A theory that travellers from the east could have settled remote Easter Island inspired the Kon-Tiki expedition.
Putting an idea to the test
Heyerdahl decided there was only one way to find out. Following the end of the Second World War, he started planning his own voyage from the coast of Peru to the islands of Polynesia, using only materials and building techniques which would have been available more than one thousand years earlier. Heyerdahl assembled a crew of five fellow Scandinavians to join him on the journey, each bringing a particular set of skills to the mission. The first to sign up was Herman Watzinger, an engineer who would chart the seas the vessel sailed on and measure meteorological data. Knut Haugland and Torstein Raaby were radio experts who would make and maintain contact with a land-based support crew and any nearby vessels. Bengt Danielsson was the expedition’s ‘fixer’, arranging equipment for the build of the raft and provisions for the team’s time at sea. Erik Hesselberg was a childhood friend of Heyerdahl and, perhaps surprisingly, the only professional sailor chosen for the trip. He served as navigator and later used his artistic skills to create a children’s picture book about the adventure.
Puka-Puka Atoll, the first land sighted by the Kon-Tiki crew since leaving Peru.
The team travelled to Peru and set about their work. As a point of reference, the team turned to hand drawings made by the Spanish Conquistadores, who were among the first Europeans to land in Peru. Their illustrations of the traditional sailing craft used by the indigenous people of the region served as a guide for the Scandinavian team’s raft.
The handmade raft
The team used only materials which could be found locally. Balsa wood, exceptionally light and easy to shape, was used for the main body with strips of pine to provide support. A cabin made of weaved bamboo, 4 m (13 ft) long and 2.5 m (8 ft) wide, would be home for the six sailors during their expedition. The thick leaves of the banana tree were used to roof the cabin and more bamboo was plaited together to form a sail. The mast, nearly 9 m (30 ft) high, was made from sturdy mangrove wood. Rope made from hemp was used to lash the craft together.
The result was a wooden float which may have looked somewhat ramshackle but was, in fact, the result of great care and attention to detail. Over a period of several weeks, the crew had tested various combinations of locally-grown materials before settling on the components which would allow them to create a craft that was large enough to withstand the high ocean but also easy to manoeuvre and repair. The craft was named ‘Kon-Tiki’ an ancient name for the Incan sun-god, and plans were made for a launch in the autumn of 1947.
The Kon-Tiki was well stocked in preparation for a lengthy spell at sea. Canned goods and water containers were provided by the US military. Traditional water-holding containers were also taken so the crew could test their efficiency and usefulness.
‘I jumped on board the raft,’ wrote Heyerdahl in his account of the journey, ‘which looked an utter chaos of banana clusters, fruit baskets, and sacks which had been hurled on board at the very last moment and were to be stowed and made fast.’
The Kon-Tiki, which sailed nearly 7,000 km (4,350 miles) across the Pacific.
Drifting into the endless blue
The mood among the crew was incredibly relaxed given the potentially perilous nature of the journey ahead. In fact, Heyerdahl alone was on board when the Kon-Tiki was pulled out to open sea by a tug boat on 28 April 1947, his fellow sailors being otherwise engaged in last-minute errands.
‘Erik and Bengt came sauntering down to the quay with their arms full of reading matter and odds and ends,’ wrote Heyerdahl. ‘They met the whole stream of people on its way home and were finally stopped at a police barrier by a kindly official who told them there was nothing more to see. Bengt told the officer … that they had not come to see anything they themselves were going with the raft.
‘It’s no use,’ the officer said indulgently.
‘The Kon-Tiki sailed an hour ago.’
‘Impossible,’ said Erik, producing a parcel. ‘Here’s the lantern!’
‘And there’s the navigator,’ said Bengt, ‘and I’m the steward.’
Fortunately a boat had been sent back for the missing crewman and the six were united at the mouth of the port.
The distance to their destination was daunting, but Heyerdahl’s confidence was high and grounded in two key geographic factors which he believed would be crucial to the expedition’s success. The first was the Humboldt Current, a river of unusually cold water in the ocean, which originated off the Peruvian coast and flowed west for a considerable but unmeasured distance. The second was the prevailing trade winds, which blew from east to west and should aid the Kon-Tiki on its way.
The most remarkable thing about the Kon-Tiki’s journey was just how uneventful it was to be. The weather was kind, they made good progress on the Humboldt Current and sea life congregated round the raft, which made for a plentiful supply of food and hydration.
Land ahoy
On 30 July, the crew of the Kon-Tiki sighted land — the Puka-Puka atoll in what is now known as the Cook Islands. Five days later, they engaged with residents of Angatau Island but were unable to steer the raft in to land. On August 7, their journey ended when the Kon-Tiki was beached on a coral reef near the uninhabited islet near Raroia Atoll. The Kon-Tiki had been at sea for 100 days and travelled nearly 7,000 km (4,350 miles). Thor Heyerdahl had proved his point.
‘Land! An island! We devoured it greedily with our eyes and woke the others, who tumbled out drowsily and stared in all directions as if they thought our bow was about to run onto a beach. Screaming seabirds formed a bridge across the sky in the direction of the distant island, which stood out sharper against the horizon as the red background widened and turned gold with the approach of the sun and the full daylight.’
Heyerdahl devoted the rest of his life to examining the way ancient civilizations moved around the Earth. He died, aged 87, in 2002. While anthropologists continue to research and debate how the islands of the South Pacific were populated, the extraordinary voyage of the Kon-Tiki is evidence that Heyerdahl’s theory, however, unlikely, was at least possible.
Heyerdahl wrote to the British Commissioner in Rarotonga, confirming the Kon-Tiki’s safe arrival on Polynesia.
‘Civilization grew in the beginning from the minute that we had communication — particularly communication by sea that enabled people to get inspiration and ideas from each other and to exchange basic raw materials.’
David Livingstone’s last journey
“The mere animal pleasure of travelling in a wild unexplored country is very great … the mind works well, the eye is clear, the