The following update information relates to chapter 7 of the Bradt Guide to Ghana:
Big Millie’s. Good budget accommodation and food, etc. was very good but I did feel intimidated by the locals there and heard of quite a few muggings, etc. Lisa, March 07.
I visited the Sir Charles Tourist Centre at Winneba and was really surprised by a somehow Superb eco-swimming pool at the beach. Incredible how beautiful this pool is, there are very friendly people working there and yes the place is ugly and the beds even worse. I don’t think they even serve meals any more (nobody offered us anything), but I will never forget the great swimming pool in Winneba. Oh, and finally, I think the people in Winneba are the most terrible in Ghana. Everybody wanted money, drunk people almost becoming violent and although I think most Ghanaians are great, these people are terrible. Roger van Loon, June 07.
About Saltpond I can say this: Nice beach, the Victoria Beach Resort is a great place. The Palm Beach Hotel is very bad value (20 cedis by now) for what you actually receive in return. And I think we were the first persons in years to step by that place. Very rundown. Roger van Loon, June 07.
The caretaker at Fort Amsterdam seemed like an alcoholic first class to us. He wanted 5 cedis each at the end of the tour for being such as a good (drunk) guide. That says enough I think. Roger van Loon, June 07.
The Aboakyer Festival in Winneba always takes place on the first weekend in May. It is called a ‘deer hunt’ but actually is an antelope hunt: a bushbuck is chased, caught live, tied tightly, and slowly and painfully allowed to die. The first day’s festivities – dancing and drumming – take place in the evening in Winneba town. The next morning is the actual hunt (in a plantation area c 30km north of Winneba which amazingly still has wildlife), which we missed because the buck had already been caught by 7.30 a.m. (we were told it’d be around 10-11 a.m. that the 2 competing asafo teams would return). We saw no activities or celebrations in town that day. Day 3 was to see the sacrifice of the buck at 14 hrs – at the Omanhene’s place (a small piece of bare ground near the fishing harbour) – but when we got there nothing was happening. We visited the Omanhene and the asafo elders (paid cedi20,000 for the privilege and photo permit), saw the still-tightly-strapped and dead/already-stinking bushbuck, and were told it’d be much later in the afternoon (16-17 hrs) that the ’sacrifice’ was going to happen. We didn’t wait. Ilse Mwanza, June 07
In Kokrobite there are still several muggings going on just like many people have previously reported. I recently read in the newspaper that they are establishing a police station there which should help in fighting the crimes. Both the beach in general and the rent-a-hay-rooms are bad. Tiina Heusala, July 07
I greatly enjoyed Anomabu. The Beach Resort was an especially terrific place to stay. I highly recommend it. The beach is gorgeous. It’s best to walk the path under the coconut trees to Anomabu from the resort to avoid the toilet beach. Along the way are four cement statues marking graves in a small older graveyard. Everyone was very friendly and obliging. My guide at Fort Amsterdam was Philip Atta-Yawson, the author of a fine little booklet for sale at the Fort. He was extremely knowledgeable and professional. I think Mr. van Loon came on a bad day and had a poor replacement guide. I believe Mr. Atta-Yawson is the regular guide on duty. The fee to see the Fort is requested at the end of the Tour; this is normal to pay a fee to see any fort, even in the US. Courtnay Micots, Mar 08
Sir Charles Tourist Centre in Winneba didn’t appear to be open, but I could be wrong–I just passed by to check out the beach. If it was open it is a real dump. Ashley Brooks-Danso, Mar 08.
Kokrobite is still as bad as ever. on each of the 3 visits I made, a friend or more were robbed on the beach. its getting to the point that either the hotels need to work together and provide private security in the evenings. It is a shame, because the place is very lively and a lot of fun, very reasonably priced, and a great place to escape from Accra, but with the hassle, intimidation and threat of robbery, its possibly somewhere to think twice about going. Steve Medley, Apr 08.
Big Milly’s Back Yard. Fantastic! A must for visitors to the Accra region, we’d thoroughly recommend a stay at the idyllic setting that is Big Milly’s. The accommodation in the individual houses was basic but comfortable –the extra money for a room with air conditioning is unnecessary however (especially as the electricity was off for the two days we stayed!) The round houses seemed well designed to stay cool; the other buildings with air conditioning did not! A torch may be worth packing as the electricity supply and generator seemed some what unreliable however. We feel it is worth stating that due to the traditional quite period, when the people of Accra don’t drum or play music to appease their Gods, the Friday/Saturday night dancing, music and drumming widely advertised doesn’t take place during May. Local youths around the beach were exuberant in their behaviour. We felt it best to ignore their presence. Charlotte Butterfield, June 08.
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