Guinness World Record for Kiwi Entrepreneur

Penguin Books (N.Z.) Limited

News release
29 August 2003
for immediate release

Guinness World Record for Kiwi Entrepreneur

World record-breaking New Zealander John Bougen has had his Guinness Book of Records application accepted. Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff will congratulate Bougen at Whitcoulls Lambton Quay store in Wellington on Monday, September 1 at 4.15pm.

The Auckland businessman and his NZ-born cousin, James Irving of Brisbane, completed their staggering All Nations Quest journey amid some of the most anxious security times the world has seen.

They journeyed through the Middle East as the US was poised to attack Iraq and they encountered many harrowing moments in other parts of the world.

Bougen’s Guinness book record is for `the most countries visited in six months’. He is later expected to receive another world record for ‘the biggest air ticket ever issued for a single journey’.

A book about the trip, An Absolutely Outrageous Adventure, will be launched on the September 2, 2003. This book chronicles the dramatic and tense moments on the remarkable global journey.

Bougen journeyed 241,800km – which is equivalent to circumnavigating the world six times – during his 167 day attempt.

He used 104 airlines, sat on 54 planes, boarded 242 flights, entered 191 airports and spent 417 hours in the air since departing Auckland on August 28, 2002.

These were all new world marks for a single journey and he showed painstaking patience in waiting 576 hours – or 24 days – at airports and stations.

With his cousin, Bougen crossed the equator nine times and booked in to 114 different hotels.

The arduous journey was a logistical nightmare to put together and a true character test, Bougen said.

‘In this era of global conflict, international unrest and a collective fear of flying, we wanted to do something absolutely unique and be ambassadors of goodwill,’ he said.

A second book, My Dream, featuring a photo of a child from every country ion the world - is due to be released in October.

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