Riaan Manser

Solo adventurer

Cycling an average of 90km a day, often in extreme conditions, 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 – and these were just some of his experiences.

He thought it would take him a year, but it took him over two. At the end of 2005, Riaan cycled back into Cape Town, 14kg lighter, having covered 36 500km through 34 countries.

Intending to use his journey to generate local and international awareness of the often-appalling standards of living in Africa, Riaan was also propelled by a strong desire for African adventure, a desire that was inevitably fulfilled. In ‘Around Africa on my Bicycle’, Riaan allows the reader to relive the toil, excitement and occasional terror of his journey - negotiating the Sahara and Libyan deserts; learning French, Portuguese and Arabic; eating monkey, rat and bat; standing in front of the pyramids; being awarded the freedom of the Red Sea in Egypt; feeding hyenas mouth to mouth; and standing on the highest, as well as at the lowest, points in Africa.

He says, “I was living, exactly that, living.”

Riaan Manser will be speaking on the following topic:

11:50

Inspirational Keynote There’s an ocean between saying and doing

In this day & age of the 21st century one would think that all credible world first explorations have been done... but they haven’t. With 17 years’ experience, Riaan Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity & become the epitome of courage & determination by completing five unparalleled world first.He is one of the world’s leading explorers and captivates thousands of people through his bestselling books & inspirational talks; worldwide. Manser takes his personal real life experiences and applies them to modern work day challenges and environments. He allows the audience to decide for themselves with which attitude they are going to take on life’s hurdles. Through his message of courage, perseverance & attitude, he guides the audience to the realization that being average is just not good enough.