Wednesday 5th February 2014
After over a year of research and deliberation, wading through 100,000+ GPS coordinates, 10,000+ photos, 350+ hours of footage and four bumper passports filled with stamps, this morning at 10:42, I finally got the news I’ve been waiting for.
O.M.G.!!!
I had already snagged the Guinness World Record for the most countries visited without flying in one year back in 2009, but this was the biggie. 196 countries visited in 4 years and 1 month, including the far-flung island nations of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Nobody had ever done this before, and I have a feeling it’ll be a long time before somebody successfully does it again.
It's official. I am, and always will be, the first person to visit every country in the world without flying.
I ran out into the street and danced around like a total loon.
By the tender age of 34 I had visited every country in the world, made a TV show for Lonely Planet, National Geographic and the BBC, won an island on a survival show and was now the proud recipient of not just one but TWO utterly unique never-been-done-before Guinness World Records.
So. Much. Winning.
