Kontiki Travel: Kontiki Tours from Kon-tiki Travel.

Raft Kon-Tiki Travel Expedition

On the 28th of April 1947, the Kon-Tiki raft was towed out of the harbour of Callao in Peru, and left adrift within the Humboldt Present.

A hundred and 1 days later, after crossing 4300 miles (8000 km) with the Pacific, the raft was washed up on the Raroia reef nicely inside Polynesia.

The six men who made up the crew had been: Thor Heyerdahl, leader with the Kon-Tiki Travel expedition; Herman Watzinger, in charge of meteorological and technical analysis; Knut Haugland and Torstein Raaby, each wireless operators, who maintained get in touch with with radio amateurs; Erik Hesselberg, navigator, who plotted the drift of the raft; and the Swedish sociologist Bengt Danielson, who acted as steward. Read more…

Kontiki Travel Expedition

Lots of people who grew up in the 1950′s and 1960′s would have laughed at anybody who had to be told what the Kontiki travel expedition was. Sadly because these days you can’t learn about it by watching Spike Tv or listening to Howard Stern, it seems an increasing number of people believe a Kon-Tiki is what you might order if you want to try some thing other than a Mai-Tai.

The Kon-Tiki Travel Expedition was organized in 1947 by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl to demonstrate that ancient Peruvian balsa wood rafts could have transported men from South America towards the Polynesian Islands. Thor Heyerdahl created a theory that the Polynesians had originated from Peru and not from Asia, as was usually taught. He had written up his arguments, and using the 800 page manuscript tucked beneath his arm, he went to New York to discover a publisher. Read more…

Kon-Tiki Travel

On August 7,1947, a strange vessel crashed on the coral reefs of the Raroia atoll within the Tuamotu Islands. Its tanned and weather-beaten crew of six Scandinavians survived the experience and cheerfully planted a souvenir from the source of their journey, a coconut palm carried on board their vessel from South America. This extraordinary voyage across the Pacific on a raft of balsa wood named “Kon-Tiki” would have an enduring impact on each the scholarly globe and well-liked culture. Fifty years later, the name “Kon-Tiki” is still recognized by millions and the expedition’s leader, Thor Heyerdahl, remains 1 of the most well-known and well-liked people of the 20th century. Despite its public popularity, the original aims and accomplishments with the expedition have been somewhat obscured by the sheer epic drama of the event. In some segments of the academic globe, a long pattern of misinformation has created a negative mythology about the Kon-Tiki and its captain which has been perpetuated now for decades. This write-up will consider the origins with the expedition, its outcomes, and its instant and long-term effects. In performing so, it is hoped that a much more fair appraisal with the Kon-Tiki will probably be reported. Read more…

Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian explorer, adventurer, and scientist best known for his famous voyages aboard the Kon-Tiki and the Ra II. By crossing both the Atlantic and the Pacific in easy native crafts, Heyerdahl showed that ancient peoples could have crossed a lot greater distances than was previously imagined and that trade and cultural exchange could have taken location between Africa and the Americas also as in between Pacific Islanders and South Americans. Heyerdahl’s account of his Pacific crossing, KonTiki (1950,) has been published in 67 languages. The documentary film with the voyage won an Academy Award in 1951. Other well-liked works by Heyerdahl consist of: American Indians within the Pacific (1952), Early Man and also the Ocean: A Search for the Beginnings of Navigation and Seaborne Civilizations (1979), and Easter Island: The Mystery Solved (1989). Read more…

Thor Heyerdahl Bibliography

1938 Pa Jakt efter paradiset. (Searching for Paradise.)

1941 “Did Polynesian Culture Originate in America?” International Science 1 (May) 15-26

1941 “Turning back time in the South Seas.” National Geographic Magazine 79(1):109-136.

1947 “Le Kon-Tiki a ` Papeete.” (The Kon-Tiki to Papeete.)
Bulletin de la societe d’etudes ocieniennes 7345-355 Read more…

Kontiki Travel

Kontiki Travel with Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) is one of history’s most well-known scientists, adventurers and champions of the environment.

Kon-Tiki was the raft utilized by Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands – the famous Kontiki Travel.

The Kontiki Raft was named following a legendary seafaring sun-king typical to both the old Inca kingdom and also the islands of Polynesia. The raft hoisted sail outside the port of Callao in Peru with 6 men onboard. With Thor had been 4 other Norwegians, Herman Watzinger, Knut Haugland, Torstein Raaby and Erik Hesselberg, and a Swede, Bengt Danielsson. Read more…