Travel 

Sunday, May 10, 2015 

Hidden wonders of Oldupai Gorge

My recent trip through Ngorongoro and Serengeti national park reminded me of how these two iconic wonderlands of Tanzania were historically Maasai lands until the Maasai, pastoralist, were evicted from Serengeti.  

The eviction occurred in 1951 when Serengeti was declared the first national park in Tanzania and settled in Ngorongoro. 

The Ngorongoro is managed by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). It was established in 1959 by Ordinance No. 413 of 1959 as a multiple-land-use area, to promote the conservation of natural resources, safeguard the interests of indigenous residents and promote tourism.

Masaki Paulo one of the curators at Ol dupai Gorge said the gorge derives its name form the wild sisal plant that grows in the gorge’s neighbourhood. The plant is edible mainly by baboons and elephants who favour the plant because of its water.

The gorge has over the past years been mistakenly known as Olduvai Gorge. The name was derived from early European miss-spelling of Oldupai.

The Leakey’s and their son Richard, from the 1930’s to late 1960’s, were responsible for the Oldupai Gorge’s most dramatic discoveries.

Important archaeological finds had already been made here, which included the skull that dated back to some 1.7 million years ago and excavations of the 3.5 million year old animal and early hominid footprints at Laetoli, casts of which can be seen at the visitor centre, just south of the Oldupai Gorge.

The gorge, still preserved, has amazing landscape formed from the tectonic forces which created the Great Rift Valley million of years ago. Long ago, it is believed, the area was covered by ancient salt lake which vanished and leaving salt deposits exposed in its walls until today.

The steep-sided gorge is nearly 90 meters high and its extension is 50 kilometres long. The importance of this area lies on the uncovered archaeological remains; fossils remain, including the bones of early hominids, stone tools, marks and a building site. Other sites within the area are Laetoli site, Lake Ndutu Sites, and Nasera Rock Shelter. 

Apart from Oldupai Gorge, which reminds us of the origin of humankind, there are also the ruins of the ancient town, which are marked by stone terrace and the complex irrigation system at Engaruka, where we were privileged to visit.

The gorge was formed by the same tectonic upheavals that shaped the Great African Rift Valley, over 5 million years ago that at Oldupai, have produced a stunning landscape of red rock, cut and plain.

It, therefore, goes down in the history to suggest that the Leakey family, all lovers of nature, found our modern understanding of human in this rugged gorge, where faulting and erosion have laid bare 100 meters of sediment spanning over 2 million years. Now, however, the erosion that led to the Leakeys’ brilliant discoveries threatens to destroy the remaining record of hominid prehistory.

Today, the Oldupai Gorge makes an ideal stop-over for a stunning history-packed visit, either on the way to Serengeti or simply a visit within the Ngorongoro.

It is believed between 1920 and 1931, the palaeontologist Louis Leakey and his wife Mary visited the gorge, and were overwhelmed by the wealth of archaeological material existing here. 

Two major discoveries marked turning points for the Leakey’s life, the finding of Proconsul in 1948, and the finding of Zinj in 1959.

Today the museum, located on the rim, presents exhibitions about the Gorge’s history, packed with information about the archaeological treasures found here. It also provides an excellent photographic history of research carried out in the gorge with a summary of the main archaeological findings. The importance of the area relates as much to its location as the way the strata of ash and other deposits have been layered then conveniently exposed during the formation of the gorge itself.

By Elisha Mayallah, Sunday, May 10th, 2015