Both were a huge success and the documentary even won an Oscar. A book called The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas was published by Heyerdahl in 1948 and a documentary named Kon-Tiki was released in 1950. Heyerdahl documented his journey in a travel diary and on film.

The six-men crew took turns navigating and sailing and they arrived 101 days later on the Polynesian islands, thus proving the theory that it was possible to cross the ocean with a raft. To prove them wrong he used materials and techniques that were available to the indigenous people of South America to build the raft and set off for the journey in Callao in Peru with four fellow Norwegians and a Swede. The trip was supposed to prove Heyerdahl’s theory that the Polynesian Islands were settled by people from South America – a theory that was not taken seriously by his peers in the scientific field. The journey across the Pacific Ocean on a balsawood raft named Kon-Tiki sparked interest in science and experimental archaeology and of all those looking for an adventure. Thor Heyerdahl’s first expedition in 1947 was talked about all over the world.

Zürich: Schweizer Druck- und Verlagshaus, 1950) Kon-Tiki: ein Floss treibt über den Pazifik.

The Kon-Tiki Crew.įrom left to right: Knut Haugland, Bengt Danielsson, Thor Heyerdahl, Erik Hesselberg, Torstein Raaby and Hermann Watzinger He went on an adventure when the world thought there were no more adventures left to have. Thor Heyerdahl was a scientist, an explorer, an author, an environmentalist and a global citizen.

Heyerdahl kon tiki