Challenge:

Adventure

Destination:

*Ghana, Mali

Departure Dates From:

09/08/2008

Duration:

3 weeks

Kitty:

£ 190

21 Days to Explore

GHANA

This is the original Madventurer trip, off the beaten track, seeing sites and experiences you just cannot see anywere else, a real blow out!!!

Itinerary

We head northwest out of the capital and towards the hustle and bustle of Ghana's second city. Kumasi has a lot of interesting places to visit, from the palace of the Asante King to the vast central market where you can buy traditional Asante craft and squeeze through alleyways packed with chickens, shoemakers and layers of brightly coloured cloth. You can visit the Kumasi cultural centre to see woodcrafts being made. The following day we travel 30 km south to Lake Botsumtwi, which sits quietly at the bottom of a green crater. The lake is a perfect place to relax, swim and explore the lakeside villages as well as having the opportunity to go out on a boat and see the unusual local fishing styles.

Heading north through Ghana we make our way to Mole national park. We arrive at sunset to camp on a hill overlooking a crocodile and elephant populated watering hole and a view that stretches out across the 5000 square kilometers of national parkland. At dawn we walk down to the watering hole with a park ranger to get closer to the numerous species of wildlife that roam the park. We return to camp for breakfast and a day by the pool before the evening safari and campfire.

BURKINA FASO

From Mole we head north again stopping to have a look at the famous mud mosque in Larabanga. We cross the border at Hamale, leaving any English speaking behind and head into Burkina Faso. Our first stop is at Bobo-Dioussolo the second largest city in Burkina. Bobo has a slow pace of life and is a beautiful city, with mango lined tree avenues and old colonial buildings. During the day you will be able to visit the picturesque traditional mosques, the swimming hole at La Guinguette in the Kou Forest and village of Koumi with its characteristic, psuedo-fortified, Bobo architecture.

MALI

From Bobo we charge across the border into Mali and head to the island town of Djennie. Djennie is an incredible little town made up of hundreds of little passageways and crowds of children scribing the Koran furiously onto their slates. The architecture you stroll between is totally unique and you soon become captivated by the mystique of the country. After a night on a mud-housed roof we jump on a boat and head North up the majestic Niger river, spending the day out amongst the beautifully dressed Mula tribe who fish as you glide past.

After a night in the busy town of Mopti we drive into the Dogon country. For many the highlight of any adventure across West Africa is a trek through the dramatic scenery and ancient villages of the Dogon. The Dogon valley is a 160km escarpment where the people have lived in their traditional villages since the 15th Century. We travel on horse and cart as well as on foot to the villages where we learn about the history as well as being entertained by the people. We pass down rocky passes and hop across fresh-water streams, cooling off in the rock pools. The view from the villages across the valley is phenomenal. Each night we sleep on flat roofs of the mud huts under the stars.

BURKINA FASO

We re-enter Burkina Faso and head for the comfort of a weekends relaxation in Ouagadougou. We camp in the grounds of a luxury hotel where we use the pool and showers and drink cocktails from the air-conditioned bar. Ouaga is great and a good opportunity to write postcards and call home just to remind people where you are.

GHANA

From Ouaga we hammer it down across the border at Tamale and back through Ghana. We arrive at Kakum national park, (a protected rainforest) a couple of days later for an intrepid traverse along the 40m high and 300m long canopy bridges, the highest in Africa. We climb up into the canopy at dawn and watch the monkeys as they launch themselves between the branches as the sun rises over the rainforest. 40km south of Kakum and we hit the Gold Coast. At Elmina and Cape Coast we visit the forts, where we are given a guided tour, learning about the squalid and violent slave trade. At Elmina castle, the oldest European monument in Sub-Sahara Africa, we lunch on the battlements and reflect on Ghana's dark past.

Travelling East along the beautiful Ghanaian coastline with its palm fringed sandy beaches we reach our beach camp. Here we take a well-earned break, where we relax on the beach for the last few days staying in our own little huts. Your final night on the beach will be spent being entertained by an energetic group of Ghanaian drummers and dancers who will drag you off your bar stool and into the fire-light of the beach party.

The truck will drop you off in Accra for those who have to fly home, or if you have planned to have a bit longer on the beach you can stay exactly where you are.

We love feedback from past venturers, here is what Crystal Drury thought of her 'mad trip'