Pre-Columbian rafts voyaged as far as Mexico and introduced metallurgy to the civilizations of that country. Some scholars and adventurers of the 20th and 21st century have asserted that the rafts and their crews journeyed thousands of miles across the Pacific to Polynesia, most notably Thor Heyerdahl who reached Polynesia on the Kon-Tiki raft. Several other people and groups have also built rafts based on prehistoric models and undertaken trans-Pacific voyages. Balsa is the Spanish word for raft. The use of rafts for commerce on the coasts of Peru and Ecuador, from northern Chile to southern Colombia, continued until the late 19th
Kon-Tiki (Scouting) Challenge", "Spare Time Activities", "Dress-up competition" and others. The 2015 theme was "Here be Dragons". Kon-Tiki events have also been held in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. In 2012, Scouts Australia (SA Branch) ran the first Kon-tiki Raft Challenge outside South Africa. The competition was based on that of the South Africans. Kon-Tiki (Scouting) Kon-Tiki refers to Scout and Guide raft-building competitions held by Scouts South Africa and Scouts Australia. Named after Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, teams of Scouts and Guides age 11 to 17 compete to build and live on a raft for a weekend. Support