The grasshopper and the elephant

Last weekend we completed a trip to Northern Ghana, a predominantly Muslim region of the country. A 10 hour journey by car, often over drastically uneven dirt roads, proved to be a challenge both mentally and physically. It provided much time to get to know my teammates and absorb the colorful culture that blared, hollered, clucked, baa'd, screeched, and laughed all along the roadside and adjacent villages as we barrelled toward Mole National Park.

On the way to the park, we stopped in the town of Kumasi, Ghana's second largest city after its capital, Accra. Near Kumasi, we visited Kintampo Water Falls and a nearby monkey sanctuary, where I spotted a small speckled grasshopper amongst the giant, monkey-filled trees.

Mole National Park personified the easygoing, friendly temperament of Ghanaians and its visitors reminded me of a menagerie lifted from a euro-hostel guest list. Although Mole Motel provided only the most basic accommodations, the view proved to be spectacular, overlooking a large lush basin partially flooded by the recent rains. Post-check in, our reception host escorted us to our respective rooms, leaving us just enough time to settle in before assembling in the "restaurant" for that evening's football match: USA vs. Ghana's Black Stars. What a night to be in Ghana!

As we waited for our dinners (the Mole Motel restaurant is not known for its quick service), we watched the US soccer team play Ghana with the entirety of the Park's visitors and staff. The excitement was contagious and by the end of the match, nearly everyone was cheering for Ghana.

The following morning we embarked upon our walking safari at 6:30 am. Our guide led us down a dirt road and through the surrounding bush. However, we did not venture far from the motel grounds. Baboons, warthogs, and kob (similar to deer) made their presence known. We also saw many signs of elephants: footprints, torn branches from grazing, and giant elephant dung but no elephants. Post-morning safari, our guide suggested that it was unlikely that we would see any elephants due to the recent rains. Apparently, as they cover nearly 50 km per day, the elephants are much more likely to leave the depths of the forest when water is scarce.

We figured the best way to increase the odds of seeing an elephant would be to cover more ground; for our evening safari, we decided to drive. Three hours into it, still no elephants. A bit dejected, we reminded ourselves how exciting it was to be in Africa, trekking through beautiful landscape. Trying to convince ourselves that it was not meant to be, we returned to the starting post of our safari.

Upon our return, we heard that another group had seen two elephants on their driving safari. Although the sun had already begun to set, we asked our guide if he would be able to track the elephants in hope that we could steal a glimpse (and a few photos). Back in the truck...we were off to track elephants! We parked at the bottom of the basin, a sizable distance from the Mole Motel and headed into the forest. Our guide, armed with a rifle, led us through the bush; every few minutes he would stop, look around, pick up a fallen branch and signal for us to move ahead. Finally, as the sun was setting, our guide halted abruptly, listened and began to run, pumping his fist in the air. We ran too! And there we stood in awe of elephants.

Moral of the story: come to Ghana, leave with patience (or at least with good practice).

***given the sporadic nature of elephant sitings and difficulty of travel between Accra and Mole, a second trip to Mole may not be in the Globase Ghana team's future. However, we do anticipate many adventures ahead of us, especially those that include the animals of Africa in their natural habitats!