ovenbird43
Well-known member
My husband and I just got back from 2.5 weeks in Ghana, hitting areas in both the south and north part of the country. While it was largely a birding-focused trip, my husband is not really a birder and is also not keen on maintaining a frenetic pace throughout the trip, so I tried to design an itinerary that gave me a good shot at my most-wanted species while also including some non-birding and more relaxed stays at various points. We also wanted to do the trip independently, although I ended up springing for a guide to take us to Ankasa, since that seemed difficult to arrange using public transport vs. care hire (although see G. Peron's 2016 trip report on cloudbirders.com for details about how this can be done), and that was the one area that I really wanted to cover thoroughly.
It is very easy to get around Ghana via public transport and all standard sites can easily be reached using this method, but I did find the lack of private transportation to be limiting once at some of the sites - particularly Kakum and Mole National Parks, very little of which can be explored without access to a car. Most car rentals require you to hire a driver, although in Accra I saw billboards advertising self-drive rentals through Avis. I would recommend car rental to most independent birders visiting Ghana, although I don't regret my decision to use public transport - it saved us money and I just accepted that there were certain species I wouldn't have a chance to see, and we certainly had some adventures as a result.
Below is an overview of our itinerary:
Oct 30 - arrival in Accra
Oct 31-Nov 3: Anaksa Conservation Area, mini-tour arranged through Birding Tour Adventures and guided by Kwame Brown, whom I highly recommend. We were picked up at our hotel in Accra and dropped of in Cape Coast (our request).
Nov 3-4: Kakum National Park
Nov 5: travel to New Edubiase, evening in Bonkro for White-necked Rockfowl
Nov 6-8: Lake Bosomtwe
Nov 9-13: Mole National Park
Nov 14-15: Tamale and Accra, flight home
More details to follow.
It is very easy to get around Ghana via public transport and all standard sites can easily be reached using this method, but I did find the lack of private transportation to be limiting once at some of the sites - particularly Kakum and Mole National Parks, very little of which can be explored without access to a car. Most car rentals require you to hire a driver, although in Accra I saw billboards advertising self-drive rentals through Avis. I would recommend car rental to most independent birders visiting Ghana, although I don't regret my decision to use public transport - it saved us money and I just accepted that there were certain species I wouldn't have a chance to see, and we certainly had some adventures as a result.
Below is an overview of our itinerary:
Oct 30 - arrival in Accra
Oct 31-Nov 3: Anaksa Conservation Area, mini-tour arranged through Birding Tour Adventures and guided by Kwame Brown, whom I highly recommend. We were picked up at our hotel in Accra and dropped of in Cape Coast (our request).
Nov 3-4: Kakum National Park
Nov 5: travel to New Edubiase, evening in Bonkro for White-necked Rockfowl
Nov 6-8: Lake Bosomtwe
Nov 9-13: Mole National Park
Nov 14-15: Tamale and Accra, flight home
More details to follow.