A taxi driver taught me how to drive some 12years ago. That is how I was initiated into the world of driving. No, I didn’t go to a driving school, ha! It wasn’t my decision though but that of my parents. Best decision ever. It really boosted my confidence on driving on these crazy streets in Accra. The best part of this virgin driving experience was that the car was a stick shift. Oh boy did I feel like Schumacher. I believe driving manual should be every beginners experience before moving on to automatic.
Today, its not common to come across stick shift cars in Ghana. Automatic gears are everywhere and my first experience of driving one was actually a simple one which made me take my focus off shifting gears at every move. Relaxing.
The Mazda3 experience was pretty much an exhilarating and memorable time. Red is my favorite color so you can imagine my delight when I saw the sleek sporty-looking car looking fiery and fierce! This was going to be fun!
I picked up the Mazda 3 for a full day’s experience which I know wasn't sufficient for a total experience. A week wouldn't have been bad. This was going to exciting I still thought to myself. As a lifestyle blogger I have been approached by brands for an experiential occurrence at one point or the other. Remember Mauritius? It gives me a whole different experience every time.
I definitely needed a change from my 4 year old Yaris which I bought in an almost-new condition. I couldn’t help but notice how the car was looked at by other drivers as we waited in traffic. I saw them from the corner of my eye spying. It’s a good feeling! I want to do it again.
The Mazda 3 is sleek and elegant in design and has any function to make you have a total driving experience.
The features I loved most:
1. The ease and smoothness of acceleration on start. It was so smooth like spreading Even butter on tea-bread. It has 4 automatic transmission
2. Ergonomic design of the seats gave me great comfort and I wasnt tired after even 20 mins of driving. My back felt nothing. However moving the seats to adjust one's comfortable position to fit in was not a good experience. I had to handpump the seat adjuster.
3. Blue-tooth function was a bit chunky to locate. I like simple press of a button to connect my Spotify playlist.
4. The Mazda 3 has low fuel consumption which is great for Ghana, a country riddled with high fuel prices. The engine is 1.6L with an embedded Mazda Skyactiv Technology which generates more energy for every drop of fuel compared to mass production engines.
5. I counted at least 4 safety airbags in the saloon car. That ticks off the safety checkbox.
Isn't it interesting how after having an experience with a product you suddenly start noticing similar ones around? So weird. All of a sudden my perception of the number of Mazdas in Ghana increasing by a 50% notch. I recently saw the new Mazda6 cruising somewhere on the Airport Road.
A few weeks after, I met the PowerStation team to shoot a video for the Mazda social media campaign. The number of takes I had to do were countless. Whew! Here is the official video for your watching pleasure.
To end our experience package, we were whisked off to Aqua Safari in another version of a Mazda model: Mazda CX5. I had only heard of Aqua Safari because of Castro's disappearance in the river/lake, now I was actually going to see the place for myself.
The Mazda CX5 is every family's dream car for going on a road-trip beyond the swell of Accra traffic. A sturdy and comfortable car with all the need features for a leisurely drive (and surviving Ghana's poor road structure).
After the driver picked us up, Kofi immediately connected his Spotify app to the cars' interior bluetooth feature on the on-screen dashboard. Sweet! It reminded me of Manhattan, when we did same in an Uber cab. A beautiful memory. We buckled up and off we went in a plume of Accra dust.
I dozed off somewhere between the Tema roundabout and Community 25. I love powernaps like that. You should have seen the array of watermelons by the roadside as we neared Ada. It was a spectacle to behold! Light green watermelons were strewn in the fields spanning from the roadside and I couldn't help but wonder how come I never realised those previously empty fields held such juicy fruits. We have to buy some on our way back, I mentioned to Kofi.
We were moving at an average of 140kmph and we hardly heard the engine sound. It was as silent as an area with dumsor. We dozed off again. I woke up to check where we were on Google Maps. The GPS woman said we should turn right. We turned. Ada is serene. I would love to retire here some day. The road was getting tarred ( elections are almost here) and flecks of stones and dirt flew from the tyres of vehicles ahead of us.
We turned again at left at a crossroad, went through a small town and turned right again. The hotel's signposts guided us easily. The car handled the un-tarred road really well. Why is the road leading to renowned resort, bumpy and un-tarred? Was it to really give you the experience of actually going to a Safari? Perhaps. The woman in the GPS said we had arrived. Indeed we had. I just wanted to see the lake.
The day was far spent so we went around the resort to see what made it different from other resorts. It was actually pretty different. I will write a separate blog post on that. Dinner was below my expectation. Never try the raspberry cheesecake, do so at your own peril. Dinner was mini-wrecked by a rainstorm before we could get through the main course.
It was an unforgettable experience! From the jet skiing to playing frisbee near the lakeside. I purposely packed a frisbee. My frisbee-throwing skills were a total blast, and I dont mean that in a positive way. I just couldn't throw like every human. But the jet ski was fab-awesome! Like hi-five awesome. It seemed scary at first, knowing that Castro fell off his in an attempt to save his girlfriend who had fallen into the water. They are both gone. But I threw my fears into the wind and got on with my trained captain. The captain guided me on how to use the controls which were pretty much like riding a bike ( never ridden one before either).
This is me, acting too-known.
I think I screamed my way throughout the ride, especially when the jet ski flew up in the air on big waves. What a rush!
All too soon our weekend was over! Sob! It rained yet again the Sunday morning before we left the resort.
Scooters to move guests from the reception to the car park.
I hadn't forgotten my promise to buy the watermelons on the way. I added some mangoes to the list as well. The boot of the car was very spacious for several luggages, bunches of plantain, cassava and any food produce you want to buy on your way back from the road trip to the insanity of Accra noise.
The Mazda CX5 is strong for our 'gbongbla' (outrageously pot-holed roads) roads. I believe that a 4XD was created for roads like ours. The saloon cars are best for city drives and use: from work to home, home to church, home to Grandma's etc.
Both models i.e Mazda 3 and Mazda CX5 are worthy cars of the Ghanaian environment and if God blesses me with $20,000 I will invest it for awhile to make some interest and then consider buying the Mazda3.
This post is a sponsored post for PowerStationGhana as part of the Mazda 3 digital marketing campaign for Mazda Ghana. Thank you to #TeamPowerStation for the memorable experience!