If you wrack your brains, and go through your memory bank, you know that you have heard this name before. Perhaps you heard it as Olduvai Gorge. Any easier to remember now? What about Laeatoli Gorge? No? How about I mention the names of the Leakeys? Does that ring a bell? Louis or Mary or Richard? Or what about the name of "the Nutcracker man"? Still no recollection of these names? Or their significance? Jeez, where have you been….

Long ago when Germany was "looking after" German East Africa, now know as Tanzania, a Berlin professor was hunting for butterfiles for his collection to take back when he stumbled over what looked like a massive leg bone sticking out of the ground. With butterflies collected and bone excavated, he made his way back to Germany. Not before he named the Gorge "Olduvai". Any Maasai these days will tell that it is actually "Oldupai". So named because of the abundance of the wild sisal plants that grew in the area and which the Maasai call "Oldupai". But herr professor misheard and "Olduvai" it has been known as ever since.But why is this place so important? All it is a two roomed museum with a collection of maasai goodies for sale outside and a relatively, and surprisingly, extensive book selection inside. It does seem to be smack bang in the middle of the road from the Ngorongoro Crater rim and the entrance to the Serenegti. It is off a dusty road, along a very bumpy track and stuck on the rim of a small gorge.The bone that our herr professor discovered did, in fact, cause a worldwide stir. He had discovered the fossilised bone of a long gone animal never see by Science before! From that simple butterfly collecting expedition at the turn of the 20th century, our knowledge of our common ancestor has evolved in leaps and bounds.

This gorge is the possibly the best fossil record of how we as a people developed into what we are today. Louis and Mary Leakey are the names that will be forever associated with bringing to light household names like "the Nutcracker man" and the Laeatoli Footprints. Mary discovered a small trail of fossilzed footprints not far from Olduvai. It seems as if dad, mom and junior were out on a walk! Incredibly when you think that 3.8million years ago, these creatures, our ancestors, were walking on two legs! Incidentially, Louis inspired Jane Goodall to follow her path. Thank goodness for that, as we now know far more about our closest relative than ever before!

There is a tribe in Africa that takes a branch off a tree called Zizfus Africana to illustrate a very valid and relevant truth. This tree has thorns that point one way of one side of the branch, yet the other way on the other side, and when you get caught by them, you can neither go forward nor back very quickly. This tribe says that like the thorns that prevent you going forward or back, you cannot know where you are going, if you don't know where you have been.Here at the Gorge is "the Cradle of Mankind". This part of the world is where we began part of the long evolutionary process to what we are today. And this is a place where these discoveries were made. Because newspapaers get bored of science easily, you don't know that major discoveries are made every year that change the way we view our world! With the advances in technology and science, a world wide genetic experiment was conducted. The results showed that our ancestors, homo sapiens, come from Africa. Amazing!

I wonder if that is why every person who ever climbs Kili finds it more than just a mountain. More than "just getting to the top". I wonder if, somehow, somewhere deep within us, far down below, locked far far away within our ancestoral past, is the memory of Kili when we walked past on our way to Asia and "the Nursery of Mankind".If you are interested about all this stuff, have a look at the Leakey Foundation's website (www.leakeyfoundation.org). Also read the articles on the National Geographic website. You might just be amazed!