The track takes us through dense bush savannah. Secretly I'm hoping to see some wildlife along the road. Maybe an elephant peering from between the trees like on our previous time in Burkina? But all stays quite between the bushes there's just more bush. Very lovely though! While Boni, Nicolaas and I stop for a pineapple snack, Tony speeds along to reach Mole and have it over with as soon as possible. The broad track continues all the way up to the park's headquarters, which are clearly signposted. We arrive somewhat later than Tony, without any trouble, which makes us wonder where it all went wrong for Dominique?
Though not as charming as many East African alternatives, the park's facilities include several lodging possibilities, a restaurant, a bar and a swimming pool looking out over the park's main watering hole. We discuss what to do next over lunch. Nicolaas and I fancy sleeping at one of the parks campsites. But we would need to take a guide with us, which is something we can't arrange for anymore tonight. Either way the luggage would have posed a problem as well. (No room on the pillion seat) So we settle for the chalet. As Boni's old food injury is still bothering him, we agree to rent a 4WD instead of taking a foot safari. And maybe this will increase our chances to spot elephants…
The alarm goes off at a quarter to six. Too early for our taste, but an excellent time to spot wildlife. Apparently we're the only group that's too lazy, or rather crippled to walk. More room for us in the car! We spend three hours on the roof of a landrover with broken clutch, riding through thick bush savannah, dodging branches along the way, but return a tiny bit disappointed.
In Larabanga we turn right, eastwards, to avoid retracing our steps. We should find a tarred road at Sawla, continuing all the way to Kumasi. But first another seventy kilometers of "bike-shake"… Tony goes ahead because he wants to stay clear of the dust. The three of us follow at a distance. Nicolaas, who is carrying the camera, takes the lead most of the time. We learned our lesson in Morocco so every time he has taken a picture, he would rush past to protect it from the dust.
No need to. A local on a moped bears me the message that he's fixing a flat tire. I relax. We continue until we find Nicolaas, 15kms back, surrounded by Ghana police officers who are lending him a hand. He shows us the impressive screw that somehow got stuck in his rear tire.
They finish the job. We do the necessary photoshoot and push on for the last stretch of unpaved road. In Sawla we find a compressor to pump up the tire some more. In Bole we find Tony again. While waiting (and worrying) he has fixed a place to sleep at the cacao research centre. It's a nice, clean little guesthouse with hot showers and good food. All's well as ends well!
For more pics see album "In search for elephants" |
No comments:
Post a Comment