Mole National Park in Ghana is unique in that while they offer jeep tours, you can also do a walking tour. It’s somewhat rugged, though, so I did that one solo and left Tim to sleep in. He had a surprise visitor, but that’s a story for our full blog post on Mole National Park.
The walking safari sometimes leads to some very close encounters with the animals, including completely wild elephants that saunter past and around the ranger station whenever they feel like it. And the baboons and warthogs have no hesitancy around humans.
I’m not saying you should go up and pet them, but the area has been protected for so long that they have no fear and you can be pretty close with no worries.
If you’re calm, you can even get fairly close to the elephants – but no closer than 30 meters, as per park rules. But they are use to people gawking at them and taking pictures. They don’t startle easily, but if one decides they don’t want you in the area, then it would be best to leave. This is their space, not ours.
When I visited Mole National Park for the first time in 2003, the story was that the baboons would run into the kitchen area and scare the women working there. The women would run out, and the baboons would take the food they wanted. No one opts to feed the baboons, but our guide in 2019 called them a bunch of “criminals”.
Check out our comparison post of the Best African Safari Hats.
The walking safari affords the opportunity to go down and see elephants at their watering hole, as well as view many other animals along the way. You might see them at the watering hole, too.
On my first visit, I even got to see a crocodile, but it was surprisingly shy and slid into the water when the guide and I were still quite a distance away. That surprised me. I expected more guff from a crocodile.
Pro Traveler Tips for Visiting Mole National Park
1) Go in the dry season if you can, you’ll see more animals (this video is from the wet season).
2) ALWAYS lock the door to your room, even if you’re inside, because the baboons are criminals and they will let themselves in looking for snacks.
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