Kontiki museum in Oslo, Norway

Written By Chris Shirley MA FRGS

Image credit: Haus of Hiatus

If you’ve not heard of the Kontiki expedition, then you’ll be glad you had – it’s an incredibly astonishing sailing endeavour, completed in the 1940s that defies belief that a project like this was even possible (let alone only a few years after World War II ended).

If you think ocean rowing is the tip of the spear, then you’ll want to find out about Thor Heyerdahl’s incredible project.

 

Heyerdahl was a Norwegian anthropologist who, after a year on Fatu Hiva, an island in French Polynesia, believed that the islands were settled by South Americans that had sailed around 5000 miles to the region. His hypothesis wasn’t accepted by the scientific community and so he set out to prove it – by building a replica raft from Balsa wood and the exact materials they had.

 

He recruited a team of experts to join him in the endeavour, negotiated and won financial backing to make it a reality, and in 1947, set off from Peru. 101 days later, the team completed the expedition to worldwide acclaim, which included winning an Oscar for the documentary that can be seen at the museum (as well as the original documentary that’s played every day).

 

 

The original Kon-tiki raft is on display alongside rafts and items from Thor’s other lesser-known expeditions, such as the Ra, Ra II, and Tigris, so do plan a few hours to take in the museum.

 

To find out more about the expedition, check out the 2012 film adaption that was also nominated for an Oscar.

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Chris Shirley MA FRGS

About the Author: Chris is the founder of Hiatus.Design, a website design and branding studio that works with brands all over the world, a former Royal Marines officer and former risk advisor to the BBC.

Chris has travelled in over 60 countries, is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), a Guinness World Record holder for rowing over 3500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, a Marathon des Sables finisher, and has worked with Hollywood actors, world–renowned musical artists and TV personalities!

https://www.hiatus.design
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Polar worlds exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London