Ghana birdwatching tour
| country: | Ghana |
| departures: | 2008: 22 Nov |
| price: | From £1500 (14 days) excluding flights. Single supplement £100. We can help arrange flights from the UK. Can also be tailormade. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Ghana, which is only a 6 and a half hour direct flight from London, England, is a politically stable, friendly, English speaking country. It is known as the Undiscovered Jewel of Africa and it’s people are regarded as the friendliest on the continent. Ghana’s infrastructure is probably the best in West Africa and has many national parks and protected areas, which contain over 750 different species of birds. Ghana covers a variety of habitats from coastal wetland lagoons and saltpans on the Gold Coast.
Moving inland, you will find primary Guinea tropical rainforest, where the world famous Kakum Canopy Walkway offers arguably the best African rainforest birdviewing around. In contrast central Ghana offers broad-leaved Guinea woodland and Sahelian savannah plains are found to the north. These varied habitats make for an extremely impressive bird tally, a tally we know will not disappoint.
We also offer 11 day (from £1150 ex flights) & 16 day (from £1595 ex flights) tours. Please contact us for departure dates.
Birdwatching tour leaders
David Daramani – One of Ghana’s best and Chief Ornithologist for Ghana Wildlife Society. David has many years experience in leading birdwatching tours of Ghana and has over 30 years of experience working with Ghana’s birds. His knowledge of Ghana’s forest and Savannah species as well as his amazing ability to identify birds from song and call are unrivaled. He has a wonderful personality, is a joy to be around and will ensure your trip is a memorable one.
Mark Williams – Our Director and Co. Founder. He is a British Citizen based in Ghana and has a vast knowledge of all the country has to offer. He has a passion for birding and will accompany the tour for the duration, ensuring it runs smoothly and is enjoyable.
Kalu Afasi – A local birdwatching expert who specializes in coastal and forest species. He has an excellent eye for spotting and his enthusiasm is infectious. He is a major asset to our tours.
Moving inland, you will find primary Guinea tropical rainforest, where the world famous Kakum Canopy Walkway offers arguably the best African rainforest birdviewing around. In contrast central Ghana offers broad-leaved Guinea woodland and Sahelian savannah plains are found to the north. These varied habitats make for an extremely impressive bird tally, a tally we know will not disappoint.
We also offer 11 day (from £1150 ex flights) & 16 day (from £1595 ex flights) tours. Please contact us for departure dates.
Birdwatching tour leaders
David Daramani – One of Ghana’s best and Chief Ornithologist for Ghana Wildlife Society. David has many years experience in leading birdwatching tours of Ghana and has over 30 years of experience working with Ghana’s birds. His knowledge of Ghana’s forest and Savannah species as well as his amazing ability to identify birds from song and call are unrivaled. He has a wonderful personality, is a joy to be around and will ensure your trip is a memorable one.
Mark Williams – Our Director and Co. Founder. He is a British Citizen based in Ghana and has a vast knowledge of all the country has to offer. He has a passion for birding and will accompany the tour for the duration, ensuring it runs smoothly and is enjoyable.
Kalu Afasi – A local birdwatching expert who specializes in coastal and forest species. He has an excellent eye for spotting and his enthusiasm is infectious. He is a major asset to our tours.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival: Transfer to hotel, relax and acclimatise yourself to Africa. |
| Day 2: | Birdwatching and wildlife viewing: Visiting coastal lagoons, mudflats, saltpans, grassland reserves and Kakum national park, a tropical guinea rainforest. |
| Day 3-4: | Birdwatching, wildlife viewing and cultural excursions: Early starts as we head for exclusive patronage of the World famous Canopy walkway at Kakum National Park. Over the next two early mornings and evenings, we will be spending the most critical bird viewing hours 40 meters above the forest floor on the Canopy walkway, which platforms are large enough to support Telescopes. |
| Day 5: | Birdwatching and wildlife viewing: An early start, we will be concentrating our attention on the many trails within Kakum National park. |
| Day 6: | Birdwatching: After a final mornings birding at Kakum National Park, we have breakfast and depart for Kumasi. Hopefully during our journey, we will add some species we may have missed whilst at Kakum. We arrive in Kumasi at our hotel for a 2 night stay. |
| Day 7: | Birdwatching: Bobiri forest reserve, we will be searching the trails of this wonderful forest. |
| Day 8: | Birdwatching: We leave Kumasi after breakfast, heading north towards Mole National Park. We can expect to see different bird species en route as we gradually enter the Sahelian Savannah plains of Northern Ghana. During our journey, we will be stopping at riparian forests and woodland trying to add different species to our list. |
| Day 9-11: | Birdwatching, wildlife viewing and cultural excursions: Three days dedicated to birdwatching and wildlife viewing at Ghana's premier wildlife park. |
| Day 12: | Birdwatching: After a final morning birding on the terrace of the hotel, we will depart for Kumasi. We hope to add some new species we may have previously missed en route. |
| Day 13: | Birdwatching and cultural excursions: A revisit to Bobiri Forest reserve aiming to add some species we missed during our previous visit. We return to our hotel for lunch and depart for Accra. |
| Day 14: | Birdwatching and wildlife viewing: A visit to the nearby Shai hills reserve. An expanse of savannah grassland and woodland. The bird viewing here is excellent. In the afternoon we visit the Sakumona lagoon before your evening flight home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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We hope that by increasing responsible tourism in and around Ghana’s vulnerable wildlife parks and areas, the Ghanaian government will see the economical benefits and stop the deforestation, and increase government resources into protecting Ghana’s fragile flora and fauna. By visiting and supporting local eco tourism projects and benefiting the local economy, we encourage the continuation and protection of the local culture, history and traditions of these communities. We ensure the revenue is used for projects that benefit the whole community, which encourages them to protect the surrounding wildlife and flora. By booking this tour, a percentage of the profits goes towards our community project of improving school facilities in Womasi village.
We employ local guides, drivers and cooks during all our tours, we source supplies where possible from the local communities & aim to use local businesses wherever possible. We encourage our guests to purchase goods and souvenirs locally & support our community project. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |