Always in the deep woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is an ancient fear of the unknown and is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into. What you are doing is exploring. -- Wendell Berry

The TRIP: GUINEA - wonkifong --> MALI - bamako, djenne, douentza, Dogon Country --> Burkina Faso - ouagadougou, bobo-dioulasso, bala, ouagadougou --> GHANA - tamale, mole national park, tamale, yeji, volta lake ferry, akosombo, accra, green turtle lodge, elmina, cape coast, accra, hohoe and wli falls --> TOGO - kpalime, atakpame, lome --> BENIN - cotonu (transport stop) --> NIGER - niamey, tahoua, agadez, camel trek in aiir mtns, niamey --> BENIN (abomey, grand popo, ouidah, ganvie, cotonou) --> CAMEROON (douala, buea, top of Mt Cameroon, limbe, sangelima, yaounde, kribi, douala) --> MAURITANIA (nouakchott, atar, chinguetti, camels into the sahara, terjit, choume, ride the coal train, nouadhibou) --> MOROCCO (western sahara, dakhla, agadir, essaouira, marrakesh, imlil, summit of jebel toubkal, fes, chefchaouen) --> cross the Strait of Gibraltar --> Malaga, Spain --> fly to Geneva, Switzerland --> Les Grangettes, France
Click for a map. Updated April 30, 2007

dimanche, avril 01, 2007

Kakum National Park, Ghana (March 30, 2007)

Walking along a cable canopy walkway, I was suspended about 30 meters above the forest floor of Kakum National Park. This park is located north of Cape Coast, Ghana and protects 357 sq km of land that is a mixture of true rain forest and semidecidious forest. 40 species of large mammals, 300 or so species of birds and 600 different varieties of butterfly call this place home. Endangered species such as forest elephants seek refuge here and are rarely seen (I saw none).

To get to the walkway, I took a 30 minute hike through the dense forest. I am always amazed at the sense of calmness that develops when I am dwarfed by huge trees and am only a visitor in a place teeming with life.

The canopy walkway itself is 350 meters long and broken into seven viewing platforms where you can look out and down into the forest. The walkway itself is fairly stable though moves from side to side a bit which unnerved some people on the walk.

posted by Frank @ 5:42 AM