Echoes of Olduvai
Safari Guide Experiences

© Olduvai at the beginning of the Rift Valley

There is a place in Africa where the wound of a great rupture promises abundant life in its healing. It is a place of brooding mountains, vast plains and whispering lakes - a place that attracts a diversity of life to its wonders - and it was once believed to be the place of the first stirrings of consciousness in mankind.

"Lakes of pink", "mountains of the moon" and "plains of plenty" are all part of this natural wonder we know today as the Great Rift Valley. And at the heart of the great valley is Olduvai. Here is a place that echoes our past, a place where the distant memories of our beginnings rise from the deep recesses of our sub-conscious and send shivers through the body when we contemplate the significance of the ancient layers of Olduvai Gorge.

'What is so important about this ravine?'
'Many important anthropological finds have been made here'
'And this is important why?'
'It was once considered the cradle of mankind'
'But there is nothing spectacular about it'
We moved on to the Serengeti, to the glossy tourist brochure Africa.

It would be so easy to drive past Olduvai Gorge when on route to the Serengeti from Ngorongoro Crater - and many people do. Granted the gorge itself is not in any way spectacular in the highest, widest stakes but the sense of place that washes the area is overpowering.

Many who stand at the edge of the gorge at Olduvai fidget irritably as they wonder as to the reason for their visit, their souls not reacting but their minds informing them of a time-wasting and their concept of 'safari' not including a moment in pondering our beginnings.

There are also those who profess that living in the now is the only way to appreciate the wilderness but, though there may be huge merit in this concept, to stand in a place of our early stirrings as a species we can live our past if we channel our thoughts to the surroundings.

Serengeti Serena Lodge is a great place to start exploring Olcuvai from.
South and East African Safaris
©2024 Siyabona Africa (Pty)Ltd - Private Tours and Safari