Oliphants!

Well I have been in Ghana for a month and I have decided to see a bit of the country while outside of my work here. This past weekend I went to Mole National Park which is about 3 hours west of Tamale.

In order to get to the park at a decent hour we wanted to leave at first thing in the morning. After purchasing a bus ticket the day before, which was a block of wood with a number written on it, I learned that first thing meant to arrive by 4am at the terminal. IK am by no means an expert yet on Ghanaian time but I have heard this line before and didn’t expect the bus to leave anytime before 5am but I would try and get there early regardless. Who knows even a watch that is stopped shows the correct time twice a day! So I stuff the small wooden block that is serving as my ticket into my pocket and head off for the rest of the evening to pack and meet with some friends in Tamale. I met up with some other EWB volunteers that happened to be in Tamale for a workshop and before I knew realized it was 11pm and I still had to get back and pack. I didn’t get sorted out and to bed until just before midnight and knew that tomorrow morning was going to be interesting if solely based on the lack of sleep scale.

Well the alarm goes off and 3:30 and I debate with my self if I really want to go to the park or if right now sleep is more valuable. After about 2 or 3 minutes I get up and grab my things and head out the door. Of course there are no taxis at this time but a friend knows a driver and calls to wake them up. By now it is about 4:20 and I get to the station around 4:30 and not a minute to soon. Not to leave of course but to watch the festivities of packing the bus. The driver and crew are carting our boxes of “Ideal” cream from a nearby building and stacking them beside the bus. This goes on for about 10-15 minutes until there is a 3 five foot tall stacks of creamer sitting next to the bus. Now the real challenge where to place it. Of course the logical choice is on the roof that’s where everything else goes. The driver, well at least I think he is the driver he seems to be giving all the orders, scales the side of the bus and soon creamer is passed up to the roof. When all is said and done there must be about 2-300 pounds of creamer riding on the top of the bus plus everyones baggage. Luckily I have only brought a small bag that I carry with me on the bus I could only imagine the mess the creamer would cause if there were some sort of accident. There is no way you could get that smell out. Once everyone’s stuff is on the bus, everything from huge bags of rice to “saminga” (i.e. white man) back packs, the fun of trying to get your seat begins. The bus fills quickly once again under the direction of the driver who palces everyone in their correct seat as he sees it. Once he finds out that I am going to Larabanga the village right outside Mole and about half the distance of the buses total trip that day he says he will get a special seat for me so that I will be able to get out easily. I don’t like the sounds of this but at this time in the morning and game to see what will happen. After the bus is nearly full he turns his attention to me and directs me to my “seat” which is an empty 20 L jug of vegetable oil that I now imagine is filled with diesel, oil, or maybe water. Anyways he throws a pair of old trousers on them and encourages me to take my seat so he can change attention to other passengers. Oh yeah the “seat” is also wedged behind the drivers seat and the Plexiglas barrier separating the passengers compartment. Just enough room for me to fit into, how cozy. So I wedge myself in and am soon surrounded by other passengers that are sitting at my feet or standing behind me. At first I am glad that I at least have a seat and don’;t have to stand but that soon changes.

Eventually the bus departs at around 5:30. Right around when the driver shifts into second gear I realize this is going to be an uncomfortable ride. Every time he shifts gears his seat which is not bolted to the floor is forced back and into my ribs and I get sandwiched even more so between the seat and the barrier. Still at least I’m not standing. Oh but I wish I was once the pavement ends and we hit the dirt road which is about 45 minutes outside of Tamale. The road is pretty much like driving down a continuous road of small speed bumps and I soon realize that the thin piece of trousers and a plastic jug don’t provide much cushioning. I am only able to shift around slightly and soon wish that I had a standing position. The bright side of things is that I had an excellent view of the road above and some good ventilation. Also eventually my leg fell asleep so it became a bit more bearable. This ride continued for about 2 hours before we made our first stop. It was a welcome chance to stretch my legs and get something to eat. After about 15 minutes I am condemned once again to my seat but only for about 45 minutes as the next stop is Larabanga. I may have made this sound a bit worse off than it actually was I really gained a lot from this experience the most of which might be a good story to tell.

Larabanga is a small village immediately outside of Mole park where we meet Robbie and Nomusa two other EWB volunteers who are working in Wa. We spend a little while in the village walking around while we exchange greetings and experience up to this point. During our walk we eventually arrive at the “Mystic Rock” which apparently when they where building the road in Larabanga returned to the middle of th road after the workers continued to remove it day after day. Eventually they decided to just divert the road and know the stone is on display just outside the town. After our pleasantries we figure we should head out to the park. One of the inns in Larabanga has a vehicle that takes tourists to the park but we missed it as the other obrunis on the bus got in once they got to Larabanga and headed out. So we figured that we would just walk in. Well the park is about 6 km from Larabanga and it was now around 10 am and approaching the hottest part of the day. A good walk would do us good and give us a chance to catch up. Along the way we shared some of our experience and changed ideas and it was a good chance to reflect with others going through a similar experience. Also we had a chance to see a few animals even before we entered the park, mostly birds but a few antelopes and some baboons. After just over 90 minutes of walking we arrived at the park and booked our rooms. The first thing I did was go to the lookout where the park motel overlooked a large water hole. There must have been around half a dozen elephants in the water bathing and drinking and another 10 or so in the nearby area. It was kind of surreal although they were still very far away these were real wild African elephants. Soon enough hunger calls so we sit down to eat at a way over priced by Ghanaian standards but still affordable in Canadian dollars meal. A couple at a table beside us leaves after finishing eating and like a flash a baboon rushes out of the nearby bushes jumps on the table knocking it over and into the pool and sending the dishes and cups crashing onto the deck but not before it makes it off with a bottle of ketchup. The baboons pretty much hang around the motel area and some are pretty huge and intimidating. But they are also quite mischievous which gives them some bonus points in my books. That afternoon and the next day we go on a nature walk with a ranger trough the actual park and get the chance to get really close to some antelope, lots of birds and HUGE elephants. When they were bathing again we were literally within 50 feet of them maybe closer. The ranger who is about 5’ 1” at max assures us he knows them all very well and will let us know when to back off and at last resort he has a riffle that must be 30 years old that he will fire into the air. As we go back he takes us through the rangers and staff area where a old elephant that has been ousted from the group hangs around. He is walking between their houses and eventually right into a children’s football game who look at the elephant and disgust and try and shoo him off but of course when we are about 100 times bigger you take your own time. Just struck me as fascinating that an elephant walking through your backyard was pretty much normal here.

As I go through the park and enjoy all the wildlife, especially the many birds, I think of all the Ghanaians who do not have this opportunity. Although it was a great chance to unwind a bit and catch up with some friends it still served to show the privileged position that I am just as a Westerner. Hopefully I can do something to reduce this priviledge or at least understand it better.

Anyways the second night we stayed in Larabanga because it was much cheaper and made it easier to catch the bus that came through at 4am which was really around 5:15. The bus ride back was mush more enjoyable as it was a bigger bus and I actually got a seat although it did seem much bumpier.

Nest issue I promise will be about what I have been doing here work wise.

Take care and God bless,

Jason

Ps. Update on things on bicycles:

Driver + bicycle + 18” Television on head

Also not a bicycle incident but yesterday I saw a fully alive cow in the trunk of a taxis with only its hooves and horns sticking out of the trunk as it drove down the road!