The whole world changed when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. It changed a great deal for two Germans in particular. The former airline executive Gunther and his wife Christine set off for Africa in a 1988 in a Mercedes-Benz 300GD.
They became addicted to travel, and started to cover more and more ground. Christine passed away in 2010, but Gunther has continued at her request and traveled the equivalent of 20 times around the planet in the vehicle, which he calls Otto.
Gunther complete an incredible 884,000 kilometers journey in 2012, through most of the countries on Earth, out of the 215 nations and entities recognized by the UN. Holtorf took many precautions, including never going over 80km/h, deflating Otto’s tires slightly before driving on rutted tracks and filtering any suspicious looking fuel...
Although there were plenty of companies willing to sponsor Otto, Holtorf resisted the temptation of their lucre. Not only did Holtorf wish to avoid the obligations that sponsors would ultimately demand, but he believes steadfastly that travelling unobtrusively made his travels immeasurably safer.
He did, however, on occasion accept a helping hand from Mercedes-Benz. The manufacturer not only helped to fill out the reams upon reams of paperwork required to traverse China, but also convinced AXA to provide Otto with a unique worldwide third-party insurance scheme.
Holtorf estimates that over the years, including fuel, repairs, spares and transport, he’s spent $653 000 on the globe trekking G-Wagen. Much of that,was recouped when the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart purchased Otto.
BBC made a special coverage. He is the World's Greatest Traveler.