Ghana from the Tree Tops

On Saturday, we decided to explore Ghana and Kakum Forest was at the top of my list.  

Kakum National Park is one of the best known parks in Ghana, located 

about 3 hours drive from Accra in the south-central region of the country.  

I liked this sign explaining alternatives to bushmeat, which was hanging at the entrance to the park.  Bushmeat is anything that lives in the bush, which includes reptiles, monkeys, birds and other non-domesticated animals.  Bushmeat is also discouraged for eating because it carries the ebola virus.  

The Agama lizard is common in sub-sahara Africa.  

And yes, I got close enough to actually take this picture! 

(My camera date is off since the picture was taken just a few days ago!) 

This lizard is a female.  The males have bright orange heads.  

Kakum is a beautiful rainforest with plenty of animal life (hidden during the day).  

But, the most unique parts of Kakum are the canopy walkways - or hanging bridges. 

There are 7 bridges connecting throughout the forest and running OVER the tree tops.    

It's a great way to view the rainforest from a vantage point that most people never see.  

        The bridges are connected by ropes which sway as we walked from one to another.  

The boards are pretty narrow but the view was fantastic.  

It was an awesome experience as we crossed over each bridge. 

Between the bridges, there were platforms in the trees.  

The Canopy walkways are about 40 meters high looking over the tree tops in many areas.     

The seven bridges run over 330 meters in length.  

The bridges were very springy, especially when 

one of us enjoyed 'bouncing' to make them move more! 

Ropes are used to tie off to the posts and the ropes are checked daily for wear and tear.  

This may not be a good idea if heights bother you, but we thought it was great.  

The park offers an overnight stay in the tree house, and we wanted to take a look.  

We climbed to the top and decided that it wasn't a place that we wanted to stay.  

The openness and the mosquito nets would be fine, but the dirty mattresses weren't too appealing.  

This is the muddy path through the rain forest back to the main camp.  

They even sell t-shirts that say, "I survived the canopy walkway in Ghana!"  

                We didn't feel a need to purchase one.  :)   

The village next to the park was very peaceful. 

It was interesting to observe typical village life as we drove out of the park surrounds. 

It was a fun day and we are glad that we visited Kakum.