put the aircon on and had a good breakfast of coffee, toast and Nutella! (We have given up buying bread as in the heat it dries out very quickly and it is better to buy packets of 'toasts' or crackers.)

The border officials were interested in the fact that I was born in Ghana and quite amused at how excited I was to get here! They were very welcoming and we left the border with lots of good wishes that we enjoy the country and get to see where I was born.

Here at last!

At the Catholic Mission guest House in Wa we have a very comfortable and spotlessly clean room with ensuite shower.

Day 95 14.04.05

Stayed in Wa.
Steve was intrigued to see this extended Land Rover being used as a rescue vehicle by the local fire service.

Simon with rescue
Land Rover.

We met Simon, a local fireman who offered to take us to see the Wa Na's palace as recommended in the guide book. Simon explained that there is a dispute over who was the rightful Wa Na and while this is resolved through the courts the palace has fallen into disrepair.

Simon took us to see the original palace and then the new palace a pastiche of the real one and guarded by soldiers as the present Wa Na is under threat from the family of the other claimant. We hope, whatever the outcome of the court case that the original palace is restored.

Palace of the Wa Na.

It was great to meet Paul and Beccie in Wa. Another English couple travelling in the same sort of Land Rover as us. Also staying at the mission.

Day 96 15.04.05

Within 10 minutes of us setting up camp with Paul and Beccie at the top of the slope overlooking the waterhole 2 elephants wandered along below us ready for a dip.

View from the camp

Days 97, 98 16 - 17.04.05

An overnight stay got lengthened to 3 nights as it is just such a great place to camp. There is a great view across 2 waterholes. All day long elephants wander across to have a splash in the water.

Elephants bathing

The crocodiles lazily swim across and other animals such as Cob and Roan antelope go down to the water to drink. There is a herd of warthogs which wander round the campsite.

Warts the hurry?

There are also various monkeys living in the park.

Monkey escape bid

On the first morning we went on the early morning guided walk and from the bottom of the slope by the waterhole could look up and see the baboons taking advantage of our absence to relieve us of anything vaguely edible, not locked in the land rover, including Beccie's toothpaste.

Pearly whites.

They are a pest. The big male one (as tall as a small adult human)is relatively unafraid and is not put off by people standing next to the food. The staff told us he has been into the staff houses to steal food. They use catapults to chase them away and encouraged us to do the same!

Baboons in the camp were one thing but we were very surprised when one of the elephants clambered up the slope and strolled through the campsite!

Don't look behind you.

He investigated a truck and overturned and shook a dustbin. He is the only elephant that is reasonably safe to go near as he appears to like being near humans. He also goes to the staff houses and puts his trunk in through the kitchen window to sniff around for food.

It was great to meet Charlie who is in charge of a conservation project at the park and also Chris and Higgy who cooked us an amazing meal.

Charlie took us out to look at the start of a new project in the park to establish some satellite ranger stations so that the rangers can be stationed at different points in the park better to deal with poachers.

With Charlie inspecting progress.

It was interesting to hear of the difficulties facing conservation schemes and also to hear how in other countries the most successful conservation measure has often been to introduce controlled hunting of animals.

Day 99 18.04.05

Travelled from Mole to Tamale. Neither internet café in town would let us connect our lap top. Stocked up with food in the market and camped in grounds of guest house. Scenery becoming greener.

Day 100 19.04.05

Travelling down the East side of Ghana the scenery is becoming mountainous and green and lush. A huge change from the Sahel we are used to.

Seeing lots of people by the road and hearing drumming we stop to see what is happening. It is a funeral but our appearance causes a mass outbreak of hysteria amongst the children so we have to leave!

Pleased to see us.

Heading for Shairi a village recommended in the guidebooks we turn up a narrow dirt track and eventually find a small clearing just big enough for the 2 land Rovers just off the track. It turns out to be a fairly well travelled path and people stop to have a look and say hello.

Day 101 20.04.05

We wake to a heavy rain storm so get an extra hour in bed waiting for it to stop.

Early morning rain.

Usually it is too hot to stay in the tent even early in the morning so it is a great luxury to have a lie in as the rain has a cooling effect. Some local villagers tell us that the track further on is difficult and indeed it had some very steep and interesting sections

Difficult road.

before ending at the school.

End of the track.

From there we continued on foot to the village across a log bridge

Balancing act.

and up a very steep slope. At the top we find that the village is built on a series of uneven terraces.

We are taken to meet the elders as is the custom.

Village elders.

Paul shows the chief his picture.

The discussions begin with libations. A bottle of palm gin is brought out and we, in turn, are given a 1/3 glass full which we are expected to down in one. It was good stuff! Explaining that we would like to see the waterfalls and look round the village, we are informed 'The rain has made the path to the waterfall too difficult'. (It was precisely because of the heavy rain that we had thought the waterfall would be worth seeing.) However we are told that for a payment of 4000 cedis each and a bottle of wine given to the chief from the 4 of us we will be taken on a guided tour around the village.

We pay up and after some further discussion about the origins of the village the meeting ends with another round of the excellent palm gin. By now we are feeling the effects of it and it is still only 10 am. We set off after our guide, lurching up and down the precipitous muddy paths accompanied by the usual crowds of children.

On the slopes.

Village lads.

On tour.

In our happy state judgement is suspended and we are charmed and thrilled by every aspect of the village.
Talking to the children about school we are surprised to learn that as well as the usual English and maths and science, they learn Greek. Is this some foreign funded initiative we wonder? On the way back to the vehicles we miraculously make it down the cliff path without incident. We call in at the school. 'We hear the children learn Greek we say to the teacher. 'Ah Greek' he replies. We say we are surprised and he says why -it is very relevant to their daily lives. 'How so?' We say.
'most of them will farm and it is important that they understand how to use the land properly and the study of agriculture helps them to do this.
Agriculture?
Yes Agric.

We are slightly disappointed to learn that there is no mad initiative to teach Greek to the children of rural Africa.

School kids.

Teacher's desk.

The writing's on the wall.

We bid farewell and set off back down the track to find somewhere to have our lunch in the shade and let the effects of the palm gin wear off.
Much later in the day we arrive at Lackham Lodge.

Day 102 21.04.05

One of the staff at the lodge takes our washing from us and soon it is all hung on the line.

Camp at the lodge.

Once it is dry we set off further into the mountains. We are in search of another waterfall. We reach the village in the late afternoon and once again we have to meet the chief and do the libations swigging down the palm gin.
We are taken up the track to see the waterfall which has a series of 5 pools at different levels down the hillside. A path is hacked for us up to one of the pools. Then they take us up to the catholic mission on the top of the hill with the intention of showing us the top of the waterfall. It is a strangely ordered place with immaculate gardens. The priest in charge comes out and berates the villagers and us because we are camping. Gesturing behind to the top of a hill he tells us he is not against adventure and has been to the top of the hill. He tells us we are in a war zone and there are many dangers. We enquire what these are and he says snakes. The villagers listen and when he seems to have finished they say to us 'lets find a place for you to camp' and back down the hill we find a clearing where we set up camp. The villagers here were extremely friendly and helpful.

Day 103 22.04.05

Bush camp.

Spend the morning sitting high up on the rocks by the waterfall and swimming in the pool. Then off to the monkey sanctuary at Tafi Atome. This is an eco tourism project with a clear price structure.
As it was a weekend we could set up camp on the school football pitch.
We were entertained by drumming and dancing in the evening.

Day 104 23.04.05

Up at 6 am to go on the forest walk to see the monkeys.
These monkeys were thought to be sacred and a means of communication with the ancestors but monkey numbers were in decline. The village has had some advice from a Canadian monkey business expert about the best way to preserve the surrounding forest for the monkeys so now they manage to derive some income from tourists with a properly organised project, the forest is protected and the number of monkeys is increasing.

The monkeys lured by bananas made an appearance and we trooped through the forest.

Looking for bananas.

Close by is a village where they specialise in weaving the local Kente Cloth. The cloth is produced in long strips which are then sewn together to make larger pieces.

Young Kente cloth weaver.

We paid for a tour round the village and bought some of the strips of cloth. As this is another place with a clear written price structure we were irritated to be approached for more money as we were leaving and pointed out we had paid for the tour and bought their product. Later we met some other people who had had the same experience and had offered the same response.

Setting up camp in the grounds of Mountain Paradise, (the former government rest house) we are watched by a large monkey lolling about in a tree and a smaller monkey in a cage. Later we heard the story of the 3 not so wise monkeys. The owner had the idea of rescuing 3 monkeys from the zoo. At first all the monkeys were allowed to wander around freely with varied consequences. One was bitten by a snake and died. The large one continues to wander around happily with complete freedom (being only a slight nuisance at breakfast) hanging out in trees and glaring at the dog.

What are you looking at?

However the 3rd monkey has bitten 2 people and caused the resignation of one of the staff. So for now it is temporarily in a small cage while the owner has a real difficulty deciding what to do for the best.

The amazing views from here across the valley to Mount Gemi are of thickly wooded mountainside with wisps of clouds drifting across the valley.

Up in the clouds.

When we arrived we ordered a meal of fish and yam from the menu and the staff cycled off down the hill to the village to fetch the ingredients!

As we put the tents up we saw the rain sweeping across the valley and were treated to a tropical downpour. Later that evening as we sat at the table on the veranda another tropical storm rolled in. With continuous thunder and lightning it was better than tv!

Storm sweeps in.

Day 105 24.04.05

Stayed at Mountain Paradise

In the morning we met the owner of the lodge who had been returning in the previous evenings storm when his clutch had completely failed a kilometre down the hill. We drove down the track and towed the pickup back up the hill to the lodge so his mechanic could get to work on it.

After lunch Michele set off with Christina and Mel, 2 Americans peace corps volunteers staying at the lodge, to walk across the valley and up the other side to the small town Amedzofe on the top of the hill. Christina was wearing flip flops which broke on the way down. Flip flops are the universal foot wear in rural Africa whatever the terrain. The girls did an expert repair with grass and a rubber hair band. Having both spent a long time living in native villages they are adept at make do and mend. At the first village the Queen Mother of the village introduced herself and offered to lend Christina a pair of flip flops. Queen mother is the title given to the most important woman in the village.

Now suitably shod we were shown the path up the hillside

View back to Mountain Paradise.

and we toiled upwards glad of the shade of the trees and an hour later we emerged into Amedzofe.

From here we could see across to Lake Volta and across the surrounding hills.

Mel and Christina.

Christina purchased new flip-flops in the town so on the way back we were able to return the borrowed ones.

The Peace Corps volunteers we have met have developed close relationships with the African families they live with sometimes in poor rural villages under difficult circumstances away from their own friends and family. They have differing tasks in helping with simple health education or helping to set up tourism projects for some income for the villagers.

Steve, inspecting the Land Rover noticed that the bush on the rear link arm was splitting so in an effort to hold it together he put a jubilee clip round it as he didn't have a spare!

Day 106 25.04.05

Visited Cedi bead village where they grind down different colour glass bottles and use the resulting powder to make beautiful glass beads.

Threading the beads.

Moving on there was another rainstorm which completely flooded the town we were passing through.

Flood.

Set up camp at Aylos Bay resort. They have guest chalets but let us camp at the end of the site on the bank of the Volta river.

Days 107-8 26-27.04.05

At Aylos bay

View from the tent.

Below the dam the river is wide and slow flowing with clear deep water just the right temperature for swimming. Overhead the kites (birds) flew circles swooping down over the river. We were in the shade of a huge mango tree which reached out over the water. As the mangoes ripened they thudded down out of the tree with frequent regularity. Having mangoes falling almost literally into our laps was ok by us!

Waiting for mango fall.

They also fell into the water and the passing fishermen steered their canoes into the shallows to pick them up out of the water.

Local fishermen.

Canoeing up the river we visited the plot of Tim and Sally who we had met at the site. They like this part of Ghana so much they spend 3 months a year here and have bought some land which they are building on.

Beckie inspects the plot.

Michele and Beckie got a tro tro to Agamanya market to look at the beads and pottery but uninspired they returned with a new dishcloth and a hair clip!!

Day 109 28.04.05

Michele packing up the tent.

Tim had recommended that we look at the area just south of Lake Volta so we changed our plans to go to Accra and headed up to the lake. Stopping off at the Volta Hotel to change some money and use the internet we found they had run out of Cedis and the internet connection was extremely slow but there was a great view of the dam from the bar.

Volta dam.

That evening it was difficult to find anywhere to bush camp. Any areas that weren't cultivated were impenetrable bush.

Road.

Eventually in the dark we spotted the lights of some other Europeans camping on a rocky area. By torchlight Beckie and I approached them to say we were setting up nearby.
In the morning they said how amazed they had been by us appearing so unexpectedly out of the dark. (me in my Laura Ashley dress). When they heard us they thought it was local villagers and then 2 white women appeared out of nowhere. They were a group of Swiss people on an organised cycling tour. It sounded hard work but they all set off in the morning dressed in lycra.

Day 110 29.04.05

We drove on up an increasingly rough road.

Dodgy road.

As we turned onto a side track the rain was pouring down and the track became a stream. With a heart stopping lurch we slid into a deep and muddy rut coming to rest at what felt like a very precarious angle. Steve leapt out. 'What about me?' 'Oh you can get out if you want!' leaving me to clamber up across the cubby box and out of the drivers door.

Time to get out the waffle boards. With a precautionary rope to the other land rover to stop us tipping over Steve engaged low range and the rear diff air locker and reversed out. All four of us were covered in mud and soaking wet. By the time we were out the rain had stopped and the track was already drying out.

Self rescue.

Back on the road we were impressed that the occasional Tro tros plied this route and even small buses as this was back woods country and even the main road was very difficult at times. The countryside here was beautiful, in contrast to some of the villages which were very strange. Half desolate they consisted of individual houses set in rows. We realised that these were resettlement villages from when the dam was built and the lake flooded huge areas of land.

The flooded areas are covered in dead tree stumps giving this part of the lake an eerie feel.

Tree stumps in the lake.

As we lurched up a very steep and rocky part we heard a loud bang as the temporary jubilee clip burst off the bush so Steve set to to repair it. A group of young men soon gathered. They were very interested and stepped in to help when 2 people were needed. They offered suggestions when the high lift jack jammed up and various tactics ranging from spraying it and banging it failed to shift it.
"Hey Mr white man we can lift it" Paul got his jack out and with that taking the weight the young men knocked ours out. And eventually we were on our way again. However on the first rough bit we heard the bang as the clip flew off again!

Later we realised that both bushes had split and Paul and Steve came up with a cunning plan which involved replacing them with rubber from an old tyre. Passing through a village we spotted some tyres and after some negotiation purchased one.

We found a place to camp in an old sand pit some distance from the village and Paul and Steve in their new role as bush mechanics, set to work!

Day 111 30.04.05

Beckie and Michele left Paul and Steve sweating under the Land Rover and went to the village to get supplies. There was virtually nothing available. No fresh produce at all apart from the usual mangos. At the shop they said no to everything we enquired about but did have Spam!
A local helped us fill our water containers at the pump and showed us where we could buy some bread. He was a farmer but said he had to go high into the hills to farm as bush fires, started deliberately to drive out animals, which were then caught for food, destroyed his crops when they got out of control. He said that fish was plentiful in the lake but since the flooding of the land the local market was now only reachable by ferry. He remembered when there were elephant and lion in the area but these were long since gone although antelope and grass cutter can still be found in the hills.

We returned to the pit to find the repair work continuing under the blazing sun.

Demonstrating the
hand made bushes.

Using the high lift.

Fitting the bushes.

Beccie and I passed the time taking pictures of the local bird life.

Northern red bishop.

Bird of prey.

Pin tailed Whydah.

Kingfisher.

whilst keeping up a refrain of 'not many women would do this!!'
Eventually the repair was finished and we were able to leave the sand pit!!

We travelled on to Nkawkaw. The descent down into the town is spectacular

Spectacular descent.

and a large tree had also fallen across the road.

Tree across road.

We ended up at the Rojo hotel. Run by a German, (Gert) and his Ghanaian wife, in contrast to the sand pit, it had air-conditioned rooms and a well-maintained swimming pool.

Gert with his series 3.

Rojo Hotel from the air.

Day 112 01.05.05

The hotel is in a beautiful area which we would have explored more but for various reasons (not least to repair the Land Rover) we felt we had to get on to Accra.
A long drive to Accra.
The road was good but as soon as we reached any speed the Land Rover became difficult to handle swaying about. On inspection it was the same problem with the newly fitted temporary bushes not being thick enough. Either we do the whole journey at 20 miles an hour or we try to force some more rubber into the gap. Finding a place to stop well off the road Steve found himself once again under the vehicle. A man cycling past enquired what was he doing. He enthusiastically joined in and soon there was a real team effort going as the spare bits of rubber were being hacksawed into shape and stuffed into the gap with miles of tape wrapped round to keep them in position. When finished, the guy helped put the tools away, folded up the tarpaulin picked up his bike and went on his way.
We got on our way with a huge improvement in the handling of the Land Rover.

It was late when we reached Big Millies, the campsite outside of Accra we had heard so much about.

It was very crowded but we were squeezed in, for which we were grateful. The restaurant had run out of food so we went up to the village and got some food which we ate in a local bar.

Day 113 02.05.05

Well if you like to listen to other peoples drunken loud arguments and music played loudly half the night. And if you think toilets with no doors are a novelty and a bucket shower where someone has removed the bucket is ok and if you think that the fact that two girls staying at the site had been mugged nearby in separate incidents the day we arrived and someone had had their sleeping bag stolen from the campsite adds some excitement - then Big Millies is the place for you!
We decided to leave.
We drove into Accra and stocked up at the Koala supermarket (N05 33.944 W000 10.854) which was our first big stock up for 6 weeks. Beccie and Michele stumbled across the opening of a new beauty salon and spent some time with some very elegant Ghanaian ladies drinking wine and eating nibbles. I don't know what they thought of us in our rather grubby clothes straight from Big Millies. We made appointments for waxing the next day.

Accra is one big traffic jam!

Accra traffic jam.

We had read about the Coco Beach resort in the book but when we got there a big music festival was in progress and we couldn't stay. We ended up at a guest house where the European woman owner said we could camp in the garden and there was a shower and toilet (complete with cockroaches) we could use. As it was getting late there wasn't much choice and it was outrageously expensive but it wasn't great.

Day 114 03.05.05

In the morning the uninterrupted view of the beach which had seemed so lovely at dusk was somewhat marred by the fact that the locals were busy using it as a convenient toilet.
We packed up and returned to the Coco beach resort. They said we could camp in the car park which surprised us, as we wouldn't have let us camp in the car park, as there was no corner we could be out of sight and it is a smart place. Promising to return in the evening we went into Accra. The men went off to locate spare parts for the land Rovers and organise repairs and servicing.
Mechanical Lloyd Land Rover main dealer N05 33.787 W000 13.545
They contacted Opel. who was recommended by Tim who we had met at Aylos bay.
(Opel tel 0208138016 N05 38.081 W000 10.581)
The bushes which had been causing us so much trouble were replaced quickly and efficiently.

The women went to the beauty salon. It was a bit chaotic as it was the salons first day and didn't turn out to be quite the relaxing experience we were hoping for.
Needing some things from the shops we found it was the usual African experience of shops selling very odd assortments of things and having to keep asking.
On return to the resort worn out by the last few days and with Michele having a dodgy stomach we decided to take a room rather than camp.

Day 115 04.05.05

Stayed at Coco Beach
Steve and Paul took the land Rovers off to Opels workshop He turned out to be a real find and with his large team of mechanics set to work. Steve stayed for the day and had a great time.

Opels workshop.

Opel working on the Land Rover.

Checking valve clearances.

Beccie and Michele lay by the pool all day.

Day 116 05.05.05

Stayed at Coco Beach

Coco beach Hotel.

Paul and Beccie left to move up the coast. We will catch up with them next week. A catch up and sort out day.

Day 117 06.05.05

Visited the Toti Berg shipping agent in Tema, the port for Accra. Sorted out our shipping plans. It all seemed very easy due to the fact that they have shipped several other overlanders in the past so all we had to do was decide a date and they sort out the rest. It also isn't going to be as expensive as we feared.
The plan is to ship the Land Rover to Durban on about the 24 May. It could take up to 2 weeks to arrive. This gives us a time frame so we can plan the rest of our stay in Ghana.
Now planning to catch up with Paul and Beccie further up the coast.
Found Busynet Internet in Accra as recommended. This was an amazing place. It was huge with hundreds of computers and an entire room with connections for plugging in laptops. The connection was instant. After all the problems we have had finding a decent connection in Ghana it was a revelation! (It is on the right if you are going west on the ring road. N 05 25.004 W 0 28.053) Determined not to spend another night in Accra we sat in the traffic queues heading out towards the coast.
On the Dutch courage website they termed these queues 'walking supermarkets' and we cant think of a better term. There are lines of sellers walking alongside the traffic queues with all manner of goods for sale from food to plastic goods to toilet rolls. They work hard, as if they have a potential transaction and the traffic starts to move, they have to jog alongside to exchange the goods and money.
People travelling in the tro tros are good customers as crammed in together in the heat they need drinks. We watch as children balancing bowls of drinks packets on their head reach up to the tro tro windows with the drinks while jogging along between 2 lanes of slowly moving traffic. If the traffic gets moving faster suddenly they are trapped between the lanes.
Universally we are addressed as 'white man' or 'obruni' (same thing) As they arrive at the window the young men, noting the steering wheel on the wrong side will say 'hey white man, where you from? This land rover is a good car. I want it. How much you sell it for? Can I come to England with you?' Always good-natured but always the same! The women are more direct, pushing their goods forward. We say yes to 2 small packets of nuts and I am slow finding some change. The traffic starts to move quite fast and the girl is running alongside unwilling to lose a sale. I proffer the money and she thrusts the nuts at me. All that effort from her for 2000 Cedis (about 15p)

Arriving late we were glad to get a room at Tills No 1. It is a great little hotel built some years ago on the coast. It seemed blissfully quiet after the hustle and bustle of Accra.

Day 118 07.05.05

We headed along to the next town Senya Beraku which was where my parents honeymooned.
All along the coast on Ghana are a string of forts from the days when the colonial countries vied for domination of the coastline and the slave trade. Most of these forts are open to visitors, some in better repair than others. The Fort of Good Hope in Senya Beraku is now a guesthouse and for a small fee the local guide will show you around (and momentarily shut you in the room where the slaves were held.)

The main activity now is fishing and we watched lines of people on the beach pulling a huge fishing net towards the shore.

Senya Beraku.

View from the fort.

This is a scene repeated along this coast.
There is no industry as such in these places and most people live a hand to mouth existence either, fishing or farming with tourism providing some cash where they are able to provide some service.

Moving on to Cape Coast we call in to see Renae and Dave, 2 Americans who we met at Aylos Bay. Renae runs a not for profit company with local women making and selling clothes. (website www.globalmamas.org).

This is an admirable endeavour as getting any kind of business up and running here takes great tenacity and patience. It great that local women can get a fair price for well made clothes. The logistics of getting the clothes to the customers are tricky and so far they are only available here and in the USA. We treat ourselves to a new skirt for me and shirt for Steve. Its good to be able to buy clothes that are new!

Global Mamas.

Arriving at the Coconut grove resort we met up with Beccie. Coconut Grove has 2 locations, one in Elmina and one 3k along the coast. Paul and Beccie are staying in Elmina but we decide to stay on the coast.

Day 119 08.05.05

We don't feel ready for Cape Coast and Takoradi both of which are very significant for Michele so in desperate need of a day doing nothing we stay at Coconut Grove and do nothing.

Coconut Grove.

Day 120 09.05.05

Text from Paul and Beccie. They have reached Green Turtle, its great and they are camping on the beach. This spurs us on and we set off.

First to Cape Coast hospital where Michele's mother was a nursing sister in the 1950s. She was working here when she met my father and they became engaged.
The staff at the hospital are charming and kind. There is now a new main hospital in Cape Coast and this is the local district hospital. Despite being busy they take time out to show us around and try to work out what was there in my mothers day. It is strange to think of Mum walking along the same corridors all those years ago. Some of the wards are the same although they have changed their specific function.

Sister Rose escorts us around. She has worked in the hospital a long time (since the 1960s) and we are surprised to hear that she has come out of retirement to return to work. She doesn't look old enough!

Head Nurse and Sister Rose.

Cape Coast Hospital.

Patients have to pay for treatment except for pregnancy care, which is free in order to encourage women to attend. The hospital trains nurses but, as everywhere, has difficulty keeping them. We meet one of only 2 doctors at the hospital (although they do have visiting consultants from the main hospital.) The newest modern building is the Family Planning Clinic.
We are impressed to hear that all patients attending the hospital have full blood test including malaria and anaemia screening.

Next in this day of hospital visiting is the hospital in Takoradi. Michele was born here and this has been one of the goals of the trip. Again the hospital administrator is extremely kind and helpful. (As this was the main hospital for Europeans in the past they have had others turn up looking to find the place they were born.) He arranges for us to visit the maternity unit, which is still functioning as a maternity unit all these years later. This is amazing and after all the looking forward to it, when I am actually there I cant think of anything to say.

Takoradi hospital.

Later the administrator shows us around the hospital and explains the improvements they are making. They are refurbishing, ward by ward, e.g. tiling the floors so they are easier to keep clean. Again we are impressed by the hospital and the commitment to improving standards.

So, on to Green Turtle. We have been carrying the leaflet around for ages and have also heard about it from other travellers. We set up camp next to Paul and Beccie about 5 metres from the high tide mark.

Days 121 - 127 10.05.05 - 16.05.05

Stayed at Green Turtle Lodge

Green Turtle is run by Tom and Jo, a young English couple.

Its a hard life running a beach resort!

They aim to be as eco friendly as possible. There are rooms built using local materials (mud and bamboo) using local methods. There are loads of comfy chairs, some hammocks, a bar with comfy settees, loads of palm trees.

Green Turtle Bar

The toilets are well constructed long drop toilets which could serve as an example to some other places we have stayed where they seem to think that white people must have flush toilets and then they run into problems with supply of water.
The staff are recruited from the local village who have been involved from the beginning and get a proportion of the income. The village has a tourism committee who help to decide how to spend the money.

Meals are cooked using local ingredients. The fishermen paddle along beyond the breaking waves and stand up in their canoes holding up the catch of the day. Someone then swims out through the waves to collect the fish!

Fisherman

We spend quite a bit of time rearranging the inside of the Land Rover as when we get to South Africa, Rhona and Richard will be joining us so we have to find some way of freeing up the seats.

Reorganisation

This is hot and sweaty work so it definitely helps that in only a few paces we can be in the sea!

From the sea!

However the sandy beach runs along the front of the site. The waves are quite fierce for most of the time and having a swim consists mainly of going in, being thrown about by the waves and staggering out. We do this several times a day interspersed with kite flying, reading and the usual holiday activities.

Kite flying

'Swimming'

Enjoying the surf

The weather was mixed and again we had some thunderstorms.

Sadly we have to say goodbye to Paul and Beccie as Beccie is flying back to the UK and Paul will drive the Land Rover. They have been easy and entertaining travelling companions and we look forward to meeting up again with them back in the UK.

Day 128 17.05.05

We tore ourselves away from the comfort of Green Turtle. It was raining so we had to pack everything away wet.
Almost at the Cote D'Ivoire border is the Ankasa Forest Reserve. This is 500 square miles of protected rain forest with populations of forest elephant and other animals including leopard. 10 k into the reserve is a camp. While there are toilets and showers, otherwise, you have to be self sufficient.

Day 129 18.05.05

Stayed at Ankasa

We were the only visitors so we got a good welcome from the rangers. They kept us entertained with their tales of how they captured poachers. These were told complete with actions so we saw how they laid an ambush. We heard the poachers beg for mercy and saw how they shook when caught! They also told us about the various animals, again complete with actions and animal calls. On a guided walk through the forest we enjoyed the experience of unspoilt rainforest,

Steve finds his roots

Tree

The rangers adopt a serious pose

but the nearest we came to seeing any animals was a pile of elephant poo and elephant footprints!
The 'bamboo cathedral' was impressive. Giant clumps of bamboo grow to an enormous height and then bend over to form huge arches so the light filters through the delicate leaves.

Giant bamboo

Back at the camp a couple of the animals came to see us! A pair of Duiker wandered into the camp looking for some bread.

Feeding the Diuker

Otherwise the wildlife was of the insect variety so we utilised our net under the awning. Despite this, and the insect spray, we collected another crop of bites.
As we were in a rain forest we had no hope of being able to dry out the tent or our damp things.

Day 130 19.05.05

Spotting a car wash we took the opportunity to get a good wash for the wanderer.

Car wash

Needing to dry out we drove to Anomabo beach resort as we had been told we could camp there. 'We have special place for vehicles with tents on. Follow me' and we followed him to a great spot we could park and set up camp just behind the sun loungers ranged along the front of the resort. The beach was wonderful! The facilities were in working order and very clean.
We immediately abandoned our plan to move on the next day.

Day 131 20.05.05

Stayed at Anomabo

Another great campsite!

Relaxed while everything dried out. We enjoyed meeting a Dutch couple, their son Martin and their friend Bea. Some years ago Berend and Hildegard had driven back to Holland from Ghana in an ordinary Peugeot, which actually sounded far braver than anything we have attempted!

We liked the staff here. They whisked our washing off us and when I approached the line with some small things I had washed they came out saying 'give it to me we have a dry machine' and it was all returned later clean, dry and neatly folded.

We were surprised and amused when the staff said they were sorry we were going the next day as they thought we were very good surfers! 'Yes we like how you catch the wave, what you do with your arms!' They then imitated the frantic wind milling of the arms, which we had, at times, employed in our efforts to catch the waves with the boogie board.

Day 132 21.05.05

Back to noisy busy Accra. We figured that everyone heads for the coast at the weekend but that turned out not to be the case and we got the last room left at the Paloma and the last place in the car park!
At least this time we have some idea of where we are going in Accra and were able to sort out the various things we had to do without too much hassle.
Planning on a big internet day tomorrow.

We heard from Martin and Debbie yesterday. They are just heading into Gabon. Luca and Sameena phoned today from Cameroon. Its good to know how they are all getting on.

We are looking forward to the next stage of the trip.
We are still on schedule for the Land Rover to ship out on 25th May and we will meet it in Durban 10 days later.
Rhona and Richard fly out on the 10th June to join us for a fortnight.

Day 132 21.05.05 to Day 138 27.05.05

Accra

Driving down the road in Accra we spotted Mike and Jackie coming the other way. We last saw them back in Nouakshott in Mauritania.
Turns out they are shipping their Toyota on the same ship as us which is quite a coincidence! We moved from the Paloma to the Dutch Hotel as it is nearer the port -Tema.
Neither of us were feeling well as we had ? food poisoning so it was quite an effort to get the land Rover sorted for the shipping. Everything had to come off the roof and everything inside secured.
On the day we were glad we had Romeo from Toti - Berg the shipping agent to guide us through the procedure of 'stuffing' (apparently the correct technical term) the Land Rover into the container and getting the carnet stamped by customs. William , Daniel and Romeo provided an excellent service. (picture later)
The ship was then delayed coming into Tema. The Bill of Lading is issued once the ship has sailed and should be presented at the other end in order to relase the container. However we want to fly to Durban before this so MOL has issued us with a receipt for the Land Rover and will sort out the paperwork with the shipping agents at the other end.

We spent a couple of days at the Dutch hotel recovering although we had to make another foray into Accra to get our flight tickets to Durban.

Beach in front of the hotel

We had to purchase our plane ticket in dollars. The currency in Ghana is so devalued that 17,000 cedi is one pound sterling. The most we could get out of an ATM was 800,000 at a time. We had to make many withdrawals to get the price of the fares. The biggest note is 20,000 cedis so we ended up with a carrier bag of money as we temporarily became millionaires. The cash covered the bed as we counted it. We were able to exchange it at a forex for a few large denomination dollar bills which were easier to handle as a payment.
We had paid for the shipping in Euros as we already had some. In Africa it is usual to be flexible about currencies and we are quite familiar with exchange rates now.

It is very strange being without the Land Rover which has been our transport and our home and we feel a bit lost without it and all our things.

Day 138 27.05.05

Took overnight flight to Jo'burg