Local adventurer to feature in M-Net documentary
John Ross College old boy who has become a successful adventurer, will be featured on the M-Net documentary series 'My Story' this Sunday at 4pm.
RIAAN Manser, a John Ross College old boy who has become a successful adventurer, will be featured on the M-Net documentary series ‘My Story’ this Sunday at 4pm.
Manser rose to prominence on becoming the first person to cycle around the perimeter of Africa over 24 months, alone and unaided.
His achievement earned him the title ‘OutThere Adventurer of the Year 2006’, and his book, ‘Around Africa on my Bicycle’ became a bestseller.
As if cycling the perimeter of the continent wasn’t enough, he also climbed Mt 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 him, 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 and the first man on the moon – extended a special invitation to Manser to speak before the illustrious organisation.
Adventures
In July 2009, Manser achieved another world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate the world’s fourth largest island by kayak, alone and unaided.
This colossal journey, which saw him paddle 5 000km in eleven months, was, he said, ‘considerably more demanding, both physically and mentally’.
In April 2010, his efforts were rewarded with his second accolade, the ‘OutThere Adventurer of the Year 2009’ and his book ‘Around Madagascar on my Kayak’ also received critical acclaim.
March 2011 saw Riaan begin his next challenge – paddling 2 300km around Iceland with a handicapped partner. ‘Around Iceland on Inspiration’ tells how the two circumnavigated Iceland in a double sea-kayak over a five-month period.
Riaan and his girlfriend Vasti then made history by taking on the vast waters of the Atlantic. Alone and unaided they spent nearly four months crossing from Agadir, Morocco to Miami, Florida.
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 M-Net broadcast will be repeated on Tuesday, 5 April at 8.30am and again on Saturday, 9 April at 2pm.
