Three Years Living in Africa: 10 Experiences I’ll Never Forget
After three years living in Ghana, these are ten of the most unforgettable travel experiences across Africa that changed how I see the world…
Three years isn't a lifetime, but it's long enough for a place to change you. When I packed up my apartment in Chicago and moved to Ghana in 2022, I expected a change of scenery, maybe an adventure here and there or at least a good story to come home and tell when I, what I figured would be inevitably, decided to return home.
What I didn't expect was how dramatically my perspective on travel, nature, and life would shift; how the journey would become much more impactful than the destination.
Looking back, these aren't necessarily the "best" places I've visited. They're simply the moments that have stayed with me the most.
Three Years, Ten Experiences That Changed Everything
10. Wechiau Hippo Community Sanctuary, Ghana
Imagine yourself in a dugout canoe with a single paddle, a rushing Volta River in one of the most remote parts of Northern Ghana, and a bloat of hippos staring you down while you hang onto the shoreline branches.
In Ghana’s Upper West Region, along the border with Burkina Faso, the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary protects a 40-kilometer stretch of the Black Volta River and the surrounding woodlands.
The flooded waters of the Black Volta River, separating Ghana (right) from Burkina Faso (left)
It’s not easy to reach; we managed to arrive after 3 days of driving endless dirt roads from the Eastern Region, but it was well worth the effort. We had spoken to someone who had visited the week prior, spent hours on the river, and didn’t manage to see a single hippopotamus.
As we entered the small house that doubled as a museum, our guides were excited to tell us they had just concluded a census and knew exactly where to look, so we hopped back in the car, picked up our boat captain at the next village en route to the river bank, and off we went. Within ten minutes of paddling against a heavy current, we found ourselves face to face with these majestic animals, nothing but a wooden canoe between us and turning into their afternoon snack.
It sounds a bit crazy, right? It was, but it was also raw and stripped down; the purest form of seeing these hippos in Ghana in their most wild state.
A bloat of hippos in the flooded Black Volta River, part of the protected Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary in Ghana
9. Lake Kivu, Rwanda
Central Africa had been brewing in my mind. Ever since reading Heart of Darkness in high school, the Congo and its mysteries have been tucked away into my subconscious. The longer I stay in Africa, the more I find myself daydreaming about it.
Traveling to Rwanda was a last-second decision, less than a week between booking the ticket and boarding the plane, so I didn’t have much planned beyond knowing I wanted to at least see the Congo, even if I couldn’t enter. Lake Kivu was the closest I could get.
Mount Nyiragongo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Lake Kivu in the foreground
Rwanda is a complex country with a dark history, having endured the 1994 Tutsi genocide. It’s a tiny nation filled with greenery and rolling hills, but one gets the sense of something “deeper” going on, and the truth is, the fallout from the genocide is a major driving force behind the current conflict in Eastern Congo, but I digress.
Lake Kivu straddles Rwanda and the Congo and sits at the base of active volcanoes with tectonic plates nearby. Why is this important? Large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane gas are trapped at the bottom, and scientists believe a volcanic eruption or earthquake may just be enough to shake the water levels and release the toxic gas.
One can’t deny the natural beauty, though. At the time of my visit, both the Rwandan and Congolese Governments were set to reopen the border at Gisenyi. I spent my time staring across Lake Kivu, into the Congo, and listening to stories from my Belgian host about growing up in Bukavu and her experience living in post-genocide Rwanda, and, of course, swimming in Lake Kivu, flanked by conflict to the west and volcanoes to the east.
A boat floats on Lake Kivu at sunset as a storm rolls in, shot looking towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rwanda left me with more questions than answers. A country scarred by its unimaginable history, embroiled in regional conflict, and a lake that’s one natural event away from disaster - how much can one place endure? Time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll carry the stunning scenery of Lake Kivu with me for a long while.
8. São Tomé and Príncipe
The second smallest sovereign state in Africa, one of the least visited countries in the world, São Tomé and Príncipe is less than a two hour flight from Accra and, seemingly, a convenient place to explore for someone living in Ghana.
Although a short flight, São Tomé and Príncipe isn’t the easiest to visit. The country isn’t on the international banking system, which means credit cards don’t work outside of higher end hotels and most foreign debit cards aren’t accepted at ATMs. That means that a certain level of planning and foresight (neither are a strong suit of mine) are important to ensuring you don’t run out of cash during your stay.
Porto Alegre, a remote village on the southern part of São Tomé, is one of the more difficult places to reach on the island
A few torrential rain storms and an overheated rental car later, São Tomé treated me to unspoiled nature like I’ve never seen, highlighted by coastal drives, coffee plantations, and the majestic Pico Grande, a volcanic plug that dominates the interior landscape of the country.
Such low tourism numbers also come with poor infrastructure. Roads are often difficult to navigate, especially after rain, power and phone networks frequently cut out, and healthcare is challenging to access. São Tomé and Príncipe isn’t necessarily a place to vacation, rather a trip to see, experience, and be a part of.
It’s one of the few places I’ve traveled where I truly felt disconnected from the outside world, where being present was the norm, not the exception.
The island of São Tomé is filled with unspoiled nature and landscapes
7. Liwonde National Park, Malawi
Liwonde National Park encompasses 54,000 hectares of land and stretches along the Shire River, making it one of the premier wildlife destinations in Malawi.
By day, the winding dirt roads yielded spectacular sightings: juvenile elephants attempting to assert their dominance, a cheetah digesting a fresh kill, and more.
As the scorching sun started to dip, I, along with the few other guests, clamored onto a boat and headed towards the Shire River.
Out in the open water, we quickly heard grunting, and a hippopotamus surfaced from below. Then another. And another. “Behind us”, our guide shouted as three more surfaced with a loud noise. “Look ahead,” another person said as five more appeared in the distance.
Hippos breach the surface of the Shire River inside Liwonde National Park, Malawi
For a period of time, I didn’t know where to look. As we bobbed up and down in the boat, hippos kept coming and going, seemingly nonstop, so much so that I lost count. I later found out that Liwonde National Park is home to an estimated 2,500 of them!
We continued making our way through the traffic, approaching a family of elephants on the riverbank as they cooled themselves in the water with the evening glow perfectly illuminating the scene. Again, a splash of water, a grunt, and an exclamation: “more hippos, turn around”.
The sun sets along the flooded shores of the Shire River in Liwonde National Park, Malawi
I had come across these majestic, yet volatile animals one other time before this trip, but never in this quantity and certainly not from the confines of a rickety boat with nowhere to go.
As we returned to camp at sunset, all I can remember was the feeling of peace and gratitude, ready for a good night’s sleep after a full day immersed in nature.
6. Sunrise Whale Watching in Hermanus, South Africa
Ever since whale watching in Kaikoura, New Zealand, I constantly find myself researching whale migration patterns anytime I take a trip that’s remotely near the coast. As it turns out, August is one of the peak viewing months for Southern Right Whales and the town of Hermanus, South Africa, located less than two hours' drive from Cape Town, is considered to be the whale watching capital of the world.
Too good to be true since I happened to have a month off work in August, right?
My thoughts exactly.
The morning light illuminates the bay in Hermanus, South Africa
Working with a small budget, I opted for the cheapest excursion I could find, which meant waking up at 4 am, bundling up in layers, sleepily making my way to the harbor, boarding a boat in the frigid dark, and heading out to the bay.
Soon enough, the orange glow of the sun warmed the cool South African winter morning as whales played in the waves around us.
Between an unbeatable sunrise scene and several whale sightings, this was one of the highlights of my time spent in South Africa, and an experience I won’t soon forget.
A whale breaches the water in the morning light in Hermanus, South Africa
5. Nyika National Park, Malawi
A quick internet search labels Nyika National Park as one of the most remote and hardest-to-get-to parts of Malawi.
Located in the Northeast of the country, the park itself spans into neighboring Zambia; however, it’s only accessible from the Malawian side.
Sitting on a plateau that rises to 2,600m, the name “Nyika” is derived from the phrase “where the water comes from.”
As Malawi’s largest, Nyika National Park is home to herds of zebra and is said (unsubstantiated in recent years), to have the highest density of leopards in Central Africa. From the logistics just to reach the entry gate to the unique and remote landscapes that awaited, I knew it was a must-visit.
The rolling hills of Nyika National Park are often compared to the Scottish Highlands
So, I made my way from Southern Malawi to the north, using any means necessary, from car to moto to public ferry (see MV Ilala below), and finishing with a shared taxi to Mzuzu. Here, I picked up my Toyota Fortuner and set off.
Each time I mentioned “Nyika” as my destination at the police checkpoints, the officer grinned and said, “car might not make it, good luck.” A normal human being might get deterred after the fifth time, but it simply made me more intrigued.
The further I drove, the more the roads narrowed, and I began to question Google Maps. This seemingly endless, single-lane dirt road with no one in sight isn’t the best way to reach the park, right?
Wrong.
Sure enough, after hours of contemplating the repercussions of bursting a tire or overheating the car alone in the middle of nowhere in Malawi, a small cluster of homes appeared and led to the gates of Nyika National Park.
To describe the park as remote is an understatement. So much so that a worker asked to hitch a ride to the campsite; otherwise, he would have to walk the 60km to work and hope that a ride passed by. As it turns out, my new friend was extremely helpful when the car bottomed out and got stuck in the dense mud tracks 30km into the park.
Zebras are one of the most dense animal populations inside Nyika National Park
I finally reached the campsite by nightfall, pitched my tent, dressed in every layer possible (admittedly, as I’m sure you can tell, I did not extensively research this trip before doing it and was severely underprepared), and settled in as one of three visitors in the entire 1250 square mile park.
The morning sun and campfire was a welcomed warmth to a shivering night. My guide walked me through the rolling hills, spotting herds of zebra along the way, before a solo mountain bike around the campsite in the evening.
I’m not sure if it was the nature itself or the effort it took to get there, but either way, Nyika National Park is a top thing to do in Malawi, as far as I’m concerned.
4. Togo’s Akodessawa Voodoo Market
Imagine you’re on the back of a motorbike in Lome, Togo. You arrive at your destination, step onto the sandy road with the afternoon sun beating down, and breathe in.
You nearly gag at the stench, turn a corner, and see an open space; stalls of dead animals line an open space, with a sculpture covered at the center, blackened by sundried blood sacrifices.
Welcome to Togo’s Akodessawa Fetish Market, the largest of its kind in the world.
For West Africans, it’s the one-stop shop for ingredients needed for the Voodoo religion, but for me, it was one of those moments that was a stark reminder of where I was in the world.
Regular blood sacrifices turn the sculpture black from the sunlight
I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. The only concepts I had of Voodoo were dolls used as a source of revenge and curses, but, as I learned, the term “Black Magic” came with colonial roots. A way to fearmonger and create divide, to justify ongoing occupation of Africa.
Strolling around the market, we encountered everything from monkey tails to puppy heads, snake skin, and more. But what we didn’t find was anything “dark”. Instead, Voodoo priests consult with visitors on intrinsic desires, like ensuring safe travels, finding love, or obtaining financial security.
Needless to say, I went into this day with zero expectations, but came away with a deeper, more meaningful understanding and respect of the parts of West African culture that we don’t often learn about.
A dusty stall sells common ingredients for Fetish Priests, just one of many at Akodessawa Festish Market
3. Sani Pass, Lesotho and South Africa
As I planned for a month in South Africa, I kept coming back to the Sani Pass. A 9km stretch of tumultuous road descending from the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho and into South Africa, often described as one of the most thrilling 4x4 roads in the world, it’s commonly touted as the “Roof of Africa”.
What could possibly go wrong, right?
In this case, a failed 4x4 car rental, an adjusted itinerary, no phone working in Lesotho, and that’s just the beginning.
When the car rental agency said they couldn’t honor the 4x4 reservation, my brain immediately went to “how do I make this work?” I had planned to drive up the pass from South Africa into Lesotho, but surely coming down would be easier.
I took the next few hours to adjust my itinerary, working in reverse, and drove into Lesotho at another order before reaching the pass at the top.
A car carefully navigates the start of the Sani Pass, descending from Lesotho into South Africa
It was a windy morning, so much so that I could barely open the car door and stand up straight. I sat at the Sani Mountain Escape for hours, warming myself with a cup of coffee, watching vehicles struggle up the pass and constantly questioning myself and what I was about to do.
As the afternoon rush of tourists from the South African side entered the pub, it was now or never. I walked across the empty road into the Lesotho immigration shack, stamped my passport, got behind the wheel, and slowly started the solo descent in my Rav4.
Thirteen hairpin turns later, each with a comforting name such as “Suicide Bend” and “Devil’s Corner”, I hit the tar again on the South African side, stamped my passport, thanked my lucky stars for the experience, and carried on my way.
To this day, I still vividly hear the final words from the South African Immigration Officer at the bottom border: “This is a 4x4, right?”
“I think so,” I mumbled, before jumping back in the car and driving off.
A view from the bottom of the pass, in South Africa, and back up towards Lesotho, the “Roof of Africa”
2. Hiking Ghana’s Waterfalls
I’m ashamed to admit that I had been visiting Ghana since 2010 as part of Aya, a non-profit founded on the belief that everyone has the right to quality education. That meant that most of the time in the country was spent on hours-long busses between Accra and Berekum instead of exploring.
When I relocated in 2022, I settled in Ghana’s Eastern Region and was exposed to the natural beauty.
The Akuapem-Togo mountain range, as seen from Ghana, which makes up part of the border with Togo
Fast forward three years and some of my favorite places to explore are the mountains of the Volta Region, on the border with Togo. Not only will you find Mount Afadjato, Ghana’s tallest peak, here, but the area is also home to stunning waterfalls and hikes.
Nothing beats an early evening stroll to Wli Waterfalls or a morning hike and swim at Tagbo Falls. Make a weekend of it and unwind at Tagbo Falls Ecolodge, one of the best places for some rest and relaxation.
Tagbo Falls as seen from above in Liati Wote, Ghana
1. MV Ilala Ferry, Lake Malawi
Many people ask “why Malawi,” and, to be honest, I don’t really have an answer. I had a month off from work, a flight credit to use, and Malawi fit the criteria of within budget, filled with nature, and plenty of unknowns. So, my response to this question ends up being “why not.”
One experience that I kept coming back to while researching the country was the MV Ilala.
This historic ferry was built in 1949 in Scotland and has since been ferrying passengers and cargo up and down the shores of Lake Malawi since its launch in 1951. Carrying up to 360 passengers and 100 tons of cargo, the MV Ilala runs the length of the lake, from Monkey Bay up to Chilumba near the Tanzanian border, on a weekly schedule.
Passengers help load both cargo and people into fishing boats below, the only way to get to shore at many ports
I needed a way to connect the southern part of my Malawi itinerary to Nyika National Park, and what better way to do that than spend 40 hours on a ferry, packed to the brim with 300+ new friends?
Skeptical that the email I sent a week in advance was enough to secure a cabin, I arrived in Monkey Bay early in the morning to a throng of people and cargo, waiting in line, and was pleasantly surprised by the ease of the process.
Ticket in hand, I navigated the crowd and boarded, watching from the top deck as passengers loaded everything from mattresses to stoves, and more. Soon enough, we left the port and were on our way.
Many of the ports of call along the route are too shallow for the ferry to dock, so it was a shock to me when we dropped anchor and fishing boats came out to collect people and baggage, a stream of traffic climbing up and down the side of the ship.
At the second stop, one of the MV Ilala’s official shore boats stalled its engine and was left stranded bobbing up and down in the lake’s waves, signaling for help from shore. By the time that was solved, the weather had turned, winds picked up, and the captain was afraid of capsizing, so we stayed put off the shores of Senga Bay, effectively delaying our travel by 7+ hours.
The sun sets along Lake Malawi as we dropped anchor and spent the night after winds picked up
After waking the next morning and wondering why it felt like we weren’t moving (in reality, because we weren’t), the captain cleared us to continue.
A fellow traveler and I decided to disembark at Likoma Island to stretch our legs. As the sun set, we made our way back to the port, elbowed our way into one of the wooden shuttle boats that were so deep you had to stand and use each other for support, before making our way back to the ship in the dark.
I’m convinced that re-boarding is a special skill, having to wait until the waves lift your boat up, grabbing hold of the railings at the right time, and hoisting yourself back onto the ferry with the help of people behind you making sure you don’t fall backwards.
Getting on and off the MV Ilala is often an adventure in itself, climbing from the side of the sip into awaiting fishing boats
On we went, eventually reaching Nkhata Bay at 3 am. I descended below deck to the massive crowd crush trying to disembark, tossed my bags into a waiting boat, and climbed through the dark to reach them. We finally made it to shore after 2+ days traveling Lake Malawi, I pitched my tent in the dead of night, and watched the MV Ilala Ferry pull out of port the next morning from shore.
An experience I won’t forget anytime soon.
Looking Back
I’m now on year four of living in West Africa, and although it’s taught me so much, there’s plenty more to learn and absorb.
This move and these experiences have brought a necessary shift in my perspective, a boost in resilience and adaptability, and, despite the chaos, a level of calmness I never experienced living in the United States.
Thanks for reading, and cheers to whatever adventures may lie ahead in this crazy life of ours.
What are some of your favorite travel stories? Share in the comments below and, until next time, stay safe & happy travels.
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After three years living in Ghana, these are ten of the most unforgettable travel experiences across Africa that changed how I see the world…