Day 8 10th March - Coffins in Accra, then a road trip north to Kumasi

Photo above - road north through rural Ghana. More photos below

Crazy Coffins

After breakfast we set off to explore a little bit of Accra.

Accra, Ghana’s capital is one of Africa’s biggest cities having a population of nearly 3 million, with the inevitable traffic, noise and mayhem. It is a fast growing, lively city, with friendly and welcoming people, who maintain many aspects of their tribal African roots.

We were staying near the embassy district, but a short drive through very heavy traffic took us to the dusty hectic suburbs. We had not seen an awful lot of cars up until now, but in Accra the traffic was extremely heavy.

Our first stop was at a coffin maker. There is a tradition of making exotic coffins based on the deceased occupation or interests in life. So there were coffins shaped like planes for pilots, shoes for runners, bottles for bar owners chillies for chefs, crabs for fishermen etc.

Independence square

Back on the road, we continued on through Accra, fighting our way through the traffic. Lots of cars, minivans which are used as taxis, tuk tuks, trucks, but interestingly very few motorbikes, which dominated the traffic in Benin and Togo. The Ghana government do not allow cars older than 10 years to be brought into the country, to combat pollution.

Next stop was at Independence Square, or Black Star Square as it is also known, after the black star on the country flag. It celebrates Ghana’s independence in 1957, and is used for big events in the city.

On the way to the square we drove through the old quarter of Jamestown which is the heart of the old colonial town and is inhabited by the Ga people, who founded Accra in the 16th century. There are numerous bustling markets here where you can buy everything from food, clothing and household goods to traditional crafts.

Start of a hard day's driving

Next we drove back through the quieter business and embassy district. We eventually joined a major arterial road leading north out of the city. Although we quickly got stuck in yet another massive traffic jam. The cause turned out to be a large accident blocking both lanes of the main highway. It took us a couple of hours to clear, only to then join a long stretch of roadworks, or having to drive on a gravelled unfinished road. The only work going on was people selling things at the road side taking advantage of how slow the traffic was going.

Today we are starting to head inland for the first time on the trip, as we head north west towards the second city of Kumasi, home of the old Ashanti kingdom, the Ashanti tribe being one of the biggest in Ghana.

Out into rural Ghana

Suddenly we were free from Accra, and the landscape started to change. Small hills started to appear green with vegetation and palm trees, and dotted with houses and villages. It was great to be free of the city traffic, but there were still a lot of trucks as the road we were on the road that eventually goes to the northern border with Burkina Faso.

As we continued, the countryside, became more rolling, more lush, and less populated. The road also thinned to a single carriageway. At about 2pm, we stopped at a ‘highway stop’ where there was various street food for sale. I opted for some Yam chips with pepper.

Back on the road, it was more of the same - fairly good fast tarmac road, interspersed with villages, small towns and roadworks, where we had to go considerably slower. We saw some guys selling giant dead rats the size of small dogs. It has been known to see street traders selling Pangolin (scaly anteater), the most illegally trafficked species in Africa.

We finally reached the city of Kumasi, a city of about 2 million. We drove east to west across the city, to our hotel for the next two nights. The road was surprisingly clear, compared with what we had driven through earlier. Tomorrow we are making a few visits to places relating to the Ashanti people.