RAINFOREST RAMBLE AT KAKUM NATIONAL PARK

By Oliver Griffin

Done the beaches? Seen the castles? If you're stuck for something to do in Ghana and want to find something a bit more off the beaten track, Kakum national park is for you - this week, Central Press has plunged head first through the forest to bring you all of the information you need to have your very own jungle experience. 

It’s 5:30 in the morning, and I’m awake. Normally, this would be a somewhat excruciatingly painful experience, but this morning is different. This morning I am up by my own volition, excited by the prospect that I will soon be walking 40 metres above the ground through the magnificent Kakum national park.  

I have spent the night on a tree platform, and although the various forest noises kept me awake long into the night, the sound of monkeys calling to each other in the distance and the low hum of chattering insects made it all worthwhile.   

Kakum national park is, quite frankly, a triumph. In a world plagued by deforestation, any establishment or organisation that cherishes the ever depleting jungle and cultivates it, protecting its rare wildlife and unique habitat, is surely something to be celebrated. The park itself covers approximately 350 km² and keeps it protected from the various industries, such as

 timber and building, which would use its natural resources for profit and not education.  The guides here are knowledgeable in their field and give insightful information when you go to them with questions. These gamekeepers have spent time in training, learning about the significant cultural and medical requirements of the dense foliage. Before arriving at the tree platform, the forty five minute hike that is required to reach it, revealed a few of the difficulties that exist in navigating the forest. Firstly, roots and mud do not make for easy walking – it is advisable to take good walking boots if you plan on going through much of the undergrowth. Secondly, ANTS! Ants in the forest are not your friends. After inadvertently walking through a nest of them as we went on our evening hike, the group suffered quite badly due to an untold number of ant bites. Keep an eye out on the forest floor for any ants you might be walking through.

The most impressive attraction to see at Kakum is without doubt the canopy walkway. Positioned between 18 and 40 metres above the forest floor, it gives a fantastic vantage point from which visitors can look out over the park.  The walkway was built in the 1980’s by two Canadians and six Ghanaians. The Ghanaian engineers that live on site wake up early every morning in order to check that the walk way is in good working order – health and safety is strictly upheld at Kakum, perhaps to a level that tourists will not see when travelling to other parts of Ghana (or riding in a tro-tro, perhaps). Although there were not many different species of animal to be seen while on the canopy walk, the very fact that it is situated so high amongst the trees more than makes up for it. The view of forest stretching for as far as the eye can see is somewhat awe inspiring.

Kakum national park is a must see for any tourist but also for any Ghanaian that hasn’t yet been. The lesson and importance of forest preservation is something that everyone should be made aware of and the work that is being done at Kakum is of the utmost importance. By going and supporting Kakum, you are helping to counteract the deforestation that takes place in Ghana, and also the rest of the world.     

Kakum National Park is situated 33km north of Cape Coast, the Central Region capital and approximately 170km from Accra. Roads are good and the best ways to travel are either by tro-tro or drop taxi.