|
Ghana
- March 2008
Route
We entered Ghana from Togo at Klouto, which is one of the many small borders
just west of Kpalime. We then drove down to Accra via Ho and Akosombo
Dam. From Accra we visited Aburi for a couple of days before coming back
and taking the coast road out to Dixcove (with various stops on the way),
then back to Cape Coast, up to Kakum National Park and finally on to Kumasi
via the rough road through Dunkwa. From Kumasi we headed to Wa and into
Burkina Faso at Hamile/Ouesso. We were 24 days in the country.
Visas
Ghanaian visas need to be obtained in advance and are supposedly easy
to get. However we applied in Lome, Togo, and had to go through an interview
process before being issued with paltry 15-day visas (we’d asked for 30-day).
We saw lots of people who were not allowed to apply in Lome on the basis
that they should have applied in their home country. We only managed to
convince them to let us apply because we had not been in the UK for 11
months and so any visas issued at home would have been invalid by the
time we got there.
Border formalities
The Klouto border was nice and quiet but we did have problems on the Ghanaian
side because of our right-hand drive vehicle. Customs held us for a couple
of hours whilst they queried the validity of us temporarily importing
the car on the Carnet with their ‘boss’ in Ho. We’re not sure whether
they were genuinely confused or looking for a bribe but once we started
making tea they let us through. Overlanders we have spoken to coming from
Burkina have not had this problem. Exiting at Hamile was also quiet but,
again, the Ghanians asked us lots of bizarre questions. Maybe they were
trying to justify the two-dozen staff for a trickle of traffic?!
General driving
conditions
The main roads are very good in Ghana. The coast road in particular is
an excellent highway all the way along to Agona Junction with bypasses
for Cape Coast and Sekondi-Takoradi, although the numerous 50km/h zones
will still slow you down. Secondary roads are often dirt and so are affected
by the seasons. Apparently the road to Mole NP from the east has terrible
corrugations.
Accra is very busy
but has good traffic systems, even if they can be a bit confusing at first.
The main problem with Accra is getting in and out of town as the roads
through the suburbs are not as good and are clogged with buses. Going
east, there is a Tema-Accra toll expressway, which is well worth taking
as the Tema coast road always seemed to be jammed. Leave the city via
Liberation Road to pick this up.
Kumasi is basically
a market city so avoid driving anywhere near the Kejetia Circle. There
is a good ring road which will save you lots of time and stress! Harper
Road is OK to drive and brings you into the centre to the banks and Presby
Mission. Note that many of the road names have changed recently.
We saw plenty of police
blocks but only a couple on the coast road were manned and we weren’t
stopped. Ex-pats tell us that the police normally stop people for speeding
through the 50km/h zones on the coast road or for driving through amber
lights in Accra.
Specific driving
conditions
All times are ‘time moving’ straight off our GPS and so are driving time
only. ·
- Klouto border-Ho
took 2hr 20min on very good tar (we came down the main Accra road and
turned off to Ho where signed). Roads systems in Ho itself are very
good and parking fairly easy.
- Ho-Akosombo took
1hr 30 mins on very good tar with a detour to see the dam itself (have
a drink in the Volta Hotel bar for a great view!). There is an 8p toll
over the bridge.
- Akosombo–Accra
(Asylum Down) took 1hr 30mins.
- Accra–Aburi took
45mins along a very scenic road (this was on a holiday so it may take
longer on a weekday). There’s not a lot to do up in Aburi but it’s cooler
than Accra and the views are great.
- Accra–Kokrobite.
We got lost leaving Accra so this took us 2 hours! However the road
out of the city west looks like it would always be busy with buses/markets
and take some time to navigate. The road down to Kokrobite from the
coast road is good dirt but the turning is easy to miss – look out for
it when you see the police block.
- Kokrobite–Senya
Beraku took an hour. You have to go back up to the coast road and along
and Senya Beraku is then 15km back down to the coast on good tar.
- Senya Beraku–Cape
Coast took 2 hours. There are various well-signed turnings down into
Cape Coast and Cape Coast itself is OK to drive around. You can park
by the fort.
- Cape Coast–Dixcove
(Green Turtle Lodge) took 3 hours. The 10km from Dixcove to Green Turtle
is rough and rocky dirt.
- Cape Coast-Kakum
NP took about 45mins. Kakum is well sign-posted off the coast road.
- Kakum–Kumasi took
6.5 hours. The staff in Kakum said the easiest route was to go back
to Cape Coast and take the main road to Kumasi but we took the road
directly north. This turned into dirt after 56km and twisted and turned
very differently to either of our maps (Michelin and Map Studio) so
we had to ask directions regularly. Eventually we came out in Dunkwa
where the tar returned. In Twifu Praso we had to drive over the railway
bridge and pay a toll of 20p.
- Kumasi–Wa took
7.5 hours. There were roadworks as far as the Techiman junction then
pot-holes to Wenchi. After Wenchi the tar was good all the way except
for a 43km stretch after Bamboi where we were diverted onto dust around
more roadworks.
- Wa–Hamile (Burkina
Faso border) took 2.5 hours. Again the road was different to our maps
as we didn’t go through Lawra but Hamile was well sign-posted. The roads
were a mixture of tar, good dirt and some corrugated/potted dirt.
Accommodation
Camping is pretty easy in Ghana, especially on the coast. The beaches
are beautiful although the sea is body-surfing-rough rather than swimming-calm.
- Near Akosombo Dam
there are a few lodges that offer camping on the road between the bridge
and the dam iteself. We stayed at Afrikoko, which had a nice location
right on the lake but was expensive considering it was not really a
campsite (10 USD for two people). We parked on the lawn, they opened
a room for us to shower and we were asked to pay to use the pool. N06.16.128;
E00.04.603.
- In Accra there
is a campsite at Coco Beach about 10km east of Accra on the Tema road
(note that this road can be very busy). We didn’t stay there but visited.
The GPS for the turn-off is N05.35.602; W00.05.396.
- Kokrobite is just
30km west of Accra. We stayed in Andy’s Akwaaba for only 4C but, despite
the hammocks and good ablutions, we would definitely NOT recommend it
because of the strange management. We thought Big Milly’s would be loud
and unbearable but it was actually very nice when we visited for a drink.
- Coast road. Our
favourite places to stay were Anomabu Beach Resort (10km east of Cape
Coast, 8C for two people) and Green Turtle (10km west of Dixcove, 4C
for two people). Anomabu is more tailored and full of tourists and ex-pats
whilst Green Turtle is full of travellers/overlanders but both have
lots of space, great beaches and nice staff. In both the food is mediocre
for the price. We also stayed at Tills, near Senya Beraku, but this
was very expensive and only OK, and Brenu Beach Resort, near Elmina,
which was very run-down. The camping options in Cape Coast itself are
not great but Anomabu is close enough to day-visit from. Anomabu: N05°10.273;
W01°07.785. Green Turtle: N04°45.503; W02°01.268
- Kakum NP doesn’t
have camping facilities for vehicles so we stayed in their new, basic
guesthouse for 18C for a double room (sleeping on a platform in the
forest was the same price). The staff all leave at 5pm so we cooked
outside. We looked at Hans Cottage Botel down the road but the camping
area was not flat and they were doing lots of building work.
- In Kumasi we stayed
at the Presbyterian Mission (N06.41.273; W01.37.262). Note that the
road names have changed and it’s fairly tricky to find using a guidebook
map. We camped for 6C and also took a room for 8C although we preferred
camping as the room fan was noisy and there was no mossy net! The camping
is on the lawn by the car-park but the ablutions are good, there’s a
communal TV area and it’s very central. The restaurant is good value
for breakfast and lunch but shuts early evening and no-one objected
to us cooking.
- In Wa we camped
at the Catholic Guest House for 10C. This is just north of town on the
Hamile road: go past the airport and you’ll see a sign to the right.
Loads of space, friendly staff and a cheap bar. Ablutions OK and cooking
allowed.
Stuff to do
Ghana has a lot of tourist infrastructure. The forts are worth exploring:
Elmina and Cape Coast both have good tours, the former is the most impressive
building and has the most affecting tour, whilst Cape Coast Castle has
a great museum. We also enjoyed visiting Senya Beraku and some of the
less-visited ruins as the smaller forts have a very different feel to
them. Most have unofficial/official guides that can show you round for
a small donation.
Highly recommended
is the weekend drumming and dancing display at AAMAL drumming school in
Kokrobite. They generally do this at 3pm every Sat & Sun (1C per person
plus tips). We were pretty underwhelmed by the canopy walk in Kakum National
Park (9C pp), which is sold as an adrenaline activity rather than a nature
walk.
Mechanics
In Accra, Pitstop is a well-known mechanics yard run by an Englishman.
Ian is very helpful and knows how to get hold of parts. His yard is in
Asylum Down but is unsigned – look for the gate to the right of the chop
bar. N05.34.164; W00.12.322.
In Kumasi there is
a Land Rover place called Mechanical Lloyd. Parts and fluids were reasonably
priced but their labour is expensive. We were reasonably happy with the
work they did on our gear-box – it works but may not be a permanent solution
- and they were easy to deal with. You’ll find Mechanical Lloyd on the
western bypass, just west of Bantama Road. N06.41.387; W01.36.879.
Food, water
and beer
The chop bars in Accra are great and cheap – 1.5C for red-red (plantain
and beans in palm oil) and fish. ‘Ladies with pots’ sell tasty things
like beans and rice for 0.2C. For stocking up, the Shoprite mall - which
also contains a Game and a Mr Price - is out on Liberation Avenue in Accra.
(For those who haven’t been to South Africa these are a supermarket, outdoor
superstore and cheap clothes shop respectively!).
Fruit and veg are
pretty abundant although the ladies selling at the side of the main roads
will try and seriously overcharge you – some haggle and some don’t so
be prepared to walk away. The town markets are a lot less hassle to deal
with and Kumasi is particularly fantastic for veg and fish. When we were
in the country, the western half of the coast road was the best place
to pick up pineapples and oranges and around Kumasi was best for plantain.
The local mushrooms found in the central region are also very tasty (a
bit like oyster mushrooms). Although
a lot of the bread is sweet, white and brick-like you can find ‘wheat
bread’ either on the street or in bakeries if you hunt around.
It was the end of
the dry season when we were there so Accra had water shortages and some
of the beach resorts were running out of rainwater. Local beers are Star,
Gulder and Stone. All are 1.5-2C for a large bottle in tourist places,
1C in more local places There was also Star draught in Accra – 1C in local
places, 2.5C in Champs! Shoprite and supermarkets in Kumasi sell half-decent
cheap red wine, unlike all the Francophone countries we’ve been to.
Money and
fuel
ATMs are everywhere and we used our visa debit card without any problems.
Ghana had a currency devaluation at the end of 2007 where they knocked
4 zero’s off the end, so you’ll often get people quoting ’10,000’ or ‘10’
when they mean 1 new cedi. Very confusing at first and the potential source
of many arguments!
Diesel cost 1.16-1.18
cedi/litre (60p).
|
