Kon-Tiki expedition in the Kon-Tiki Museum at Bygdøy in Oslo. "Kon-Tiki" had a six-man crew, all of whom were Norwegian except for Bengt Danielsson, a Swede. The expedition also carried a pet parrot named Lorita. The main body of the float was composed of nine balsa tree trunks up to long, in diameter, lashed together with hemp ropes. Cross-pieces of balsa logs long and in diameter were lashed across the logs at intervals to give lateral support. Pine splashboards clad the bow, and lengths of pine thick and wide were wedged between the balsa logs and used as centreboards. The main mast
DX-pedition reliance on amateur radio for communications was that of Kon-Tiki organized by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 and using call sign LI2B. The activity of dedicated DX-peditions was pioneered by one-time ARRL president Robert W. Denniston, W0DX. Mr. Denniston's 1948 DX-pedition, using call sign VP7NG, was to the Bahamas and was called "Gon-Waki" ala Thor Heyerdahl's "Kon-Tiki" expedition the previous year. DX-peditions are planned and organized to help operators who need to contact that area to obtain an amateur radio award. There are several awards sponsored by various organizations based on contacting many different countries. Perhaps the most famous of these