We (Cor and Grietje van NoFear Travel), travel with our Toyota Hilux 4×4 camper by Africa. The African continent is the Mecca for 'overlanding' with many challenging routes and beautiful destinations. The first African country we visited during our trip to South Africa is Morocco, followed by Mauritania en Senegal. From Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia en Ivory Coast we travel to Ghana. You can read all about it in this article.
Naturally, you can also start watching the video again.
About Ghana, a brief introduction
On our journey south, Ghana seems more prosperous than the other countries we visited after Morocco. You see that in everything, such as the quality of roads, the vehicle fleet, quality of houses and other buildings. But especially the clothing of the people. It is also striking that there is an enormous amount of luxury goods for sale, while in other countries we visited almost only basic necessities are traded.
Ghana is a largely Christian country (70%), next to 20% Muslims. You can see it in the many churches, but also through the spells that you often encounter on cars.
The country is about 6 times the size of the Netherlands and has around 30 million inhabitants. There is a lot of gold in Ghana, it is even the most important export product. But petroleum (products) and cocoa also contribute to the prosperity of the country. By West African standards, tourism is also an important source of income for the country.
Border crossing and Nzulezo
The border crossing from Ivory Coast is smooth, no corruption and only friendly people. In Ghana we can speak English again, we like that. Soon across the border is a village built on stilts in a lake…Nzulezo…we want to see that.
From the village of Beyin, the neighboring village on stilts is only accessible by boat. There is an office with a parking lot where we can spend the night. The next morning we buy a ticket and pay for the obligatory guide. In fact, it is immediately noticeable that people here are used to tourism. People don't look up to us anymore. The guide tells a little story and especially where we should all tip. Mmm…
We reach the lake via a beautiful sailing route over open water and through dense jungle.
A little further on we see the village. It consists of structures on stilts that are all connected to each other with scaffolding. The village is home to about 500 residents and there is a real “main street”. The people live from fishing and a piece of land on the other side of the lake where they grow agricultural products.
In a church building we are told a standard story and immediately asked to make a donation for the school. We may then write our name in the “big book”.
It is a beautiful village, we enjoyed it, but tourism has meanwhile ensured that the residents actually only see us as a running wallet.
Malaria
We've written about it before. When we entered the malaria area, which pretty much starts near Senegal, in early November 2022, we started taking preventive medicine, Malerone. But within two weeks we were covered in rashes together. Once again we weighed all the pros and cons and decided to stop. The Africans themselves do not swallow it either was one of our arguments. We'll see.
But now in Ghana it has hit the mark. Cor hadn't been completely fresh for two days and on day 3 he couldn't get out of bed. Fever 39,6 and associated discomfort. We start the cure that we brought with us as a precaution.
In the end it took about seven days. Conclusion, malaria is no fun, at least 2,5 days a bed is the only comfortable place. It will not kill you, but it is important to be there on time and to start a cure.
After Cor had recovered and we thought we could continue traveling carefree, Grietje started to ail. Grietje also responded positively to the test and was then confined to bed for about three days with more or less the same complaints.
Also read: Travel and Malaria | Everything you need to know about malaria pills
Also read: Vaccinations for a World Trip | Everything you need to know
Accra
We paid a short visit to Accra. This was actually born out of necessity. We had to get some groceries and have a job done on the car. In the time we had to wait for that, we took a taxi to one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, James Town. The lighthouse here was unfortunately closed for maintenance.
Accra is a large city with 5 million inhabitants. In many places it looks modern, almost western. The streets are occupied by a good fleet of vehicles, but no tuk-tuks, mopeds or donkeys. Most streets in the city are paved so that there is hardly any dust. Life largely takes place on the street. Everywhere market stalls selling a wide variety of products. A cozy bunch!
We found the beauty in the city striking. You will hardly find rubbish on the street, but you will find rubbish bins and containers. Yet it is not tidy everywhere ... the open sewers along the streets stink and on the fishing beach there was a layer of washed up rubbish of at least 30 centimeters. By taxi we passed the gigantic rubbish dump where people live and live. But all in all a reasonable city to spend a while.
Heading north
From Accra we drive in a northerly direction first to Kumasi. This time we don't take the main road (which is full of trucks and holes in the road surface) but partly an adventurous back road. We pass villages where people don't have cars and the roads are actually no more than moped paths. On the way we have to pull a stuck truck out of a ditch with our winch to make the narrow path passable again. Finally we reach the Green Ranch, a resort on the shore of Lake Bosumtwi, run by a Frenchwoman. Enthusiasts can even go horseback riding here.
We especially enjoy the beautiful view over the crater lake. Lake Bosumtwi is the only natural lake in Ghana.
From Kumasi to Adanwomase
We pay a quick visit to Kumasi, Ghana's second largest city. The city looks modern…we only use the “Shoprite”, a supermarket chain with a number of Western products.
Then on to Adanwomase, a special name for a village where they have elevated “weaving” to an art. They have set up a true “tourist office” for the average of 500 tourists they receive there every year. Extremely friendly guides show the art of weaving. First a piece of history that already starts in the eleventh century. The weaving and the special technique is typical for this region and the whole village benefits from it. It is generally done by young boys who are very quick with their hands.
Next to the village is a cocoa plantation. Here too we get to hear all the ins and outs of cocoa seeds and beans. The most remarkable thing we found was the production of “garage soap”. The remaining husks of the cocoa seeds are burned. The ash is boiled with water and then diluted with palm oil. It is then soap that is extremely suitable for oily hands.
Further north
On our route to the north we spend the night next to the Fuller Falls. The falls themselves are not the most spectacular but the spot stiff next to the clatter is quite pleasant. In the morning a man spontaneously comes by to have a chat. He and his wife are on their way to a funeral on the back of a moped. He invariably calls this day a “celebration”. The deceased is a 67-year-old uncle. He talks about the traditions surrounding the farewell. Men are dressed in black and women in black/red.
It is clearly visible that further north there are more Muslims and fewer Christians. You see many mosques and men, women and children are usually dressed traditionally. The landscape has also clearly changed. No more exuberant vegetation here, but more lower shrubs. The tropical rainforest has made way for savannah.
Mole National Park
The large well-known parks of Africa are located further south on the continent. But the Mole National Park in the northwest of Ghana, set up with Dutch support, among others, is certainly worth the effort. We can camp near the information center. The campsite is in a dilapidated state.
We start the day early because we want to join the morning walking tour. While we get out of the camper when it is still pitch dark, we hear rustling nearby. When our eyes are used to the darkness we see a huge elephant walking by. Calmly, eating some young leaves and branches along the way, he makes his way past the camper. Wow, that's waking up again!
When it has become light we walk the tour with a guide and we look for elephants again. The good experienced guide tells interesting stories. At a large waterhole it is full of -for us- special animal species. While elephants wash and cool off we see impalas, small boars, crocodiles, lizards and many species of beautifully colored birds.
We get the chance to go deeper into the park with a guide and spend the night there. The guide leads us on a moped. On the way we see many impalas dart away. After an hour and a half we find a nice open spot to spend the night. We first make a round on foot and again see many animal species.
While the guide makes a campfire, we enjoy the setting sun. During dinner we look at stars, flames of our fire and above all hear silence, the animals are sleeping. What a delight!
The next morning it is barely light when our guide calls us. He spotted an elephant. In underpants and slippers we go looking for the beast. But apparently he is too fast for us and we have to make do with his footprints. On the way back we spot another group of buffaloes.
Whites, priority!
After our visit to NP Mole we head south again, but now along the east side of the country. We take back roads to enjoy the villages, the population with their traditions and landscapes.
We have come to love the Ghanaians a bit. They wave friendly, are very helpful but never pushy or begging. They have extra respect for white people, which is of course unnecessary. We feel uncomfortable with that. On the way they usually wave exuberantly and we as “Sinterklazen” are very busy waving back.
When we got to the ferry from Dumbai to cross the Volta River, as white foreigners we were given outright preferential treatment. There was quite a queue of trucks, buses and pedestrians who all wanted to join the ferry. Besides, it was utter chaos. When we saw the size of the ferry, we realized that not everyone could come along.
A boy came up and told us to follow him. We drove through all the waiting traffic and almost got to the front so we could keep up. Why? Apparently because they want to pamper white tourists.
Once on the crowded boat, the same boy approaches us and asks to follow him up the stairs to the wheelhouse. From here we have a fantastic view over the ferry, the water and the mooring place. We have a chat with the captain. Once again, as white tourists, we are in a privileged position.
After we have left the boat we look for a place for the night. iOverlander gives no clues here, so we'll look for it ourselves. In a random village we ask for a place. The people are super helpful. We just have to report to the “chief of the community”, says a local passerby. The “chief” is very friendly and gives us a warm welcome. We can park next to the medical center for a night.
Conclusion
Ghana is a country with very nice people. They genuinely want to help you and make you feel very welcome. There are several checkpoints, but the cops are only interested in private matters. The difference between north and south is considerable, both in terms of nature and religious expressions. The country is clearly more prosperous than many other countries in West Africa.
Ghana is a beautiful and easy country to like overlander to traverse. For tourists with limited time, there is much to explore from the southern beaches, slave past, Accra, waterfalls, mountain areas to the beautiful NP Mole. There are also sufficient quality accommodations throughout the country for tourists without their own accommodation options.
We recommend it!
