Photo. The famous
Kon-Tiki Raft in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki
expedition will be re-created next year. On a new balsa wood raft Torgeir
Sæverud Higraff (expedition leader), Olav Heyerdahl, Inge Meløy, Anders Berg and
Dag Oppen-Berntsen plan to sail in Thor Heyerdahl`s "footprints" in the Pacific
Ocean. They expect to leave from Lima on 28 April and
reach land in Polynesia 101 days later.
They
are calling their venture "The Tangaroa Expedition" after a Polynesian god of the sea,
and their focus will be on environmental issues.
The voyage is
expected to cost more than 860 000 dollar (750 000 EURO), with support from
sponsors and private individuals (according to the Norwegian national newspaper
Aftenposten, 7 September
2004 - www.Aftenposten.no).
The new
expedition is timed to take place during
Norway's
centennial celebrations, marking 100 years since the country broke out of a
forced union with Sweden in 1905.
Heyerdahl first
made his famed 8,000-kilometer trip across the Pacific in 1947 and thus proved
it was possible to cross an ocean on rafts made of reeds. Based on this he also
claimed that people from different continents have been in contact in the past,
and that the ocean was not an obstacle for them.
One of Heyerdahl's grandchildren, Olav, is among the crew. He will be
responsible for building and repairing the raft.
We in Travel Explorations
look forward to follow the Tangaroa Expedition! It couldn't be a better way to
memorize an incredible person as Thor Heyerdahl from
Norway. He was a real citizen of the world and a great
adventurer!
Stein Morten Lund, 13 September
2004
Additional
information
The Kon-Tiki
Expedition:
The balsa wood
raft Kon-Tiki was built as a copy of a prehistoric South American vessel. A crew
of six men sailed the raft from Callao in
Peru
the 28th of
April 1947 and landed on the
island of
Raroia in
Polynesia
after 101 days.
Thor
Heyerdahl:
Also called Sir Kon-Tiki and the
Citizen of the World. He passed away quietly in his home in
Italy the 18
of April 2002, at an age of 87. As one of the most famous Norwegians ever, he
has accomplished many different things in his life, but his name will always be
closely connected to the Kon-Tiki voyage and the archaeological investigations
on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and East
Polynesia.
The
Kon-Tiki
Museum in
Norway:
This museum is
located in Oslo, the capital in
Norway. It's
one of the most popular tourist's attractions in
Norway. The
full name of museum is The Kon-Tiki Museum Institute for Pacific Archaeology and
Cultural History. It houses original vessels and objects from Thor Heyerdahl's
world famous expeditions: The Kon-Tiki raft, the papyrus boat Ra II,
Easter Island statues and a model of Tigris.
|
Photo. One of many
mysterious statues found on the Eastern
Island in
Pacific displayed in the Kon-Tiki
Museum
.
Could
these statues really walk?
Thor
Heyerdahl become world famous for his investigations on this
island. He was always eager to solve big mysterious from the past.
|
 |
In addition the
museum also has a film room and activities for children.
The
Kon-Tiki
Museum website
contains information about these research projects:
-
Easter Island
-
Tucume,
Peru
-
Christmas Island
-
The
Maldives
-
Pulemelei,
Samoa
-
The
Oceania
Project
Direction: take
Bus no. 30 from Oslo centre to Bygdøy in the winter. In the summer it`s
also possible to take the ferry from the Oslo
City
Hall.
For more
information about the museum click on the link: www.kon-tiki.no
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