Multisport: Fanatics' incredible journey

Nic Riosa (L) and Andrew Newick paddled 2800km along the Danube, through eight countries. Photo / Supplied

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves," are the legendary words from arguably our greatest New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary.

The same words apply to two Kiwis who in June and July conquered their own "mountain" when they paddled the length of the Danube River (2800km) in 31 days.

Multisport enthusiasts Andrew Newick (37) and Nic Riosa (39) completed more than a million strokes to travel the second longest river in Europe.

Their research of the records around the Danube shows they are the first people to have achieved the feat and the first people to complete that distance in 31 days.

Their incredible journey began on June 8 at the source of the Danube in Germany in the Black Forest and finished in the Black Sea in Romania on July 8.

The pair paddled in K2 Kayaks (modified into a single seat kayak) and along the way had to overcome blisters, dysentery, rough rapids, landmines near the river's edge, cold weather and the sheer mental grind of the relentless task at hand.

"This is my greatest achievement," said Newick, who can still feel the pain of paddling an average of 90km a day.

They were lucky to be supported by an Australian couple, Kate Lennan and Andrew Wynhoven, who drove a transit van along their route with their bedding and supplies.

Safety was a big concern and Andrew and Kate were in constant contact through walkie talkies.

Stretches of the Danube are war- ravaged countries that still have landmines on the banks so stopping was often not an option.

"There were times when it was excruciating painful and mind-numbingly boring but overall it was exhilarating and I am really proud of this effort."

Riosa's second home is the Czech Republic where he owns PowerShotz Nutrition that produces energy gels, bars and drinks.

He returned home in October to his Pizza restaurant he runs in Glendene with a sense of pride and relief.

"It's a huge achievement and it's not normal to do something like that but my normal is different to most peoples," said Riosa, who has completed five New Zealand ironmans.

"When we arrived at the Black Sea I really buzzed out and I couldn't believe we had made it."

The pair raced the final few kilometres and there was a huge amount of relief to get sight of dry land safely.

Their pedigree to do the extraordinary has always been there.

Newick competed for 15 years in competitive kayaking and athletics and Riosa was one of the youngest athletes to finish the New Zealand Ironman aged 16 and has completed the Coast to Coast and other multisport events.

Along their journey many asked the obvious question, why?

"Yeah we were asked that a lot," said Newick.

"When I was growing up I lived for sport; I loved to train hard and compete in sport and I love to travel; this is the ideal way to combine both."

"It is always the challenge that appeals to me," added Riosa.

"It is taking on something that has never been done before and pushing the limits.

"These crazy adventures are something to look back at a time in your life when you achieved something extraordinary."

They have been good friends for 15 years and are polar opposites in personality and in a strange way that worked.

"I am quite reserved and he is very talkative," said Newick.

"I am pretty organised and he is not really so we kept each other on track and had some fun amongst the hard times."

"Yeah we are black and white but we understand each other and that is important," said Riosa.

There were many hard times along the way.

Two weeks into the journey Newick suffered from dysentery and was unable to paddle for four days.

Riosa copped a gruelling workload paddling solo through Serbia which he regarded as "the rubbish tip of the Danube".

"I had a meltdown when I was doing huge kilometres by myself.

"I had Serbian Army officers keeping a close eye on me that made me really nervous because you don't have the reserves to deal with that."

Many highs along the river made it all worthwhile.

Paddling through the Black Forest in Germany was beautiful and the chance meetings with strangers added to the enjoyment.

"We covered eight countries when we completed the Danube River and we had complete strangers who couldn't even speak English but they wanted to help," said Riosa.

"It is the people you met and the friends you make that make the experience worthwhile."

Newick's older brother David is proud and relieved to see him home.

"This is an outstanding achievement," he said. "It doesn't surprise me at all - he has always been a genetic freak and he has the ability to break through the pain barrier."

His brother remembered a time when Andrew was 14 and they went for a run in Swanson in West Auckland with their dog.

The dog reached halfway and was knackered so Newick ran 10km home with a 50kg dog on his back.

"He didn't shirk it all - we are used to that with Andrew, he is nuts."

And there is more madness to come from Newick and Riosa as the week after paddling the Danube they turned their attention to their next crazy mission.

On May 29 or May 30 of next year they plan to cycle from Bucharest to Beijing - a journey of 10,500km over 120 days (about 90km per day) with 14 full rest days.

"We'll cross two continents and head from the west of the west to the east of the east," said Riosa.

"Taking on this sort of adventure becomes addictive ... we are going into the unknown again but that is what makes it exciting."

Danube Adventure
* Andrew Newick and Nic Riosa completed over a million strokes to travel the Danube - the second longest river in Europe (2800km).

* Along their journey they paddled through eight countries.

* Newick competed for 15 years in competitive kayaking and athletics.

* Riosa was one of the youngest athletes to finish the New Zealand Ironman aged 16 (he has completed five ironmans) and the Coast to Coast.

* On May 29-30, 2011 they plan to cycle from Bucharest to Beijing - a journey of 10,500km over 120 days (about 90km per day) with 14 full rest days.

* Check out their website www.danubetobeijing.com