Trip to the Hippo Sanctuary

On Saturday 6th February we visited Wechiau which is south of Jirapa near the Burkina Faso border. This is the location of the famous hippo sanctuary. First Cath, Aaron, Noriko and I packed our essentials for staying the night outside and made the journey into Wa. Here we met up with some other volunteers – Cam, Jude, Laura and Patricia – and went to buy provisions in the market. We bought bread, salad, peanut butter, fruit and drinks.

Next we made the journey to Wechaiu. Half of the road is tarmac but there is a significant section of the 53km route that is simply dirt track and although it was a tough journey on the motorbikes it was still exhilarating. The bikes ahead kicked up lots of dust and the scene looked like something from a film.

Finally we arrived at the centre. Sadly we had to split into two groups because only six of us would be able to sleep on the treetop platform near the river. Aaron, Noriko, Patricia and Laura stayed on the roof of the lodge.

The Lodge Sunset at the lodge

The rest of us made another journey to the treetop platform near the river. Here we enjoyed a night under the stars with our share of the food and drink. All around us we could hear rustling and snorting sounds in the brush, and some of these were made by hippos – but we did not see them! Although hippos are vegetarian they are very strong animals and could kill a human in self-defence, so it is best not to sleep on the ground. Night fell rapidly and the atmosphere was amazing. The guide had provided us with a small mattress each and a mosquito net and light, and there we slept under the stars – me for the first time without a tent. It was fun to spend time outside in the evening in good company and chatting the night away.

Incredibly it got cold overnight. This was the first time I had felt cold since I arrived in Ghana! We had to use blankets and fleeces.... Early the next morning we rose and awaited our guide with the boat and the rest of our group.

Sunrise at the treetop platform

Finally they silently glided into sight on the river, and we stepped into our boat. All had had a good night’s sleep and were ready to search for the hippos.

Our guides gently steered the boats downriver to where a family of hippos was wallowing. We watched from a safe distance, entranced. These massive animals were thoroughly enjoying their leisure. Sometimes we could see the tops of their bodies and sometimes they were completely submerged. Occasionally one would yawn with its massive jaw wide, and often they would snort or even nuzzle at each other. There were hippos of all ages and sizes, and the guide said they live to between 30 and 50 years of age. A female hippo will give birth once every two years and gestation is just under 8 months. A male hippo will have several ‘wives’ and will see off other suitors!



We spent about half an hour just sitting and watching before returning to our camp and gathering our belongings for the journey back to Wa. Here we stopped for a well-earned cold drink and a variety of hot food. I had TZ (a mixture of pounded beans which is a bit like mashed potato) with groundnut soup filled with vegetables and some chicken. As I don’t often eat meat now – Jirapa has no restaurants and to cook our own meat we would have to kill an animal or see it chopped up at the side of the road - this was a real treat.

Before our trip back to Jirapa we stopped by to say hi to Linda and Haydn. These are two volunteers who are husband and wife and are here on a 6 month placement working with headteachers in Wa. We picked their brains for a while about running headteacher workshops, and arranged to come and observe one in 3 weeks’ time. Cath and I hope to be able to run some of our own here in Jirapa during March.

Before long it was time to return home, have showers (everything – and I mean everything – was dirty and dusty!) and collapse into bed ready to face the week ahead. As ever though, Aaron had several visitors. One of them was Mark who is a headteacher in a school called Tampoe which is just outside Jirapa and is a Primary School. Mark is very friendly and his English is good. Aaron has worked with him and says he runs his school well. He would be open to building a partnership between his school and mine. At last there is the glimmer of a possibility of this! There are several challenges to building a lasting partnership between schools in the UK and schools here in northern Ghana. One is that there are no computers so email is impossible, and the schools have no money so they cannot afford to post anything. Another is that some of the teachers are unmotivated, and headteachers have an enormous amount to do sorting out their schools, so they have little time for international links. Also the children’s literacy skills are not good, and their lives are so far removed from the lives of children in the UK that they would find it hard to relate to each other. That said, the fact that I have been here and have come to know the difficulties faced by the schools means that I may be able to forge meaningful links.

I plan to visit Mark’s school later in the week to take a tour and talk through the possibilities.