Take the 2-minute tour ×  Easter Island is extremely remote,
being thousands of kilometers from its nearest neighbor. How did
people get there safely, and how did they even know it was
there?  share|improve this question  6 Answers 6  As to how they
made it safely, don't be fooled by the fact that they only had
'canoes'; double-hulled ships are far more seaworthy than single
hulls of a similar size.  That's not to say it wasn't risky or
difficult, but modern people have successfully followed the
paths of early Polynesian migrations using traditionally
designed boats and (more impressively, imho) traditional
navigation techniques. Ben Finney wrote a book about his
experiences in Hokule'a, a double-hulled canoe which later (in
1999) made the voyage to Easter Island.  How they decided to
make that first trip, without knowing for sure that an island
was there, is a more interesting question. Rapa Nui (Easter
Island) tradition says that a king dreamt of the island's
existence and ordered an expedition to find it.