KON-TIKI In 1947 Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl had an unusual theory about how the Polynesians came to inhabit their islands. His theory was that ancient Peruvians were the ancestors of modern Polynesians. This went counter to the traditional view that the Polynesians migrated East from Asia. To test his hypothesis, Thor built a type of reed raft known to be used by prehistoric South Americans. He named his raft the Kon-Tiki and set out from Peru across the ocean to Polynesia. After 101 days at sea he crossed 4300 miles of open ocean to arrive at the island of Raroia in the Tuomotus. This proved that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized these islands. Since this famous journey he has built and sailed other reed boats across the Atlantic to show that ancient Europeans could have come to the Americas before Columbus.

Thor's account of his incredible journey is for sale at amazon.com. Jewelersweb Recommendation Kon-Tiki : Across the Pacific by Raft Thor Heyerdahl, F.H. Lyon Mass Market Paperback

Pitcairn Island

The most well known tale of adventure in the South Pacific has to be the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty for which two big budget Hollywood movies were made. The 1962 version stared Marlon Brando. During the filming of this Mutiny movie Brando became so enthralled by the islands that he decided to buy one. Today Brando's private island of Tetiaroa has it's own resort hotel. In 1788, the infamous Bounty sailed to Tahiti on an expedition to collect breadfruit. While on Tahiti several of the crew fell in love with both the islands and the women on them. So while after departing the islands the crew led by Fletcher Christian mutinied and set the Captain William Bligh adrift in a small boat. The crew then took their new Tahitian brides and found the deserted Pitcairn Island far out in the Tuomotus where they lived out the rest of their lives. Today descendants of the mutinous crew can still be found on Pitcairn Island.