Hip-Hop Anonymous

We awoke on the roof on a cloudy morning, ready for our hippo safari. We rode the bikes to the river, where our yacht (read: canoe) awaited us. So there we were - sitting in a canoe on the remote Black Volta, the Western boundary between Ghana and Burkina Faso, on the lookout for the elusive giant beasts. (Pardon the dramatic flair)

Embellishment aside, it was quite exciting. The river was very quiet, save for the sounds of birds, insects and the occassional fisherman. Soon we saw a group of eyes looking at us from the water's surface. We had found a family of seven and they evidently were quite aware of us. While they wouldn't perform any routines for us, we were content to watch them from afar (when agitated, they are notoriously dangerous) and get a good look at them with binoculars. They were beautiful creatures and it was quite satisfying to watch them in the wild, even if they didn't do much persay and we couldn't see them underwater from behind a large glass case. We sat there for almost two hours watching them slip underwater for food, pop up and blow their nostrils like miniature whales.

In the afternoon, Agba took us to a nearby Lobi village. The Lobi in this area were still very traditional and it could be seen in their architecture (their Flintstones-esque compounds were mud-and-stick), economy (husbands grow yams, wives do just about everything else, goats and cows are everywhere) and lifestyle (polygamous, with many children). This village had some help from the hippo sanctuary as each compound has a solar-powered light in the courtyard - quite an achievement in such a remote area. While the village was far from perfect, I noticed that people seemed happy where they were. This place is quite underdeveloped, but in a way it seemed almost okay...

We went back to the river in the afternoon for another hour. Evidently the male (every group only has one, or else they fight) was upset at us because we interrupted him trying to have his way with one of the other hippos. Sorry-o. We got much closer and had better views of them (and hopefully some decent pictures as well).
The sanctuary was a highlight of my stay here, undoubtedly. And when you go, you really feel like you're supporting responsible tourism: funds go to the community (a new pump-well is positioned smartly outside the tourist office) and you can buy local crafts at the office. The sanctuary is only 8 years old, but its popularity is growing. It's been twinned with the Calgary Zoo, so it's getting lots of help (and Canadian exposure). A great deal of Ghana's tourism is very eco-friendly and community-based, which definitely makes one feel good about supporting them. And Wechiau was definitely one of them.