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Riaan Manser is the epitome of courage and determination, he has re-written the definition of tenacity over the past 20 years.
Riaan rose to prominence by becoming the first person to cycle around the perimeter of Africa. For over two years, alone and unaided, Riaan pedalled a staggering 37 000 km’s through 34 different countries, some of which rank as the most dangerous countries in the world.
His achievement earned him the title: ‘Out There Adventurer of the Year 2006’ and his book, ‘Around Africa on my Bicycle’ became a best seller.
Riaan experienced imprisonment (during his journey) in Equatorial Guinea and he was held captive by drugged teenage rebels in Liberia. On both occasions, he secured his release through his charm, amicable personality and exceptional powers of persuasion.
To add to his achievements, Riaan Manser climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and descended to Lake Assal, the highest and lowest points on the continent.
On seeing Riaan’s story on television, Nelson Mandela personally requested a meeting with Riaan, saying it was: “a performance that will inspire the youth of the continent”.
The Explorer’s Club in New York extended a special invitation to Riaan to speak before its illustrious organisation. The club’s members include the first man to reach the North Pole, the first man to reach the South Pole, the top of Everest, the deepest point in the ocean and the first man on the moon.
In July 2009, Riaan Manser set another world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island – by kayak – alone and unaided.
This colossal journey, which saw Riaan paddle 5000 km’s in eleven months, was, he said: “considerably more demanding, both physically and mentally”. He had to conquer extreme loneliness whilst enduring treacherous conditions like pounding seas, cyclones and unrelenting sun, which combined with salt water, almost pickled him alive.
In March 2011, Riaan Manser – Inspirational Adventure began his next challenge. This time, he took on mystical Iceland and her arctic waters with a partner, Dan Skinstad, who has mild cerebral palsy. ‘Around Iceland on Inspiration’ saw the two paddle 2300 km to circumnavigate Iceland in a double sea-kayak over a five month period.
Landings were another of the pair’s biggest challenges. Approaching rocky shores that are being pounded by wind and surf is a hazardous business. Between timings and luck, you’re a second away from disaster at any moment.
Their landings were made even more difficult because of their ‘sea legs’ which they’d developed after a long day’s paddle of 8-10 hours. Often, even the softest landings would result in Riaan and Dan spluttering and crawling for a few moments on the black sand on all fours, after tumbling out of the boat during their landing.
As the long days of summer arrived, the pair began paddling through the night. This proved to be a successful strategy, although it messed up their sleep patterns.
“The sunlit nights in Iceland bring calmer winds, so we have been paddling at night quite a bit. It is really surreal to be able to see clearly throughout the night, to listen to the night sounds and to observe the misty night scenes of Iceland”.
On the 5th of September 2011, after 147 paddling days, blistered and aching, they arrived back at their starting point, their circumnavigation complete.
Thousands of people from blue-chip companies to community projects and from schools to non-governmental organisations have been moved by Riaan’s extraordinary (and often hilarious) tales of perseverance and unrelenting resolve.
Riaan Manser speaks passionately about his adventures, motivating and inspiring all who attend his presentations. A talk that incorporates true courage, perseverance and the right attitude to effectively lead in adversity.
Cycling an average of 90km a day, often in extreme conditions on badly-maintained gravel and sand roads, being thrown into jail in Equatorial Guinea by aggressive and drunken border police, and facing possible death when taken hostage by drugged Liberian teenage rebels may not be a conventional idea of truly ‘living’, but, in September 2003, Riaan Manser rode out of Cape Town, determined to become the first person to circumnavigate Africa by bicycle. He thought it would take him a year – it took him over two.
At the end of 2005, he cycled back into Cape Town, 14kg lighter and having covered 36,500 km through thirty-four countries.
In the last five years Riaan Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity and become the epitome of determination. Riaan rose to prominence when he became the first person to cycle around the entire perimeter of Africa. For over two years, he pedalled a mammoth 37,000kms through 34 countries; some of which rank as the most dangerous places on Earth.
It was a feat that earned him the title Adventurer of the Year 2006 and made his resulting book, ‘Around Africa on my Bicycle’, a best-seller. In July 2009 Riaan Manser again set another world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate the world’s fourth largest island of Madagascar by kayak; another expedition achieved alone and unaided.
South Africa’s best-known adventurer Riaan Manser takes on his toughest and coldest – challenge ever, to kayak around Iceland accompanied by Dan Skinstad, who suffers from mild cerebral palsy.
Manser’s rise to prominence began with the unbelievable world-first circumnavigation of the African continent by bicycle. It took him exactly two years, two months & fifteen days, alone & unaided, he pedalled a staggering 34 500 kilometers (22 680 miles) through 34 different countries, some of them ranked as the most dangerous & most inhospitable places in our world today. Manser’s achievement earned him the title “Out There Adventurer of the Year 2006” & his first book, “Around Africa on my Bicycle”, became a bestseller & continues to enjoy huge success.
During Riaan’s journey he was imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea & was held captive by drugged teenage rebels in Liberia. Both occasions he negotiated his release through his charm, amicable personality & exceptional powers of persuasion.
Along the way Manser ate some exotic dishes such as monkey, bat, camel & rat. As if cycling the perimeter of the African continent wasn’t enough, he also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro & descended to Lake Assal, the highest & lowest points in Africa.
On seeing Riaan’s story on television, Nelson Mandela personally requested a meeting with Manser, saying it was “A performance that will inspire the youth of the continent!”
The Explorer’s Club in New York – whose members include the first man to reach the North Pole, the first to reach the South Pole, the top of Everest, the deepest point in the ocean & the first man on the moon – extended a special invitation to Manser to speak before its illustrious organisation.
In July 2009, Manser set another world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island, by kayak – also alone & unaided.
This colossal journey, which saw him paddle 5 000 kilometers (3 107 miles) in eleven months, was, he said, considerably more demanding, both physically & mentally. Conquering extreme loneliness whilst enduring treacherous conditions such as, pounding seas, cyclones & an unrelenting sun which, combined with salt water, almost pickled him alive.
During his circumnavigation he had many memorable close encounters with Madagascar’s marine life – humpback whales breaching meters away from his kayak, giant leatherback turtles gliding alongside him & even having his boat rammed by a shark.
Riaan travelled around Madagascar during a period of extreme political turmoil & he landed up in prison five times, the last time being three nights on suspicion of carrying out mercenary activities.
In April 2010, Manser’s efforts were rewarded with his second accolade, “Out There Adventurer of the Year 2009” & “Around Madagascar on my Kayak”, his book recounting his amazing feat, also received acclaim.
March 2011 saw Riaan begin his next challenge. This time he took on mystical Iceland & her arctic waters accompanied by a handicapped friend, who suffers from cerebral palsy. “Around Iceland on Inspiration” saw the two paddle 2 300 kilometers (1 429 miles) to circumnavigate Iceland in a double sea-kayak over a five month period.
Manser’s warm-up for Iceland included living & touring South Africa in a refrigeration container for a week. He decided to do this to raise funds for his trust ‘No Food for Lazy Man’ which buys sports equipment for underprivileged children, as well as to help him prepare for Icelandic temperatures. However, it could never have prepared Manser for the snow he encountered upon landing in Iceland. Manser & other team members had never seen snow before, & in the first few days before they started their journey there were many snow-fights.
Landings were another of the pair’s biggest challenges. Approaching rocky shores that are being pounded by wind & surf is a hazardous business. Between timings & luck, you’re a second away from disaster at any moment. Their landings were made even more difficult because of their “sea-legs” which they’d develop after a long day’s paddle of 8-10 hours. Often, even the softest landings would result in them spluttering & crawling for a few moments on the black sand on all fours after tumbling out of the boat during the landing.
On 5 September 2011, after paddling 147 days, blistered & aching, they arrived back at their starting point, their circumnavigation complete.
Riaan had always vowed that he would never expose his girlfriend at the time, Vasti, to the dangers of his world; but now the dynamic couple made history by taking on the vast waters of the Atlantic. Alone & unaided they endured a three months & two weeks crossing from Agadir, Morocco & landed in Miami, Florida on the 7th of May. Their final destination, the Statue of Liberty in New York. Not only did they make history by being the only people to have rowed from mainland Africa to mainland North America, but Vasti also became the only woman from the African continent to have rowed across any of the world’s oceans.
The couple, who met in Cape Town in 1999, put their relationship on the line. Enduring giant 8 meter (25 foot) waves in wild storms to being entirely capsized in the middle of the Atlantic. On one of these days Manser was dramatically separated from the boat & almost lost at sea. The physical hardships had their bodies, hands, arms, bums & legs in permanent agony.
In 2018, more than 15 000 South African’s entered a competition on DSTV to win an opportunity of a lifetime…. to cross an Ocean with pioneering explorer Riaan Manser.
The winner, Fanafikile Lephakha from Soweto, a chemical Engineering Graduate who was searching for more. After 5 gruelling days of the boot camp in Langebaan he emerged as the winner of The Odyssey and the one who will row with Manser across the Atlantic Ocean. But he needed to come clean with one “minor” detail he had still to reveal…He could not swim…
The pair successfully rowed from Canary Islands to Barbados: Two people, from different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs, enduring the most adverse conditions, physically and mentally, and being triumphant, fuelled by the desire to succeed.
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