Welcome to Rusinga Island! Rusinga, and its neighbor Mfangano, are home to some of the world's most important early ape fossils. The cache location is about 10 km directly north of the center of the Kisingiri volcanic crater, which began erupting in the Miocene epoch, about 20 million years ago, in conjunction with East African rifting. Repeated eruption created an ideal environment for the preservation of fossils, and more than 100 species of plants and animals have been identified in Rusinga's fossil record, including an extraordinary sample of the fossil ape Ekembo. Louis and Mary Leakey first began collecting fossils here in the 1930s, traveling to Rusinga in their boat Miocene Lady.
Please note: FOSSIL COLLECTING IS STRICTLY ILLEGAL BY KENYAN LAW (The National Museums and Heritage Act of 2006). It can also seriously bias or distort the important scientific research still conducted on the island today. Should you find a fossil on the island, please leave it in place! You can also contact the National Museums of Kenya and they can arrange to properly document and collect it (especially if you can provide GPS coordinates).
The cache is located within the compound of Mr. Samwel Owuor (sam-well oh-worr) and is placed and maintained with his permission and assistance. Feel free to greet him or his family as you enter the compound. There is space in the cache for a few small trinkets. Please be VERY careful grabbing and replacing the cache. Visitors attract incredible amounts of attention, especially from children, and it may be difficult avoid being seen. Also, please be sure that the cache is securely replaced so that it does not become dislodged during the rainy season.