We got up at 4 AM, packed, put our luggage outside our door, and went down for omelets with green peppers and tomatoes and a large bowl of porridge!
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| Shai Hills Orchid |
We met at the bus at 5:30 and set off north for a few miles until we turned into the Shai Hills Park and found ourselves in a lovely unspoiled area of rolling grasslands with a steep stony escarpment in the middle. We walked into the park and almost at once saw ahead on the road a rollicking family of Gambian mongooses playing in the early morning light! The bus caught up with us and we boarded and, stopping here and there, and saw some nice birds: Senegal Parrot, Blue-bellied Roller, Green Wood Hoopoe. We also saw a lovely family of Kob, an antelope, the male with long spiraling horns lying almost flat along his back.
The park was particularly lovely to us as there was no litter of plastic bags, the bane of Ghana, which seems to cover every area of habitation we have seen.
We reluctantly left the park and saw a troop of Olive Baboons along with their babies running along the side of the highway!!
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| Olive Baboon |
We returned briefly to the Alexis and then headed into Accra dreading the traffic jams ahead, but for some reason we made good time and emerged into the coastal plain towards the city of Cape Coast. We stopped in the town of Winneba which has an idyllic stretch of tropical beach with crashing surf and clusters of coconut palms lining the shore. We birded the lagoon behind the beach and then stopped at a restaurant with a series of outdoor pavilions, in one of which a couple of men were standing on four tables stacked up to the ceiling so they could work on the lighting - talk about Health & Safety!
We were provided with a buffet of fried fish, fried rice and cooked cabbage with papaya for dessert.
Many of the tiny stalls that line the highways, selling everything from concrete blocks, carved wooden bedsteads, ornate iron gates, fruit and sundries have religious names, such as “The Rock of Ages Beauty Salon” and “Jesus Loves You Tire Repair”. We also passed a bill board warning “Say ‘NO’ to Hell!”
After lunch we drove to the Winneba Plain, a baking hot open area of stony soil covered with scrubby bunch grasses. There were no livestock or people around and we saw quite a few birds, including the Green Turaco, a large crested bird, olive green but with brilliant red and blue pattern on its wings when it flew. We spent several hours walking around this area which was exhausting but profitable. By this time it was past three and we started west, stopping at the Mankessim Pond which in addition to birds contained several men and boys walking and swimming around while throwing nets out. They seemed to be having a very good time, but I don’t know many fish they were catching! I was really exhausted by that time and dozed most of the way past Cape Coast until we reached the Rainforest Lodge on the way to Kakum National Park which we will explore tomorrow.
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| Winneba Beach |
Our room has AC, two towels, an enclosed shower and seems quite luxurious compared to the Alexis. We both showered and met the others in the dining room for large beers, tomato soup and spaghetti and tomato sauce. Then to bed!
Note: Sorry for the 10 day delay...internet access is really difficult to find and birding from 6 AM - 6 PM makes difficult to find a cafe!
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