Ghana Day 16 - 032812 Kakum and Cape Coast

Ghana Day 16, 032712 Kakum Canopy Walk – Cape Coast

We woke up early and met up with several other volunteers to make the short trip to Kakum, a rain forest national park area, and the beach at Cape Coast. The ride, via jam packed tro-tro (shared van) was hot and long and late and everything that we had come to equate with travel here, but in about three hours, we made the trip to Cape Coast, maybe 90 miles.

We hired a two taxis for the day, about $70 for 7 people, and set off to Kakum. This is a national park, not unlike those in the US. The attraction, however, is an amazing “canopy walk” through the tree branches of this protected rain forest. The walk was preceded by a rather aggressive climb through clearly cut paths that, to me, seemed endless. When our 10am group of about 100 reached the canopy walk entrance, we waited as groups of about a dozen were released. We decided to wait until the end of the line so that we had no pressure from other groups, nibbling at our heels, to move quickly.

There are seven canopy walk segments, each progressively longer and shakier than the previous. These are rope ladder type walkways that are stretched from tree to tree, with a platform at each supporting end. The base of the walkway is a rope ladder, with a series of aluminum ladders laid out on top of this. Above this is a series of 2x8 boards which give the rope some semblance of stability and a flat “solid” footing. So the canopy walk is done on a continuous sequence of 8 inch wide walkways. To each side of this is a woven net of sorts, that reaches up to about chest height, surrounding the walker. Below, is a drop of anywhere from 50 to 300 feet into the forest floor below. As you walk, the metal walkway ladders clang and sway as the walkers keep shifting the weight and center of gravity of the floating platform.

We discovered that one member of our group, a 20 something from Holland named Mario, had a fear of heights, so we coached and praised him through the experience. There are seven walkways, each progressively longer and less stable feeling, ranging from about 50 feet to over 350 feet. It was fun to do, exciting to reflect on where we were and what was around us, and we all celebrated the stability of solid ground, which took on a new value.Mario was rewarded with a cold beer for his bravery.

We later visited the museum and fortress at Cape Coast, the 400 year old coastal gateway for West African slave trade. Build by a revolving door of European interests, and continually refortified with bigger cannons and darker, gloomier holding areas for slaves, this fort contains the famous 'Door of no return” through which millions of slaves passed, bound for Brazil, the West Indies, Europe and America. It was interesting to note that local African tribes were also actively engaged in the business of selling their brethren in this shipping triangle between the Old and New World that unfortunately lasted for centuries.