Ghana: Day 10
Penultimate post!
Day 10: Nature At Play
Looooong travel day. We drove up from Accra to the Voltage region in the eastern part of the country, so named for Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world. It's the result of damming the Volta River, thus providing hydroelectric power and drinking water. This is a very rural part of Ghana. Tiny village next to tinier village. I didn't say the most rural part, but that's only because there are roads. Rutted, brain jarring roads, but roads nonetheless. Other parts that we visited had crappy roads, but these were by far the worst.
After a 4 hour trek northeast from Accra and one bogus speeding ticket for our poor driver (can you say trap?), we arrived at the Monkey Sanctuary. They only have one species in residence, the endemic Mona monkey. But I totally didn't care because THEY ATE BANANAS RIGHT OUT OF MY HAND. OMGSQUEEECUUUUTE!!!!!! They were once revered by the locals as messengers of their idol god, but once Christianity was introduced, the people decided to kill them since they were representatives of their old idol god. Yeah, don't get me started. Once hunted until only 30 were still alive, the Mona's now-protected status has started to rebuild their numbers. There are still only around 300 in existence, but hopefully things will continue to improve. They're far too cute to go extinct!
Our next stop was even further to the northeast. After an easy 35 minute hike, my guide and I took a gender at the lovely Wli (pronounced "Vli") falls. The falls were gorgeous as falls always are, but what was better were the critters we encountered on the way back, including a huge milliped and the most adorable little mouse you ever did see. It came right over to my foot and posed for me. :3
After completing our tour stops, we headed back to the Eastern Region just south of the Voltage Region. Our hotel/motel (long story) is very close to the lake. So we have almost nowhere to travel to reach our final activity of the trip.
Tomorrow, boats on a lake and home!
Mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27102801@N05/sets/72157627265384407/
Dad's: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27102801@N05/sets/72157627264247689/
Day 10: Nature At Play
Looooong travel day. We drove up from Accra to the Voltage region in the eastern part of the country, so named for Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world. It's the result of damming the Volta River, thus providing hydroelectric power and drinking water. This is a very rural part of Ghana. Tiny village next to tinier village. I didn't say the most rural part, but that's only because there are roads. Rutted, brain jarring roads, but roads nonetheless. Other parts that we visited had crappy roads, but these were by far the worst.
After a 4 hour trek northeast from Accra and one bogus speeding ticket for our poor driver (can you say trap?), we arrived at the Monkey Sanctuary. They only have one species in residence, the endemic Mona monkey. But I totally didn't care because THEY ATE BANANAS RIGHT OUT OF MY HAND. OMGSQUEEECUUUUTE!!!!!! They were once revered by the locals as messengers of their idol god, but once Christianity was introduced, the people decided to kill them since they were representatives of their old idol god. Yeah, don't get me started. Once hunted until only 30 were still alive, the Mona's now-protected status has started to rebuild their numbers. There are still only around 300 in existence, but hopefully things will continue to improve. They're far too cute to go extinct!
Our next stop was even further to the northeast. After an easy 35 minute hike, my guide and I took a gender at the lovely Wli (pronounced "Vli") falls. The falls were gorgeous as falls always are, but what was better were the critters we encountered on the way back, including a huge milliped and the most adorable little mouse you ever did see. It came right over to my foot and posed for me. :3
After completing our tour stops, we headed back to the Eastern Region just south of the Voltage Region. Our hotel/motel (long story) is very close to the lake. So we have almost nowhere to travel to reach our final activity of the trip.
Tomorrow, boats on a lake and home!
Mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27102801@N05/sets/72157627265384407/
Dad's: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27102801@N05/sets/72157627264247689/