• Arrival at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
• Greeted by guide and driver from Ashanti African Tours.
• Swift transfer to hotel for check-in and relaxation.
• Akwaaba welcome dinner with delicious African cuisine.
• Relax and enjoy an evening meal. 

Accommodation – In Accra

• The first morning in Africa! After breakfast, depart the busting city of Accra and start our journey towards the Volt region of Ghana.
• The first stop during the journey will be to visit the Shai Hills Reserve, an expanse of Savannah grassland and woodland dominated by large rock formations.
• Collect the wildlife guide and hike to the Obonu Tem caves searching for wildlife during the walk.
• A fun morning rock climbing these beautiful boulders is a good way to work off breakfast and see the beauty of this area.
• From here, set off to the river front location and stay for the next few nights and have lunch.
• In the early afternoon, head to a local village, Krobo, to meet one of the families that make traditional Ghanian beads.
• Many families in Krobo communities make beautiful beads and dedicate a few hours visiting one of the family compounds to have a go at producing a set of wrist beads.
• A great souvenir for time here.
• The family will talk through the skilled process of making the beads and be on hand to assist as trying to design beads.
• From here, head back to overnight overlooking the river, enjoying good food and the atmosphere of this part of Ghana.

Accommodation – In Akosombo

• An early start this morning after breakfast, set off to Mount Afajato.
• The morning will be dedicated to hiking Ghana’s highest mountain Afajato which is an elevation of approximately 885 meters.
• From here, head to lunch before visiting the highest waterfall in West Africa in Wli.
• On arrival in the town of Wli, set off for the Wli (Agumatsa) Falls found in the Agumatsa wildlife sanctuary in the Volta region of Ghana.
• Trek through the thick semi deciduous forest leading to the falls from Wli village.
• Near the falls, hear the enormous colony of Straw-coloured Fruit Bats found on the adjacent cliffs mixed with the powerful flow of the river.
• Relax and enjoy a paddle in the pool beneath the waterfall before heading back in the evening.

Accommodation – In Akosombo

• A very early start this morning travelling to the project location, aim to set off at 06.00am and stop for lunch on route.
• Arrive in New Edubiase, meet one of the cooks from the community guesthouse which will be home for the next 4 nights.
• Now it’s time to purchase the ingredients for dinner.
• Split into 4 groups, each group is given money, and a list of ingredients needed for dinner.
• Now the fun starts, head to the local market, a great way to experience life for the locals and test bargaining skills.
• The local chef heads back to Bonkro on the bus with the ingredients we have purchased for dinner.
• Hop on mountain bikes and ride from New Edubiase to the village.
• A great way to see hamlets, villages and life for the locals as we pass through this remote part of Ghana.
• On arrival at the guesthouse, be welcomed by the team who will be looking after us for the next few days and enjoy a nice refreshing welcome drink.
• Once freshened up, meet the head chef “Peace” and her assistant cooks to start preparing dinner.
• Get placed into 6 groups each with the task of preparing a separate dish, guided by the community cooks.
• A fun afternoon and great way to start time at the project site.
• This evening, enjoy good food and the wonderful atmosphere of staying in a remote Ghanaian village.
• There will be a presentation on projects aims and objectives to give everyone an understanding of what is expected over the next few days.

Accommodation – Picathartes Lodge in Bonkro

• The students will be divided into 4 smaller groups, each group has the responsibility of cooking a local delicacy breakfast over the next 4 mornings closely supported by the community cooks.
• Waakye, Ghanaian porridge, kosie, tom brown and more is on the menu.
• Today the students will be volunteering on one of the projects that can either be school, community or rainforest focused. The exact project will be determined by the current needs of the projects.

These could include a selection of the following.

School Focused Projects:

• Student hand wash station construction
• Student toilet construction
• Water storage tower construction
• Student canteen construction
• General school building maintenance, painting and repairs
• Classroom construction
• Staffroom construction
• Library construction
• IT centre construction
• Vocational teaching
• Sports and leisure teaching
• Environmental teaching
• Facilitation of student educational trips
• Student table and chair construction

Community Focused projects:

• Beehive construction for honey farming
• Fishpond construction for fish farming
• Apprenticeship training centre construction
• House repairs
• Medical centre construction
• Teacher accommodation construction
• Sanitation education
• Community clean
• Youth centre establishment
• Sport and leisure clubs
• Farmland maintenance and repairs
• Enclosure construction for farming
• NHS registration support

Habitat and Wildlife Conservation Focused Projects:

• Pangolin monitoring and reintroduction enclosure construction
• Building wildlife hides inside forest
• Conservation educational outreach programmes
• Reforestation, planting native trees in degraded areas
• Wildlife protection officer post construction
• Forest trail development
• Tree recording, identification and counting
• Picathartes monitoring and research
• Tree nursery management
• Environmental teaching at school
• Establishing community wildlife club
• Flora and fauna species surveys
• After a full morning and early afternoon focused on project work, dedicate the next few hours to chocolate, see where the world’s finest cocoa is grown.
• Time to meet a local family that has been farming cocoa for generations, selling their harvest through Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative which is a Fair-Trade organization that ensures its members get a good price and supports farmers in tools and equipment.
• Here, meet several of the farmers and their families.
• This is where the chocolate process starts and learn how the cooperative is improving working conditions for farmers, banning child labour and ensuring women’s voices are heard.
• A visit to one of the local cocoa farms is a must, set off with one of the families.
• During time at the farm see the entire harvesting process, hear how the children use the unripe cocoa as their local sweets (not tasting one would be rude) and we also learn how locals use the cocoa pods to make black soap amongst other uses.
• Walking back through the community, visit the local gari processors and get to try making this local delicacy.
• After a wonderful day our evening is spent with the community relax at the accommodation and enjoy an evening meal whilst experiencing village life in this remote part of Ghana.

Accommodation – Picathartes Lodge in Bonkro

• An early start as some of the student group help to prepare breakfast before enjoying a full morning and early afternoon dedicated to service work, ensuring we and the community get the most from the time here.
• Set off into the surrounding rainforest to hike to the nesting site of the endangered White-necked Rockfowl also known as the Yellow-headed Picathartes.
• Must ensure to be quite waiting for them to return after a day foraging in the forest.
• The local expert guides will also search for Pangolins, sadly the worlds most trafficked and hunted mammal due to the value of their scales on the Chinese market.
• The evening is dedicated to good local food, catching up on journals and class discussions about the day’s activities.

Accommodation – Picathartes Lodge in Bonkro

• An early start as some of the student group help to prepare breakfast before enjoying a final full morning and early afternoon dedicated to service work, ensuring finishing projects objectives.
• Once the projects are completed, head over to the school’s sports park.
• Time for an international friendly football and volleyball match as Ghana host England on the school park.
• The students are split into 2 teams, one football and one volleyball as we take on the locals.
• The fun will start in the late afternoon when the sun has cooled, and the entire village will be watching.
• A fun way to end the time in the community and on the project!
• Once the trophies have been handed out, head back to the lodge to freshen up and enjoy a wonderful local dinner.
• A special evening, inviting the surrounding communities to an outdoor cinema for an African movie night.
• Students will oversee making fresh popcorn for the communities before settling down under an African night’s sky to enjoy a classic African film.

Accommodation – Picathartes Lodge in Bonkro

• Before breakfast, head to the forest edge for an important part of the trip, and aim to offset the carbon footprint of the ravel to Ghana.
• Each student will select 3 native tree species from our project’s nursery to plant in the degraded habitat between the villages and the pristine rainforest.
• Time to enjoy breakfast before bidding farewell to the community and head to the coastal village of Brenu Akyinim near Elmina.
• On route to the beach, visit Africa’s world-famous rainforest canopy walkway setting off to Kakum National Park which is a semi-deciduous upper guinea rainforest.
• Return to the park headquarters and find an excellent information centre that offers a very informative overview of the park’s flora and fauna.
• The journey continues, head to meet the Kayaks for the final leg of the journey.
• Head down the coastal road, come to a lagoon where the students will split into 4 teams for some fun and team building.
• The last 5km of our journey will be on water as the teams battle to make it to the beach first.
• A short walk through the fishing community of Brenu Akyinim, meeting local fishermen and families bringing in their daily catch.
• On arrival at the beach front accommodation, freshen up and welcome a local traditional drumming and dance troupe who will be teaching the basics of Djembe drumming and dance.
• Dinner is taken on the beach overlooking the beautiful Gold Coast of Western Africa.
• A wonderful evening is spent on the beach around a bonfire discussing the adventures and listening to Ghanaian music.

Accommodation – Brenu Beach Resort in Brenu Akyinim

• A great way to leave a positive impact before heading home would be a pre breakfast beach clean.
• An early start as dedicating 2 hours walking this stunning beach front, picking any plastics or waste found washed up on shore.
• Plastics collected will be donated to Trashy bags and put to good use.
• After a well-deserved relaxed breakfast, head to Cape Coast Castle, which has been designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
• Quality time will be spent in the late morning on an emotional journey touring this castle which held more enslaved Africans captive than any other in West Africa, viewing the dungeons and the infamous “Door of no return”.
• There is a historical museum inside, which explains the entire history of the castle and Cape Coast itself, as well as a souvenir shop selling literature on all of Ghana’s forts and castles, as well as the cultural history and traditions of Ghana.
• A short walk to lunch at the Baobab Children Foundation.
• This wonderful NGO are focused on helping children who have not attended school, have left school early and children with disabilities help themselves to a better life.
• The afternoon is spent immersing into true African art during a traditional batik making workshop with Global Mamas.
• Joining a local artisan in his/her workshop to learn the traditional techniques of batik making and production from the wax heating, stamping, and drying makes for an interesting afternoon.
• Get given a piece of cloth to produce a personalised garment.
• We arrange tailors and seamstresses from Ashanti African Tours foundation, to take your measurements and sew a shirt, skirt or dress to take home as a wonderful souvenir of the time in Ghana and one that will hold fond memories every time you wear it.
• Return to the beach front guesthouse to enjoy a final evening here in Ghana.
• Tonight, have a local DJ from Brenu Akyinim spinning some Ghanaian tunes at the final evening beach party.

Accommodation – Brenu Beach Resort in Brenu Akyinim

• A relaxed final morning in Ghana, enjoying breakfast on the beachfront.
• Time to freshen up, rearrange and pack bags for your international departure later this evening.
• A few hours free time to explore Elmina fishing town before leaving makes for an enjoyable morning.
• During our time in Elmina, visit the local fishing market, fish mongers and walk the short distance to visit the boat builders in this community.
• Also enjoy the sights of the many colourful fishing boats bringing their daily catch into the harbour and take this opportunity to mix with the locals enjoying the atmosphere of a West African fishing community.
• A must visit before heading off is the Castle of St. George, the oldest extant colonial building in sub-Saharan Africa, dating from 1482.
• There is an informative museum inside which concentrates on local history and this now silent monument to the pain and suffering Africans endured has been formally designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
• After an informative tour, set off to Accra stopping for lunch during the journey.
• On arrival back in the capital, head to “Fantasy Coffins” of La. Funeral and burial ceremonies in Ghana are very solemn occasions, but after the burial a celebration follows.
• An early evening meal will be taken at a locally owned restaurant serving an excellent selection of local and international dishes which gives an ideal opportunity to say goodbyes and reflect on a wonderful time together.
• After the meal the team will transfer you to the airport for your departure.

International departure