Eli Waterfalls, Ghana and Coco Beach, Lome, Togo

We had driven up north for a couple of days to get to the Wli Waterfalls which are the highest in Ghana and in West Africa. There are mountains in the area and the jungle gives way to savannah and alpine pastures at altitude. A view over the jungle to a thinly forested mountain.

There are several hikes to get to see the waterfalls but as I had all day, I chose the longest walk which was billed as strenuous but I needed the exercise and prefer to walk a circuit than just a linear walk to the falls and back again.

The were several different eco systems to pass through and some dramatic scenery. A view along a ridge.

One of the many vertical drops that you passed on the walk.

A distant view of the waterfalls, but as the walk that I was on followed the edge of the ridge, it was still several kilometres away long the ridge before my guide and I could scramble down to the waterfall.

A burnt out area which has cleared the undergrowth and the grass is just recolonising the area.

A view of the upper waterfall.

 And a selfie just to prove that I was actually there.

 And after another long scramble over boulders and pencil thin paths across vertical drops, I got to the lower falls.

The next day it was time to cross the border from Ghana into Togo and the border was just five minutes away from our eco lodge at the start of the treks up to Wli Waterfalls. We were the only vehicle crossing that morning and we were through relatively quickly but it is a minor crossing point and the 'road' was more of a mountain track through the jungle.

But we were going even higher into the mountains and the track zig zagged or hair pinned up the slope to get over the mountains. A couple of views of the hair pins.

And after that there were some excellent sealed roads down from the mountains and into LOme, the capital of Togo sitting on the coast. Our next camp site was a wonderful beach setting called `Coco Beach just on the edge of the capital.

 A view along the beach.

Akosombo, Lake Volta, Ghana

We left Accra and we were soon back in the jungle. It was still the dry season, the jungle was still brown in places and black in others where bush fires raged. There were smuts falling out of the sky and a haze of smoke and ash in the air that reduced the visibility of what would otherwise have been interesting vistas.

We made our way up country and were going to see the giant dam than held back the mighty Volta River. It was completed in 1965, built to provide HEP to Kaiser Aluminium of America to smelt the local bauxite ore into aluminium. It is the largest man made lake in the world by surface area at 3,125sq miles. It beats Lake Kariba, also in Africa by more than 1,000sq miles.

A distant view of the spillway from the approach road, and whilst not far, it also shows the ever present haze.

The lake side view of the spillway.

The down stream view of the spillway that lets water out of the lake when the level gets too high. The optimal operating depth of the lake is between 240ft and 288ft deep.

A side view of the penstocks (red pipes) descending towards the six 170MW rated turbines (housed under the six square roofs below the penstocks).

The intakes above the penstocks.

A view along the down river face of the dam. It is a rubble faced dam made of loose rock which has a clay and sand core.

The massive crane above the penstock intake used for maintenance.

There are more photos and a great waterfall but the internet is poor and I will be bush camping for the next few days with no internet until I cross the border into Nigeria, but I will be back!

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.

Please tell me...what is wrong with it? Is the title or the subject matter or something else? are the first few pages available on Amazon putting you off buying it?

Norman