Krokobite

We left Accra obviously at the wrong time as we got stuck in the Friday afternoon traffic. The only option is to sit back, relax (and as Kathy would say pause and breathe) and enjoy the highway culture in Ghana, which can be like a movie. As in most African countries, you can do your monthly shopping on the side of the road but the difference here is the jovial attitude of the drivers, pedestrians and hawkers alike. We marveled at the special English being spoken here and struggled to get that “ho majo wa?” in fact means “how many do you want?’ and when asking for directions, “ small far” means not so far , but actually quite far.

When we finally found the road to Krokobite, we were sure we were wrong as it was one of the typical bad roads seemingly leading to nowhere. We finally reached some village with a tiny sign printing out the way to “Milly’s Backyard” where we were on our way to. Once we got the local goats out of the way, we arrived at the Rasta stronghold. If any of you have stayed at the backpackers at Coffee bay, Transkei, you’ll know the atmosphere.

 Krokobite crazy beach and Milly's Backyard

The only problem was that at this stage of the evening the “manager” was already as high as a kite and struggled to comprehend that we in fact needed a place to stay. Once, after about 10 minutes it dawned on him, he started moving forward in a drug induced stagger only to be frequently interrupted by full stops as he struggled to regain his balance and direction. He showed us a little hole of a room, with a single bed and when asked if we can camp, as that is what the Rough Guide says, he said “no way, no camping” despite the fact  we were standing next to a Landy similar to ours with the rooftop tent clearly in use. Well, we decided to give this up as a bad job and luckily found a stunning little chalet at “The Italian Place” next door. Thank goodness for that as we would have had a repeat of our Luanda experience if we stayed at Milly’s. Saturday night is party night and they have live reggae music till 3.

Our cottage at "The italian place and the dining room

Krokobite is one of the best known hang out spots for all overlanders and volunteer workers in Ghana, as well as a weekend hangout for the local Rastafarian community. You can just imagine that this is obviously a jolly place! We befriended Oliver from the UK who is doing volunteer teaching in Accra, as well as Andrew from the States who has been traveling Senegal, Morocco and Ghana for a few months. Whilst we were entertaining them with tales of our travels, we were joined by the owners of the Landy, Milan and Louise from Switzerland, who are doing the reverse of our trip (Well Milan is actually from New Zeeland and Louise from Sweden but they now live in Switzerland.) Check them out at www.touringafrica.ch.  Stewart even got out his rugby ball and rounded up enough people for a game of touch rugby on the beach.

 Milan, Louise, Andrew, Stew

                                                                                                                                                                          Buying a "Cora" from the locals

Once again we just loved to meet fellow travelers, as you realize that you are not the only crazy people around. Louise and Milan have been waiting for weeks to get first hand news about the rest of their trip down south. As the traveler bush telegraph already warned them about all the people getting stuck in Brazzaville, they were now seriously thinking of shipping the car to Cape Town to skip the Angolan visa struggle. It was great to swap stories and tips and we are happy to report that they will continue their trip overland just with a few little detours and hopefully a Zambian visa just to get into DRC. What these bloody officials make you do just to be able to do what we are here for in the first place….TO TRAVEL. I (Annaliese) am having a similar problem with my Moroccan visa as it seems impossible for a South African to get one if you are not applying in your country of residence!! So we will have to find a way to get the passport back to SA and then sent back to Accra as there is no way around Morocco!! Seems so silly as most other countries do not even need a visa to go to Morocco.

We had a stunning time in Krokobite and hope to come back here once we finished our stint in the bush. We loved the crazy beach and laid back atmosphere even if a bit touristy. At least we got pizzas here!