Spring Break, Africa Style

For Spring Break last week, I traveled with a few other NYU students around Ghana and Burkina Faso. Our destinations were Mole National Park in Ghana, then the Nazinga Reserve in Burkina Faso. Mole is the largest national park in Ghana and the most visited. It is known for its beautiful wilderness, containing countless species of wildlife--including elephants! The Nazinga Reserve is a huge wildlife preserve containing the largest concentration of elephants in West Africa. 

The first night of our journey, we stayed in Tamale after a 12-hour bus ride from Accra. Five people split this room, which was worth it since it had air conditioning!

We waited at the Tamale bus station for five hours the next day for our bus to Mole National Park.

We checked into our room in the Mole Motel at around 1 AM, after a difficult bus ride. Only about six hours, but cited as the worst road in Ghana. There are so many potholes that driving along the road feels like you are having a full body massage. In addition to the road conditions, our driver had to stop the bus periodically to pour water over one of the tires. It was disconcerting to look out the window in the pitch-black night, only to see smoke billowing out from the front-right section of the bus!

The beautiful Mole National Park

Baboons were all around the park, including at the breakfast table!

Warthog (also known as Pumba)

Elephant footprints all over the park

On our driving safari, we were allowed to sit on top of the car. As we drove through the endless kilometers of wilderness in the bush, we saw vibrant birds, monkeys playing with tree branches, antelopes darting through trees, and vultures landing on feeding elephants.

Walking in search of elephants

First elephant sighting!

Transport to our canoe ride

Mognoli Eco-Village, the closest village to Mole National Park. It is called an eco-village because it has remained authentic, using only traditional materials in buildings. Most villages in Ghana use such materials. We toured it with a man named Daniel who is starting a number of initiatives to improve life in the village, appealing to park visitors. Since Mole is a popular destination in Ghana, this village sees tourists from around the world. Support from these people has provided residents with health insurance, a library, improved literacy rates, and monetary donations.

A watering hole in Mole that we saw on a walking safari. There are many crocodiles in this lake, but we only saw a few since they are afraid of people in this park. 

Elephant hiding behind a tree!

This is a male elephant, about 60 years old. He has a bullet hole in his ear from a poacher. The park devotes a large amount of resources to the prevention of poaching, but it is a well-known destination, and poachers flock to villages immediately surrounding the park. The punishment for poaching in Ghana is at least 10 years in jail.

Our last night in Mole, we went on an overnight trip into the park and slept in this treehouse. At night, we heard the resounding calls of the bush, and even listened to hyenas howl a few times. 

Larabanga, a village near Mole National Park. Larabanga hosts home-stay participants, usually visitors of Mole who are looking for a more authentic or less expensive experience. There are about 4,000 residents of the village, all of whom are Muslim.

We toured the village with a man named Ibrahim, the founder of the Larabanga Kids Development Project.

Ibrahim

The sun rising over Larabanga

The oldest Mosque in West Africa is in Larabanga

A woman making shea butter

Shea butter!

Bus from Larabanga to Wa

Trotro from Wa to Hamale

Broken bridge on the way to Hamale!

We crossed into Burkina Faso at Hamale. We had trouble locating transportation to the Nazinga Reserve, but found a van to take us as far as Leo, a town near Nazinga.

Our first meal after a long day of traveling. Our driver stopped at this restaurant and we ate a meal of spaghetti with tomato sauce, baguettes, French mustard, avocado salad, and pineapple juice. Burkina Faso is a francophone country, so they speak French and eat French food.

We stayed in Leo for the night. There were only two rooms available so we squeezed four to a room and eagerly utilized the running water, even though there was no light in the shower. We were very grateful for these accommodations after a long day of traveling!

The next day, this car brought us from Leo to Nazinga. We piled into the back and sat on wooden benches for the four-hour bumpy ride through village roads and the bush. 

The road to Nazinga

Finally at the Nazinga Reserve!

Four elephants bathing in the watering hole right next to our lodging and restaurant at Nazinga

The dormitory at Nazinga

Inside the dormitory

Crepes for breakfast at Nazinga

Elephants bathing in the watering hole

The morning we were leaving, herds of elephants came out to the watering hole. In this picture, there are at least thirty male, female, and even baby elephants in the water, walking around the trees, and playing in the dirt.

The elephants walked so close to us! At Nazinga, the elephants (and crocodiles) are not afraid of people, probably due to the relative lack of poaching in the reserve.

Driving out of Nazinga Reserve

Our transport from Nazinga to the border of Ghana at Paga. We sat in the bed of a pickup truck as we drove out of the park and through Burkinabe villages.

Luckily, we found a bus right when we crossed the border into Ghana that would take us straight to Kumasi, a mere six hours from Accra! We boarded the van at around 2 PM and arrived in Kumasi at 1:30 AM.

The sun rose over Accra as we drove, and finally arrived home at 6 AM. The trip had definitely taught me a lot! While traveling, it is important to commit to the experience. I was very happy to see Mole National Park, since it is an important region and landmark in Ghana, but I feel that the more rewarding experience was had at the Nazinga Reserve. Mole is a tourist destination; an exotic one, but slightly touristy all the same. Nazinga is a destination for travelers, those seeking total immersion in the wildness of the bush. There were very few visitors at the reserve, and all had traveled great distances and by every means possible to get there. My standards for cleanliness, cuisine, and accommodation were redefined, unapologetically so. The reward? West African paradise.