Pictures

This is the view of the watering hole that we had outside from our tents in Mole National Park in Ghana. Throughout the day different groups of elephants would visit to bath, drink and wrestle. There would usually be a few elephants in the water and several feeding on the grasses and trees just beyond the water. One morning someone spotted a croc take an antelope near where the elephant is in the water. I heard the sound of the death roll but was too late to see the actual event.

The coastline of Ghana is full of beautiful sites and beaches, as well as a lot of historical landmarks. The lighthouse below is in the harbor of Dix Cove, a vibrant fishing village. The lighthouse is a remnant from the British fort that still stands high over the harbor.

The harbor at Dix Cove itself is full of fishing boats that are constantly coming in and going back out. They catch large numbers of tuna, swordfish and sharks, all of which can be bought fresh. The boats themselves are all brilliant colors and are loaded to the top with men and gear.

Kakum National Park in Ghana boasts one of the great canopy walks in Africa, if not the world. It is over 500m long and is suspended high in the canopy of the massive jungle trees. It is quite high and the bridges sway back and forth. It is basically just a net that is suspended with a ladder for you to walk on. Not the best thing for someone who doesn't like heights to do (I have done another canopy walk in Nigeria with better results, thankfully).

A little bit east of Dix Cove is Cape Coast, another former British controlled port. It was once the slave trading base for the Brits, and the doorway below is known as the "Door of No Return" and is located in the Cape Coast Castle. Through it went hundreds of thousands of slaves that were then loaded on ships to be sent to the New World. Once through they would never set foot on African soil again. The conditions were horrific in the holding cells and the death rate was extremely high before even reaching the boats.

Togo and Benin are the center of the voodoo world. In Lome, the capital of Togo, we went to a voodoo market. On sale were an enormous amount of dried animals, some endangered. It is said that voodoo deals only with positives (you can increase your memory or sleep better with some of the potions). It was an interesting tour, one that I don't know if I am glad I went on though. On one hand it was a great insight into the culture, but on the other hand I was appalled to see dried lion heads and elephant feet.

The village of Ganvie in Benin is touted as the Venice of Africa. The entire village is located in the middle of a lake and is only accessible by boat. It is remarkable in that it truly is (in its simplest form, of course) just a typical African village raised up on stilts.

In Nigeria, one of the highlights was hiking to the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a several hour hike up the mountain through dense jungle vegetation. It was hot and steamy, just as you would expect. We spent the night at the base camp under only our mosquito nets. The blackness of the night was complete and the sounds the animals made incredible.