Kakum National Park

Kakum National Park is conveniently located about half an hour from Cape Coast, the major centre for tourists along the Ghanaian coast. I arrived at 8.30 a.m. and found about 10 other western tourists plus a school group of ca. 100 pupils waiting. They were all going to take the same tour as I was - tours start on the hour from 8 a.m. onwards and cost 9 cedi (4.5 EUR) for foreign adults.

The park has been entered on the Tentative List because of its rainforest, with a variety in plant species and mammals. It covers no less than 360 square km. All the visitors however had come for something else: the Canopy Walkway. The Ghanaians are very proud of it, it was the first on the African continent and even features heavily in the description submitted by the State Party. It consists of a 350m long bridge that links 7 viewing platforms.

Nowadays there are quite a number of these Canopy Walkways around the world (we even have a Connection for it), but this one was my first experience. The tour starts with a 15 minute uphill walk through the forest. There are rare animals in the park, but they are mostly nocturnal or wisely stay away from the well trodden path to the Canopy Walkway. With 100 kids aged about 8-14 on the path, one can imagine that even the last bird or butterfly will fly away to a more quiet spot.

The guide fortunately let the …