Mole National Park

I don't know if I actually ever wrote about our trip to Mole National Park. One weekend in February, we decided to go on a safari because you need to go on a safari if you're in Africa. We were all eagerly anticipating seeing elephants as we climbed on the little trou trou we rented to make our way to Mole.

The road was bumpy and dusty so we needed to cover our noses and mouths... not that it helped much. We must have looked hilarious to all the Ghanaians we were waving at out the window. Strange Obruni's (white people).

Mole was beautiful! It was so nice to get out of the city too... and to have a weekend of nothing but sitting outside, eating, swimming and reading. It was a much needed get-away for us.

These cute little guys were all over the place! They were so playful with each other -- at least the little ones were. The mama's usually just tolerated their young'ns, but they would sometimes play and push the babe's around. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them... which is good because our actual safari was a little disappointing.

Our instructor had been telling us that every year they came they saw elephants within minutes of arriving. We thought it was a sure thing, but we were sorely mistaken. We ended up seeing wart hogs, kob (antelope type creatures), and some baboons far off in the distance. And that was all. No elephants. No animals really as the kobs were so far away we needed binoculars to see them... and there were only a couple of 'em.

It was lovely to walk anyway and to see the beautiful landscape. Africa is breath-taking. Learning about the trees and the animals that are usually present was very interesting. I can't remember most of it, but you can determine how far away from water you are based on the animals you encounter -- that's how hunters and travellers would find water sources... they would follow the animals. Kobs, for example, stay within 5 miles of water.

Mole also had some exquisite flowers. They were on bushes and I don't know what they are called, but one of you might. I especially loved the little pink one below. I saw it everywhere and it always made me smile.

And, of course, the African sky never ceased to amaze me.

So, instead of seeing animals, we really just went on a nice long walk in Africa. The trip was worth it though even if only to swim in the pool. It was the dirtiest pool I have ever seen, but it was still amazing. I don't know if I have ever enjoyed swimming more.