Kon-Tiki2 days at sea due to difficult weather conditions. By then, the rafts had sailed halfway to South America. All crew members were taken aboard a Japanese freighter, and later transported to shore by the Chilean Armada. Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff chose to terminate the expedition to avoid risking the life of crew members. The expedition built and sailed two balsawood rafts: "Rahiti Tane" and "Tupac Yupanqui". The rafts were similar to the "Kon-Tiki" raft built by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947. Like the "Kon-Tiki", "Rahiti Tane" and "Tupac Yupanqui" were built from balsawood transported from Ecuador to SIMA, the Peruvian Army's
Thor Heyerdahl colonised by Polynesians in around 1200." Together with ancient skulls found in Brazil – with solely Polynesian DNA – this does suggest some pre-European-contact travel to and from South America from Polynesia. In 1955–1956, Heyerdahl organized the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The expedition's scientific staff included Arne Skjølsvold, Carlyle Smith, Edwin Ferdon, Gonzalo Figueroa and William Mulloy. Heyerdahl and the professional archaeologists who travelled with him spent several months on Rapa Nui investigating several important archaeological sites. Highlights of the project include experiments in the carving, transport and erection of the notable moai, as well as