| Osa's Ark |
| In the first half of the last century an American couple named Martin and Osa Johnson captured the publics imagination through films and books of adventure in exotic far-away lands. From 1917-1936 they traveled to Africa, Borneo and the South Seas documenting the animals and native people they encountered as well as their own experiences. Martin described himself as a "motion picture explorer" and his wife, Osa was a pioneer filmmaker in her own right. They produced dozens of commercial movies, lecture films, shorts, shot over 10,000 photographs, wrote 18 books and 100 magazine articles. The Johnson's legacy is a record of the wildlife and cultures of many remote areas of the world which have since undergone significant changes. Included are some of the earliest and best quality images of east Africa and other regions. Consequently it is of great value to researchers and continues to be used in television documentary programs. Martin and Osa made a total of two trips through the South Seas(Martin made an earlier visit there with Jack and Charmian London); two trips to northern Borneo, and five "safaris" across east and central Africa. Through years of work in the field they innovated wildlife film techniques and made documentary movies superior to others of the time. Taking adventure travel up a notch, in 1932 the Johnson's purchased two Sikorsky amphibian airplanes. One being a zebra-striped twin engine S-38 named Osa's Ark and a giraffe-spotted single engine S-39 named Spirit of Africa. They were shipped from the states to South Africa, reassembled and readied for an unprecedented aerial safari. Despite 4,400 miles of dense fog, heavy rains, mountain terrain, expensive but nearly useless maps, the Johnson's and their crew reached Kenya on February 8, 1933. Using Nairobi as a base of operations they were able to coordinate their trips across east Africa. This safari was quite a departure from their earlier ones; with a small African ground crew, they were able to establish a series of basic airfields at strategic points allowing them to reach remote areas of Africa not possible on previous safaris. Near the Lorain Swamp in eastern Kenya they filmed the well recognized scenes of an immense herd of elephants. In 1933 Martin and Osa made a return visit to the Mbuti peoples of The Ituri Forest who they had previously filmed during their 1930 Congorilla trip. Improvising a landing field in the eastern Congo, they were greeted by 200 of the locals. Using Crater Lankes and newly constructed runways in central Kenya at Nanyuki the Johnson party became the first to fly over and film from the air Mt. Kenya. Similarly, they used as a runway the dry lake bottom of Lake Amboseli in southern Kenya to film Mt. Kilimanjaro. The "Flying Safari," which involved traveling 60,000 miles and stretched the length of Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, is covered in Martin's classic 1935 book Over African Jungles and in their movie Baboona released in the same year. In 1961 the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum was established in Osa's hometown of Chanute, Kansas to preserve the Johnson's achievements and to encourage further research into their fields of study. It acts as the main center of the collection and distribution of information about their lives. In addition to the world's largest Johnson archive the museum is also home to the Imeprato African Gallery, Scott Explorers Library, Selsor Art Gallery, and Henshall Archives. The museum's exhibits contain photographs and objects relating to the Flying Safari and final Borneo trip. Exhibited items include Osa's flight suit, Martin's goggles, pilot licenses, maps, the "Carstens Airdrome" windsock made by Hugh Davis, and large models of the amphibians. Located in Chante's beautifully renovated Santa Fe Train Depot The Safari Museum is open to the public throughout the year Monday thru Saturday 10--5 Sunday 1-5. For more information about programs, newsletters and available books, videos and DVDs contact the museum The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum 111 North Lincoln Avenue Chanute, KS 66720 620-431-2730 www.safarimuseum.com Pictures courtesy of the Safari Museum Click to view more pictures of Osa's Ark |
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