We obtained the Mission President's permission and blessing and our adventure began. Salasi, our tour guide, picked up the Zolls and Fifes in Kumasi, then they drove up to "collect" us in Sunyani and we all started out in our own personal "tro-tro" for deepest, darkest Africa. Eight and a half hours later, after a very bumpy, pot-hole dodging drive over dirt roads with only one potty-stop, we finally arrived at Mole. The first thing we saw after entering the reserve, was a gigantic, fierce-looking warthog. He was right at the side of the road and his tusks curled menacingly up from his lower jaw! We were all so excited--a real life African animal! We finally got enough nerve to sneak out of the other side of the van to try to get pictures! Salasi was quite amused--we found out later that warthogs are like dogs--they are very common and are everywhere, even around the motel itself.
The motel actually looks like just that....a tacky, 1960's something Motel 6....no frills: 2 twin beds as hard as plywood; water that only runs from 6:30 a.m. until about 8 a.m. on a good day; and two large plastic buckets in the bathroom filled with water to pour into the toilet when you needed to flush or pour over your head when you needed a shower. There are two sections of rooms and then in the center, an office, dining area, and.......a gorgeous, sparkling clean, well-maintained swimming pool! The best we've seen in all of Ghana. Gary actually had his first swim in Africa in this pool. He has missed his daily swims so much and he LOVED it!
The motel's setting is incredible! It sits high on a cliff. There is a large viewing platform on the edge under a mammoth twisted old tree, that overlooks the watering holes below. REAL African animals (instead of chickens and goats) are visible, not only in the savannah fields and jungle below, but also running around the motel grounds. Warthogs were everywhere, as well as monkeys and huge baboons. They are wild but have become somewhat accustomed to people so we were cautious, but could actually get quite close. It was an amazing place to wake up to the sound of baboons clattering over the roof or barking outside our window.
FIRST ENCOUNTERS:
We left very early, at first light, on the preliminary morning treking safari. The six of us were assigned to a guide named Christopher. After we all pulled on knee-high rubber boots, Christopher, with bush rifle in hand, led us down the cliff toward the watering hole. We saw dozens of Kob (really beautiful antelopes) and Water Bucks, that resembled a cross between a donkey and a moose. After we reached the savannah below, we plodded through mud, rivers and grasslands and then pushed our way into an outcropping of a wooded area of jungle. All of a sudden, right in front of us--only a few feet above, on a small ridge, a huge shadow loomed up, blocked by the sunshine of the early morning sun! It was one of those times when you knew you should be terrified but the majestic beauty of a gigantic male elephant kept every one of us paralyzed and in awe! As we all just stood there, even too startled to take pictures, we heard a crashing to our right and realized we were between two of these most magnificent creatures! Christopher motioned us to quietly back away, but not before the cameras started snapping. The elephants knew we were there but just kept eating trees and pushing them over in the process. I've seen many elephants (in the zoo, circus, at fairs, etc.) but this was one of those surreal lifetime experiences! To actually come face to face with such a gigantic beautiful wild creature in its own habitat was unbelievable!
After a while we backed out of the thicket and wandered into the grasslands again to watch the other wildlife. It was incredible! Right when we thought it couldn't get any better (some visitors never even see an elephant) the whole experience became even more amazing! We approached one of the watering holes and there in the middle of the murky water were four male elephants bathing and frolicking and play-fighting. We sat very quietly on little benches and watched as they splashed and head-butted each other! Then a much larger male smashed through the grass and approached the water! He threw his bead back and tossed his gigantic ears and trunk to let the others know who was in charge. Then, he too lumbered into the water. What a sight! We watched and snapped pictures and movies for the longest time and then the elephants all climbed up and out of the watering hole and disappeared back into the bush.
We began heading back to the motel and as we crossed a small river, those of us shorter people managed to somehow fill our rubber boots with water making it necessary to sit on the ground, empty the water and wring out our socks. Then it was back to the motel for breakfast with everyone of us feeling like the whole trip had already met and surpassed all expectaions!
CANOE TRIP:
Our next adventure was a canoe trip up the Bole River. Salasi and a guy named Muhammed arranged for us to board two very delapitated canoes--three of us in each one. The guides became very agitated and finally told us we had to switch boats. Both Bud Zoll and Dr. Fife are big guys and were too heavy to go together in the smaller boat. We switched and it was a good thing as even with the three of us who were smaller, there was barely an inch between the water level and the edge of the canoe. We didn't dare hardly breathe for fear of capsizing. Our guides paddled up the river engulfed on both sides by encroaching jungle, making the excursion dark and rather foreboding. We rounded a corner to see a small boy, perched precariously on the limb of a tree overhanging the black water. It was a pertfect reinactment of Huckleberry Finn--African style. He was fishing, lowering a line into the river below. Next to him, on another line, hung three fish he had already pulled from out of the deep. We returned to the dock where a man on a motorcycle was waiting for us. As soon as we disembarked, he and our guides lifted the motorcyle up and into the canoe and off they went to transport him across the river.
MOGNORI - ECO VILLAGE:
We next visited a small mud-hut town called Mognori. It is what they call an "eco village", conceived in 2003 after all the locals' crops were destroyed by wild elephants, so the village was set up to provide travellers with the opportunity to experience authentic rural jungle life, paying a few cedis and providing the little town with a source of income. It is possible to actually stay overnight in a hut, but we were just able to have a guided village walk and a watch a drumming and dancing performance by the local inhabitants--old, young, male, female--everyone participated. They live just like they have for centuries: no plumbing or running water, no electricity--only mud huts and open fire pits. The only modern thing to be seen was a large, solar-powered light erected on a tall pole in the center of the village. It was like stepping back in time through hundreds of years.
LARABANGA:
Next we travelled to the village of Larabanga. only 5 km from our motel. It is a fascinating place with amazing examples of the traditional flat-roofed mud "kraals". The town is made up of 100% muslims, so the six of us, all obrunis and all wearing "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" nametags must have been quite a spectical. The mosque at Larabanga is probably the oldest extant building in Ghana. Some say it was built in the 13th century, but most sources fix on the year 1421. It is very old and a truly strange and inspiring site. We were shown around the town, watched how shea butter is made, but were not allowed to enter inside the mosque as Christians are forbidden.
ENDING A GREAT GETAWAY:
On out last evening in Mole, we rode down to one of the watering holes and climbed to the top of a lookout tower and watched as the sun set on the grasslands and the many wild creatures that live there, and it also set on our little Safari getaway. The next morning, bright and early, we returned to Sunyani and missionary work with only a quick stop at Kintampo Falls for lunch.
