WE left Jo-burg on what turned out to be a hot, 11-hour journey to Ghana.

It was a seven-hour flight, the rest of the time we were trying to get our stuff through customs, etc.

There was no sense of urgency and in that heat! It was certainly hard to keep one's cool.

Then we went upcountry to a bush village. I use that term loosely, because there was no running water, no loos, no sense of organisation, just a collection of shacks' along a rough track, where folk were selling odd looking vegetables, second-hand clothes and bits of fruit.

Their main occupation is illegal gold mining, they have no option as there's no other work.

They do a little subsistence farming, but their attitude is difficult for me to understand.

They seem to have no ambition, no 'get up and go'. The land around the 'village' is so lush you'd think they'd get together and grow much more, but they are waiting, hoping someone, or something will come along and all will be well.

We drove for miles. It was okay for the men - they could nip into the bush for a 'comfort stop' but for us ladies, life is not so simple, so we pulled into a petrol station.

Don't let your imagination run away with you.

I'm talking two pumps with a big rusty tank behind them, but yes, they had a toilet in a tin hut which was ever so carefully opened with a key.

I thought great! I'm not sure I can describe what I saw when the door opened - there were huge concrete steps, the top step was the loo, with two holes in it.

There was no light, no water, but, fortunately my minder had lent me his torch which revealed the ghastly scene - cockroaches the size of a baby's fist crawling all over - so it was back to the bush!

We, or I should say I, were fortunate that the team got on well, even though all were different characters.

Sandy, the director, a small, pretty blonde determined to get the shots she wanted; Kimberly, also a small, pretty blonde, working hard taking care of all of us; Ashley the presenter, good humoured, diplomatic.

Then there were the three contributors, me, Leyburn, tall smooth, urbane and funny and endearing, gold-toothed Anthony.

Then there were the important ones, Rob, handsome, good humouredly hauling a heavy camera around all day; soundman Dan, a walking radio station, both seriously tough men.

And with us at all times security' made sure all of us were safe.

It has not been a holiday but it has certainly been an experience, and it's one I wouldn't have missed.

I'd like to think there was some way I could change things, some way I could help. But all of Africa has a long way to go.

It's at the beginning of a long, slow journey, one the West has been travelling for a few hundred years, but hopefully they may learn from our experiences and mistakes.

Back to normal next week, thank heavens!