Hungry Hungry Hippos

Amber Prince & Lindsey White

We ate a breakfast of omelets galore- complete with mushrooms & peppers at Upland Hotel, excluding Davey as he is allergic to eggs. From there, we once again loaded onto our traveling bus. The group journeyed to the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary located in northern Ghana.

We arrived at a reception area for the Sanctuary, thinking that we had finally made it. Then we drove to another place, making a pit stop along the way. Where there was once a bridge now sits a tremendous ditch piled with rubble. The group had to disembark from the bus and walk across the canyon that served as a former river bed. Our fearless driver, Kwame, braved the ditch, steering across the path adroitly. We reloaded the vehicle and progressed on to the next portion of our adventure.

We parked the bus, looking around for a wild stream, brimming with hippopotami, but to our dismay, we were informed that there was an additional 30 minute trek to the river. The group spied many intriguing sights along the dirt path such as a John Deere tractor, three people loaded onto a motorcycle, a massive millipede, a herd of cattle, and a sacrificed chicken.

Finally making our way to the bank of the river, we discovered that there was a group already out on the canoes, so we waited 30 minutes for them to return. We carefully crowded into small hollowed out trees that were canoes and our guides paddled us out across the Black Volta River that serves as the border between Burkina Faso and Ghana. We tried to maintain our composure, not shifting weight in the boat to ensure our dryness. After several minutes of traveling down the murky brown waters, we at last gazed upon three hippos! Their large bodies protruded from the water a few inches, and they would periodically press their heads out of the water to breathe. To our delight, they snorted and sneezed. Our canoes were parked all in a row along the bank and m

any of us were able to touch the dense foliage of Burkina Faso. We made our way back to the Ghana bank and unloaded carefully. Most of the group made it out dry, with the exception of Chastity who was drenched from the efficient thought splashy paddler, Thomas.

We walked back to the bus - minus Priscilla who was fortunate enough to hitch a ride on a motorcycle. After that we drove another few hours to Mole (pronounced "Moh - lay"), seeing the real savannah of western Africa, spotting monkeys and turkeys along the way. Entering Mole National Park was breathtaking. From our hotel we have a magnificent view of God’s creation, reminding us of Jessica’s devotion from this morning.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring the area, spying warthogs, gazelles, and baboons, with our eyes drinking in the never-ending jungle and the watering hole. Tomorrow we shall venture forth on a safari!

Note to concerned families: internet access is limited as we travel. Do not worry about your loved ones! :)