Torgeir Sæverud Higraff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Torgeir Sæverud Higraff
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Higraff in 2015
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| Born | 1972 Sørreisa, Norway
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| Occupation | explorer, teacher, author |
| Known for | Tangaroa expedition |
Torgeir Sæverud Higraff is an exciting explorer, a teacher, and an author from Norway. He is very interested in how people might have traveled across huge oceans long, long ago, even before modern ships existed.
Torgeir Higraff follows in the footsteps of another famous Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl. Like Heyerdahl, Higraff combines history, the study of human cultures, and old traditional knowledge to plan his amazing expeditions. He wants to show that ancient people could have sailed across vast distances.
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Torgeir Higraff: An Explorer's Journey
In 2002, the year Thor Heyerdahl passed away, Torgeir Higraff decided to recreate Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki expedition. The original Kon-Tiki journey showed that ancient people could have sailed from South America to Polynesia on a raft. Higraff wanted to try it too, but with some improvements.
The Tangaroa Expedition
In 2006, Higraff led an expedition called the Tangaroa Expedition. They built a raft and sailed all the way from Peru in South America to Raiatea in eastern Polynesia. This was a huge journey across the Pacific Ocean!
The Tangaroa raft was special because it used an improved sail system. It also had "guara centerboards." These are special boards that stick down into the water and help steer the raft. Because of these improvements, the Tangaroa expedition was even more successful than the original Kon-Tiki journey.
The Kon-Tiki2 Adventure
In 2014, Torgeir Higraff had another big idea for an expedition. He wanted to sail from Peru to Easter Island and back again. This had never been done before on rafts in modern times.
So, in 2015, the Kon-Tiki2 expedition built two rafts in Callao, Peru. They set sail and reached Easter Island after 43 days at sea. This was a big achievement, as they were the first rafts in modern history to sail to Easter Island.
However, the return journey proved to be much harder. They faced unusual weather patterns in the ocean. Because of these difficulties, the expedition had to end halfway between Easter Island and South America. Even so, Torgeir Higraff's expeditions have taught us a lot about ancient sea travel.
See also
