4 days, 5 hours queuing, one ferry, one waterfall, one ‘mountain’, beach, lagoon, hundreds of pot holes (and quite a few pot heads), 12 litres of water downed, countless beers and one police 'fine'.
Stage 1 – Accra to Senchi
One of only two bridges crossing the Volta river in Ghana
has been closed for repairs, being replaced by a pontoon to cater for the
majority of vehicles trying to reach the eastern most region of Ghana, Volta
region. We thought how bad can it
be? We’ll get up early. No one will be travelling on Good Friday,
surely everyone will be in church. Oh
how wrong we were!
Entertainment provided by an overloaded bus
Two hours in and attempting a nap
5 hours later, crossing the Volta!
Stage 2 – Senchi to Peki
We arrived at Roots Lodge just in time for the heavens to
open – so the only solution was to have a beer and wait out the storm, before
putting up our tent in the muddy garden.
It was a wonderful place to spend two nights – vegan food, a very
friendly kitten, a fantastic morning views across the valley.
Biblical rainstorm!
Stage 3 – Wli Waterfalls
Wli, apparently the highest waterfalls in West Africa, were
our destination for day two. Back on the
bumpy road heading north to Hohoe, and then a dirt road towards the border with
Togo, led us to a small village with the sound of the falls in the
background. Like true adventurers we
decided to aim high and go for the trek to the upper falls. Our guide was in flip flops, but we needed
trainers, walking sticks and 3 litres of water to get us to the top and back
down. Our efforts were totally rewarded
with fantastic views of the falls and the valley below, as well as a refreshing
dip under the falls at the bottom.
View of the Upper Falls from the path
Sweaty hiker!
Swimming at the Lower Falls
Stage 4 – Hike to the top of Ghana
Volta region is also home to Ghana’s highest point, Mount
Afadjato, 885 metres high. Nothing too
high here (although at the top we encountered a young Ghanaian announcing he
would be off to conquer Everest next!).
With only a few hours of daylight left we raced up to the top to be
welcomed by a glimpse of Lake Volta in the distance, and disappointingly a
higher hill next door in Togo. 
Stage 5 – Peki to Keta
Sunday was a long day in the car, but with so much to see! We took a long dirt road down from the town
of Ho to the banks of the Volta river, through lots of small villages and around
hills appearing from nowhere. The
national park turned out to be something of a disappointment (the ‘wildest’
animals we spotted were some cows with rather large horns), some kites above us
and a few suicidal goats trying to cross the road.
After 5 hours bumping around in Bertha, we finally arrived
at our destination, Emancipation Beach, Keta.
Shade, water and some yam chips was all that we needed, and I have to
say we didn’t move for the next couple of hours, despite being plagued by two
dogs and a drunk (all three were pretty friendly).
Once the temperature had dropped low enough for us to come
out of hibernation, we took an evening stroll along the beach. Fishing boats, sunset and the waves would
have provided a romantic setting, apart from the men squatting for a poo at the
water’s edge. We made a quick retreat
back to our shade for a beer, the dogs and some new traveller friends.
Stage 6: Keta to Home
Monday morning arrived, which meant time to wrap up our
holiday with a final dip in the sea, a lazy breakfast on the beach and a quick
look around the sights of Keta that we had been too hot and sweaty to visit the
day before. The main attractions, apart
from the beach, include a light house which looked like it should belong in a
Doctor Who episode and the lagoon, where fishermen were busy bringing in their
catch of the day. After a coconut stop
and Bertha almost getting stuck in the sand it was time to hit the road and
head back to Accra, with our new friends also on-board.
Fish drying at the side of the lagoon
Of course, after such a fantastic weekend, there had to be
one fly in the suncream – police stop!
After a frantic hunt for our driving licence (finally located in a ‘safe’
place), an inspection of our fire extinguisher, first aid kit and triangle, we
were fined for driving in flip flops and asked for a heavy bribe… So with our wallet lighter and our hearts
heavier we trudged back to the city, reflecting that life in Ghana really is a
rollercoaster.
Overloaded bus!
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