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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).
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