Sailing through huge seas and high winds, two waka - Te Aurere and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti - have finally made it to Rapanui, or Easter Island, nearly 90 days after they started out from New Zealand.
The 20 crew aimed to replicate the voyages of early Polynesian sailors using only traditional navigation methods in double-hulled sailing canoes.
Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti's chief navigator Jack Thatcher says the long journey and gruelling shifts took their toll on the crew, with many having only limited sailing experience until they began training for the event.
Mr Thatcher says the crews showed great courage in the face of those and other challenges, and became skilled sailors as the journey wore on.
Mr Thatcher says each waka had 10 crew ranging in age from 17 to 62 years old, and half had only limited sailing experience when they began training
Mr Thatcher says the first leg sailing across the Southern Ocean took 42 days and was terrifying at times due to huge seas and high winds that lasted up to three days.
The crews were ecstatic when the island was spotted.
Because the journey took longer than expected due to the challenging first leg, food supplies ran low and they had to live on 20 cans of corned beef.
Mr Thatcher says cooking it became an art form.
The sailors craved human comforts and one of the highlights of the trip was eating banana cake.
The crew will celebrate their achievement when the waka builder Hector Busby and whanau arrive from New Zealand on Tuesday.
