South African adventurer Christo Coetzer is attempting to travel around the Indian Ocean paradise island of Mauritius on a unicycle! Christo, a 23-year-old honours student at the University of Pretoria, leaves for Mauritius this week and his attempt to cover the approximately 117km of coastline should take him between 10 and 14 days, averaging 20km a day.

His journey starts from Port Louis on Saturday, 19 December.
Christo has visited Mauritius a number of times and is undertaking this adventure to promote Mauritius as a tourist destination, including the diversity of the island and its new focus on cyclo-tourism. He will be documenting the trip to produce a DVD and is hoping that his efforts will make it into the Guinness World Book of Records.

His trip is being sponsored by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), whose chairman Robert Desvaux, a keen cyclist himself, is spearheading the island’s cyclo-tourism initiative. “I want the world to know that Mauritius is a cycling destination - not only for organised races but for cyclo-tourism in general.” In this pursuit, Desvaux has been instrumental in bringing two-time Tour de France winner Bernard Thévenet to the island, as well as cycling legend Laurent “Jaja” Jalabert.

Desvaux’s passion for cycling is unbridled. He has the vigour and the clout to successfully dovetail cycling into the long term strategy of Mauritius tourism, to unlock the wonders of the Mauritian outdoors. “There are new trends evolving in tourism world-wide. Among these new trends are cycle races like the Tour of Mauritius. Cycling is the perfect way to travel around the island and appreciate its diverse offering. The general perception of Mauritius is that it is a beach product, but it has so much more than beaches to offer. We are inviting people to learn more about Mauritius and discover a different side of the island, from the saddle of a bicycle.”

Cycling friendliness is an ongoing theme at the MTPA, and its vision includes developing clearly marked routes for cyclists in order to attract and host a variety of races for everyone, from friends and families to professional and amateur cyclists. Desvaux invited the route designer of the Paris–Beijing ride, ‘Paris Pékin’, to Mauritius to share his experiences and define and trace the tracks. These will include something for everyone, from hilly to flat routes, and will consider biodiversity and the sustainability aspects of the environment en route. The cycling project is about to enter full swing, with five cycling routes currently in differing stages of preparation.

Coetzer’s unicycle ride around the island is sure to create further hype for Mauritius’ cyclo-tourism initiative and will encourage tourists, both young and old, to explore the island on a cycle... whether it has one, two or three wheels!
 

http://www.cyclo-tourism.com/onewheel/