Accra, capital of Ghana, formerly The Gold Coast

We were going to stay on the beach about an hour outside the centre. We were here to collect several visas for the next leg of the journey. I also left my camera save at the campsite rather than risk having it stolen so no pictures of the city although it is a modern city and there is not a lot to of historical value and interest.

It was scheduled to be camping but you could upgrade I camped a few nights as the upgrades were expensive but it was a worth it. I had a traditional African round hut with a small patio.

Being round, nothing was snug against the wall and there was wasted space but it was clean and modern.

The ensuite facilities were out the back with walls and running water but it was open to the sky.

The alternative was putting you tent up in a bumpy car park.

And the shower 'room' was just a circular head height wall with some grass matting for a door. It also didn't have running water, you had to fill a bucket from the well, so you can see that the upgrades were popular.

But it was a great place but we were warned not to go outside with anything. The locals are friendly if you are just wearing a swimming costume but some of them will snatch anything out of you hand or are adept at pick pocketing. One of my friends had been here before and had fallen asleep on the beach. When he woke up they had stolen his shirt off his back. Hence no pictures of the beach.

But the place did have some interesting quirks. This was one of the restaurants on site.

And another restaurant on site.

A view of the beach from the restaurant. It doubles as a fishing village and there was plenty of fresh fish on offer.

And a piece f art. Between the chairs is the stump of a palm tree which has been turned upside down and a carved has been adde and the root ball is his Afro haircut.

Kakum National Park and Cape Coast

I stopped at Kakum National Park. After the amazing time that we had in Mole, this was going to be a challenge. It shuts at 4pm so we only had a couple of hours so it was just a short walk, plenty of flora but no fauna.

The entrance to the park.

Some of the visitor centre buildings.

  

Then we headed down to the beach for a few nights. The sand is soft but also easily eroded so there was a large seawall protecting the land.

We walked along the beach to get to the town of Cape Coast. Here is the end of the seawall.

And another view.

Something that you don't often see on the beach.

 Then our first view of one of the many slaves forts along the coast.

Opposite it is a bridge over the river to connect the fort and the town.

 Some of the older buildings in the town.

 The fish market with fish drying in the sun.

A close up of the drying fish.

The largest of the forts in the town.

Inside the fort with the door to the dungeons where the slaves were kept before being sent overseas.

The view of the fish market from the fort.

The front door of the fort.

The moat.

Some of the internal buildings.

 The fort opposite the main fort which was built to protect the town from a landward attack.

 inside the fort.

 A detail of one of the bastions.

Overlooking the entrance.

 The entrance from afar.

 The tower overlooking the entrance.

A view from the fort towards the larger of the forts

Amazon book reviews.

A request to my reading public; please can you enter a review of any or all of my books. It encourages other people to view and purchase them and helps me to fund my next book.

The sales of The Yellow School Bus have been very disappointing.

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Mole National Park

We got to the national park and reported in. There were safari's by foot of vehicle available, one of the safari vehicles setting out into the park to see some big game.

We set up camp and the wildlife came to us, a warthog, one of a pair and four piglets that wandered through the camp.

A close up of daddy warthog.

Rather than the vehicle safari, I wanted to get up close and went for a foot safari with our armed guide,Sadie with a Lee Enfield so worn that it was probably left over from the First World War

Around a watering hole we found elephant tracks. They make a big mess wherever they go and churn up the ground around every watering hole.

One of the many crocodiles that live in the water.

A vulture.

A grey headed kingfisher...I know this one so Mike can't correct me later...but some of the other birds I may need help to identify correctly.

At last, some big game, a couple of young elephants.

A baboon crossing the road.

A deer, I forget which type.

And another deer or antelope with distinctive horns but again I forget which type.

A monkey...and he is not smoking but regrettably there is a red flower out of focus just to the right of his face so a poor photo but it gives you an idea of the wildlife all around us.

 Another elephant, an old solitary male.

 Another kingfisher.

Our bush camp for the next night was in a government cocoa seed development centre. They grow the best kinds of seeds and give small plants away free to local farmers. It ensures that the cocoa crop is the best in the world. Some cocoa pods. They also export some cocoa themselves.

 The white milky seed inside the pod.

 Mr Charles took us around the centre in person. These are one month old plants.

A photo to show the size of a pod.

 Another photo to show both this years yellow pod ready for harvest and the small green pod growing to be next years crop.

 The boxes where the seeds are fermented so that they can be sold into international markets.

The drying process.

 Nothing goes to waste and the husks are composted for fertiliser and some are taken to be made into soap.

 A mature cocoa plant with a full crop.