Peaks & Falls

Karfiguela waterfalls

Onto the Banfora region of Burkina and we set up camp just minutes away from a series of spectacular waterfalls for a couple of nights.

Karfiguela waterfalls

Karfiguela waterfalls

Karfiguela waterfalls

Sunrise at Karfiguela

The second day we hiked a few KMs to see the Domes of Fagedougou, another spectacular setting completely devoid of tourists.  After some clambering around the rocks there was plenty of time to spend the afternoon back at the falls

Domes of Fagedougou

Domes of Fagedougou

Domes of Fagedougou

Ouga-Bobo

Back row L-R: Elizabeth, Simon, Clare, Hatter, Kristina,
Drew, Ray, Alexis, Sally, Dave, Gemma, Jimmy, Annie
Front row; Anna, Jamie, Ida, Rowan

First boarder crossing safely negotiated and we were soon on the road in Burkina Faso.  First stop was a sad one as we waved goodbye to Kristina in Ougadougou.  Here we a taste of some live music and stilt dancing, hopefully a pre-cursor to more of these things later in the trip.


Then onto the the equally fantastically named BoboDiolassou

The Grand mosque is one of the most picturesque in the region and a good reason, if no other was needed to get up in the morning to see it in a great light.

Grand Mosque, Bobo

Grand Mosque, Bobo

Grand Mosque, Bobo 

Women carrying water, outside the Grand Mosque, Bobo

The Islamic influence is strong, and extends to the design of the local railway station

Railway station, Bobo

The evening in Bobo was a chance to celebrate with the locals as Burkina qualified past the group stages of the African nations cup for the first tie in a number of years.

Burkina qualify for qtr finals

Bolgatanga

Final stop in Ghana was the town of Bolgatanga and the base for a trip into the Tonga hills and the village of Tengzung.  The president of the town has 18 wives and, depending on who you ask, 80-115 children.  There were a number of sacrificial alters and a variety of animal skulls from chickens to donkeys.  The girls declined the opportunity to visit the shrine, local rules are everyone must remove shoes and tops before clambering through the rocks to see a huge pile of chicken feathers.

Tonga hills

Tengzung presidential palace

Alter

Girl with water

Back in Bolga at the Stanford Bridge pub (there is an unhealthy interest in Chelsea, even if they can't spell),  we met a couple of girls who were organising a series of peace rallies around the country linked to the elections of last month.  The next morning we turned up to see what was happening, and although the event hadn't really got going we were given t-shirts and treated as visiting dignitaries, pressing the flesh with the local school children.

Peace rally Bolgatanga

On the road in Ghana

One of the many great things about overlanding is the opportunity to see the country, pass by villages and stop in towns to go food shopping in the local market or wave regally as you pass by.

a passing village

a variety of dishes 

Walking home

The other thing you can do is stop at some amazing little places along the way.  Larabanga mosque is one of the oldest in Ghana made of mud and plaster

Larabanga mosque

Larabanga mosque

Mole national park

Moving on north we stayed in Mole national park for a couple of nights.  West Africa is not really known for it's wildlife but in dry season there's still plenty of animals to be spotted. 

Elephants

A walking safari in the morning got us up close and personal with a couple of male elephants and we circled around to see them drinking at a watering hole.

waterbuck

Elephant

Elephant

Baboons and warthogs roamed around the campsite freely - as anyone whose encountered baboons elsewhere will know, they are a bit of a menace.

Baboon 

An afternoon game drive further into the park allowed us to see more antelopes and on the way back we came accross an elephant who had just walked through our campsite

Roan antelope

Hartebeast

Elephant

Water, water everywhere

Lake Bosumtwi was the location for watching the start of the Aftrican cup of nations, with Ghana taking on DR Congo in the first round of group games.  The pub wasn't exactly packed, it seemed the locals were more interested in bathing in the lake (which was formed by a huge meteor impact).  It proved a tranquil setting for watching the fishermen and playing volleyball with the bar staff.

Fishing on lake Bosumtwi

Kintampo falls is a series of waterfalls and the next stop of our journey through Ghana.

Kintampo falls

Kintampo falls

Wood is Good

Paul - the winner in action

Today's highlight was a visit to the cultural centre in Kumasi, essentially an area full of artisans selling their wares. We were lucky to come on the day Ghana was picking it's representative for pan African competition to be held in March, in Tanzania, celebrating local traditions in wood carving - "wood is good". The regional finalists were given 3-4 hours to produce something that represented their culture and to show off their skills.  We were welcomed in like celebrities, the craftsmen talked about their work and we even got involved in presenting the prizes.

Judges reveal their decision

Kumasi was also the chance to stock up on some provisions before we bush camp for the next few days.  The market stalls are plentiful and have a large range of fruit and veg, we did however avoid the roasted bat

bbq'ed bat