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When you leave from Wechiau somewhere late in the morning or in the afternoon, you will not be able to make it to the Metro Mass bus in Wa anymore. Instead you can take a Tro-Tro to Wa and try to arrange a Tro-Tro back to where you came from. Another adventurous option is to take the shortcut:
From Wechiau you can ask for the Tro-Tro to a small village called Ga (no, not Wa) that is located along the mainroad from Wa towards the south. A trip to Ga costs 12.000 cedis and takes about an hour. This trip is just as extreme as the trip from Wa to Wechiau: very, very bad road, very, very full and very, very old vehicles.
When you get to Ga, you should arrange some traffic to the nearby town called Sawla. This is a bigger town at the junction of the north-south road towards the east (Tamale). From Ga you can just take all the traffic going to the south, because any of these will pass through Sawla. It should never cost you more then 10.000 cedis ($ 1,-). I took a bus from here (with about 20 living goats on the roof) that only took 20 minutes to get to Sawla.
And when you finally arrive in Sawla, you will find traffic towards all directions here. North (Wa), south (Kumasi/Sunyani) and east (Tamale). Here I had to wait for about an hour before a fast pick-up arrived that took me to Tamale. The only thing that you really have to do here is ask, ask and ask again, because there is no structure at all here in Sawla. The final ride to Tamale took about 4,5 hours and costed me 40.000 cedis.
Written Jan 23, 2007
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When you arrive in Wechiau, you still have to drive 15 kilometres to the Hippo Sanctuary, which is situated that far outside the village. There is no public transportation to there, but there are two ways to get there that can be arranged at the Information Centre in Wechiau.
The first way is the cheapest: you can rent a bycicle. For one day you pay 30.000 cedis ($ 3,-) per bike, so when you want to spend the night at the Sanctuary you should pay 60.000 when you come back. The problem is: 15 kilometres in Europe or America may not seem that long, but in the burning Ghanaian sun it is very hard! It will take you at least an hour to get there, and then you still have the problem of your luggage that you have to take with you.
According to me, the second option is much better. You can also charter a Tro-Tro to get you there and pick you up. For a Tro-Tro ride you pay 80.000 cedis ($ 8,-) per person. This Tro-Tro is just as bad as the one that took you to the village, so it's another adventure before you get there. After you arrive you have to make an appointment at what time you want to be brought back the next day. In my case I still had to wait for 1,5 hours before it arrived, but that's Ghana...
Written Jan 23, 2007
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The most important way of transportation in Ghana is the Tro-Tro. A Tro-Tro is every vehicle that is bigger then a normal car and smaller then a bus. It can be anything: vans, pick-ups, small busses...
Every trip in a Tro-Tro is an adventure. The vehicles always are at least 20 years old, they are extremely uncomfortable, and very, very packed. But the Tro-Tro is the cheapest possible way of transportation, often it is the only way to get somewhere, and it is the perfect way to get to know the real Ghana and the real Ghanaians.
The most extreme ride with the Tro-Tro I had on my way to and away from Wechiau. The vehicle that had to bring us there was a very old pick-up truck with a roof that was completely packed with people and luggage. On the frontseat next to the driver I had to sit together with my travelbuddy, and in the back there were about 18 Ghanaian women and children. All the luggage was tightened on the roof.
The road was very, very bad: the pick-up got stuck in the mud twice and even had to cross a river. The gears didn't work properly anymore and the car had to be fixed first before we were able to depart from Wa.
From Wa to Wechiau is about 25 km. but still it took 1,5 hours to get there! This trip costed 15.000 cedis ($ 1,50) and for that money I got the most extreme ride I had in my life (so far)! If you don't think you'll like a ride like this, you simply can't go to Wechiau. This is the only transportation heading there. This Tro-Tro departs from the central Tro-Tro station in Wa, several times a day.
Written Jan 23, 2007
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Reviews and photos of Wechiau attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Wechiau sightseeing.
The most important way of transportation in Ghana is the Tro-Tro. A Tro-Tro is every vehicle that is bigger then a normal car and smaller then a bus. It can be...
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Close to the city of Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana, you will find a very small village at the banks of the Black Volta River, the border with Burkina Faso. This small village is called Wechiau,...
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Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary, Ghana
The river safari is great fun and if you don't get to see the hippos the birds and butterflies are unbelievable. You will get to know more about the local culture as you will go with a local guide...
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