How Not to Die in Greenland
An evening at Wedgewood Farm and Makery. Thursday 13 August 2026.
Wedgewood backed the Greenland crossing before I ever clipped into the harness, and their nougat travelled in my sled for every one of the 553 kilometres. So this evening is not really a booking. It is a thank you, and the first talk in Wedgewood's Positively South African series. One night, one story from the ice, and the four ideas that carried me across it: resilience, agency, positivity and gratitude.
Thursday 13 August 2026
Doors and pre-drinks from 5pm. Presentation begins at 6pm.
Light snacks and the fire afterwards.
Wedgewood Farm and Makery, 12A Birnamwood Rd, Merrivale
By invitation
RSVP: Rachel@wedgewoodnougat.co.za
553km across the Greenland ice sheet. 29 days on the ice. And the story of what it takes to keep going when everything says stop. Big visuals, real stories, and four ideas you will take home with you. Afterwards we carry on around the fire.
Thursday 13 August 2026
2:45pm for a 3pm start. Done by 4pm.
Wedgewood Farm and Makery
For the Wedgewood team, advertised internally.
The same 553km, told from inside the harness. A session for the Wedgewood team about direction, honest feedback and moving as one when the pressure is real.
Gerry van der Walt is a performance coach, keynote speaker and polar expedition athlete based in Johannesburg. A former national gymnast with an honours degree in sport psychology, he has spent 25 years in high-pressure rooms, from African safari camps to stages in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In May 2026 he crossed the Greenland ice sheet, 553km unsupported in a team of ten. In 2030 he attempts the full solo unsupported ski to the South Pole from Berkner Island, around 1,400km. No South African has ever done it.
I am in the Midlands that week
The talk on the 13th is by invitation, but I am in the KZN Midlands from 11 to 15 August and available for talks and sessions that week. Keynotes run 45 to 60 minutes and every talk is built for the room. Along with custom built presentations for your team or organisation, some options include:
Committed or Interested. The performance talk.
The difference between wanting the goal and doing the work when it stops being fun. Built for boardrooms, sales teams, athletes, and anyone carrying a goal that scares them.
Holding the Line. The team talk.
Direction, feedback, and moving as one when the pressure is real. Built for leadership groups and teams of any size.
How Not to Die in Greenland. The story keynote.
The fun one, with teeth. Perfect for guest evenings, clubs and conferences.
School and youth talks.
Doing hard things, on choosing difficult over comfortable. Specially priced for schools, because that is the point.
Workshops.
Half day and full day formats for teams that want to go deeper than a keynote.
Tell me about your event and I will come back to you directly.