Safari in the savannah - the final blog for Unibreak in Ghana

Our last weekend together in Ghana could have been a disaster. It was our most ambitious travel plan to date. A minimum of 14 hours travel time stood between us and a successful safari weekend. We had to get from Swedru to Accra (Circle station) – about 2 hours on a tro tro, Accra to Tamale - about 8 hours on an overnight bus, and the last leg was from Tamale to Mole National Park - about 4 hours in a ‘heavy duty’ tro tro.

One of Ghana’s most notorious regions for bad roads, our travel North for that period of time would have been the most uncomfortable ride if it wasn’t for the blissful air-conditioning and ever-so-welcome reclining chairs that were a pleasant surprise on the overnight bus. It was a relatively trouble free journey (the late night stops were a little hairy) but we reached Tamale later than expected and missed the connecting tro tro to Mole National Park. Stranded at the station, Tina (our in country agent) came to the rescue once more, working her contacts and getting us on the road again.

Falling victim to the unpaved road for an hour while the driver fixed the tro tro, we finally arrived at Mole National Park. Nothing says ‘welcome to your safari getaway’ like a troop of baboons at your front door. Mindful of our welcome party’s sticky fingers, we had a tasty lunch inside before cooling down in the hotel’s swimming pool and settling in for our first night in the National Park.

We woke early to chance our luck at seeing elephants on a 2 hour walking safari. Our armed safari guide led us past crocodiles, antelope, monkeys, vultures, warthogs and plenty of elephant tracks until we heard an almighty splash at a waterhole near where the elephants like to come and like salt from the rocks. Unfortunately the sound was bigger than the culprit and our excitement was dashed when we scrambled through the bushes only to find a croc sunbaking on the bank was the culprit of the crash.

Nonetheless it was a good start to the day and many tried their luck again to see the world’s largest living land animal on a jeep safari to no avail. Still the evening was not lost as we laughed our way through a team trivia night, enjoying the company of the big group and having some good fun. The good times rolled on even when we were stranded on the long, red road on the way back to Tamale with a flat tyre. Making the most of the setting and time, we posed for a team photo shoot against the picturesque African landscape.

On the drive back from Tamale, somehow the driver managed to get us back to Accra three hours earlier than expected, a feat we hadn’t catered for or even experienced on our travels in Ghana. Stuck in the dark with the prospect of lingering around the station until it was light enough for tro tros to take us back to Swedru, our kind bus driver Kofi said we could sleep in the comfort and safety of the bus until daybreak. Not only that, he then went to another station in Accra to find a tro tro to takes us back to Swedru – all for free.

For the rest of the day we lounged by the pool at Greenland Hotel in Swedru. It was a great way to get ready for the last week at most of our placements.

This blog has solely been about our time spent travelling as a group on weekends and doesn’t even scratch the surface of our placement experiences because of the big differences between orphanages, schools and hospital placements and our time spent with our host families too. Even with these differences, Ghana was undoubtedly a great experience for all of us and one we’ll remember for many years to come.