Eco-tourism conservation; African national park

Product Details

Kakum National Park is one of Ghana’s most important visitor attractions, and protects 350sq.km of the rainforest that once covered great swathes of West Africa. Among the 40 or so species of large mammals that inhabit the park is a population of rare Africa forest elephants – a species only discovered to be distinct from the much more common savannah elephant in 2000. There are also numerous monkeys, red riverhogs, bongos, parrots and around 400 species of butterfly.

For most visitors, the highlight of the park is the canopy walkway (pictured above), with its seven rope bridge spans taking you right up into the treetops 40m above the forest floor. There is also an excellent visitor centre and a limited network of jungle trails. The problem is that the Wildlife Division, who have responsibility for managing the park, have limited resources to support their conservation and eco-tourism efforts – which is why they have asked us to run a series of projects to support their work.

Our initial projects will focus on rehabilitating and further developing several jungle trails that will give visitors greater access to the park. As well as the physical work of clearing the pathways, we will provide signs, information boards and brochures that will allow visitors to make self-guided tours and learn far more about the flora and fauna of the rainforest. Once work on the trials has been completed, further projects will include building an observation tower for elephant viewing.

In addition to the physical clearing and building work, we need artists to make signs, scientists to do research and plenty of willing hands just to get stuck in. Our project leaders work with the group day-to-day under guidance from the experienced rangers of the Wildlife Division.

We’ll be spending some nights sleeping in the park itself – an unforgettable experience falling asleep to the sounds of the jungle as its nocturnal inhabitants come alive, then being woken by the calls of colobus monkeys and the sun breaking through the dawn mist.

You can combine this project with our very popular HIV education project, which runs for the five weeks before the jungle project, then doing some independent travel with the new friends you’re sure to make in Ghana.

Accommodation
During your time with us in Ghana, you will be staying in hostel type accommodation on the outskirts of Takoradi. This will be in a house that we have rented from the local people.

Whether you are teaching, on the journalism placement or working in hospitals, all the volunteers stay together in the same accommodation which means that you are never far away from someone to socialise with in the evenings or travel with at weekends. Usually, four people will share a room. The standard of the accommodation will basic and not be what you are used to at home so please don’t expect all mod cons, but it will be clean and tidy.

The house has running water and electricity, but please be aware that the water is delivered and stored in a tank above the house so there may be times when it runs out, and the electricity supply is unreliable and may often fail. Ghana's electricity mostly comes from a massive hydro-electric plant at Lake Volta. It is not unheard of for the electricity company to simply cut supply when water levels in the lake are too low!

Even though there is running water, there will be no hot running water. Most houses in Ghana don't have hot running water - although some may have small boilers for washing dishes. When temperatures rarely drop below 25 degrees, even at night, you will find that a cold shower in the morning is just what you need!

There will be someone there to look after the house and they will cook your meals, which means that if you can't quite get used to Ghanaian food then they can cook something similar to what you are used to at home.

Takoradi is centrally located for all our projects in Ghana. Travelling around this fairly small city is easy whether you are teaching or on a medical project, your placement will be easy to reach by tro-tro (small mini bus) or even by walking.

Very occasionally, we place volunteers with local families. This is usually during off-peak times when only a handful of volunteers are with us in Ghana. If this is the case we will send you full details of your family accommodation before your departure.

Our staff will be on hand during office hours if you have any general queries and only a phone call away outside office hours if there’s something much more urgent.

Weekends
The cost of the programme in Ghana includes drumming lessons. Music is an integral part of Ghanaian culture so learning a bit about music in Ghana will give you more of an insight into the Ghanaian way of life.

Weekends are free and, depending on how many volunteers are overseas with you, you are based in the same accommodation which means that you can easily go travelling at weekends. Our location in Ghana means that you are close to some of the Ghana's most popular attractions.

Kakum national park, home to our conservation projects in Ghana is a short drive away. The forest reserve at Kakum is famous for its canopy walkway. Those with a good head for heights can literally walk through the canopy of the rainforest thanks to a walkway that spans the tops of the trees. Those without a head for heights can wander the numerous trails that run through the forest, some that have been renovated by Global Volunteer Projects conservation volunteers.

Also within easy reach is the coast. Great if you just want to chill out and relax by the beach and watch the fishermen land their day’s trawl. The coast is also home to the colonial forts, many of the forts were used during the sinister trade of slaves from Ghana and it's well worth taking the tour around them to learn a bit more about Ghana's colonial past.

Further afield, you can visit the vibrant capital city Accra or fishing villages along the coast. Time it right and you might be lucky enough to visit one of the villages during their annual festivals.

Further north, you can journey to the capital of the Ashanti Empire at Kumasi, visiting the huge market for souvenirs to take home. It's this market where you're likely to find the best deals on Ghana's famous Kente cloth as well as numerous hand carved crafts.

Those with a bit more time on their hands can journey further north to Lake Volta or the game reserve in Mole.