Frank Wigand Grosse-Oetringhaus
Frank Wigand Grosse-Oetringhaus - Germany
He visited all the 193 independent countries of the UN and all 7 continents, more than 1 150/1 301 regions on the NomadMania list, 975/1 199 UNESCO World Heritage Site and spent 24 years on the road.
My travel career started when I was about eight, but at that age I travelled only in my mind, inspired by reading adventure books and by collecting stamps. But the origin was at that time: The yearning for foreign countries. The reality came at twelve: Traveling with my parents to the neighboring countries of Germany which just had recovered from a catastrophe amazingly fast. Although the possibilities still were limited my parents pushed my travels. When I was 15 my father bought me a train ticket and brought me to the railway station in Hamburg: “Here is the ticket, learn English, here is the address of a school in the Lake District, good luck”. He wanted me to get independent. By rail and by boat and bus to the Lake District; just me. In Scotland I hitchhiked with some friends. During my university years I became a sailing instructor in the Netherlands, later a captain for interior and coastal waters, I improved my French in Paris, crossed the Balkan with a rented car and camping, the same approach to Russia. Then Egypt and the USA. Thus I gained self-confidence and first international experiences. I had the basic competencies for traveling, except money. In 1968 I finished the Technical University of Berlin with top results - at the same time joining the “student rebellion”. That had a strong effect on me: I became independent in my mind as well. Traveling for its own sake was by far not enough: I wanted more, not only money, but love and a social challenge.
I started working for a global company one of the biggest in the world; a global player giving me the chance to travel, and a leading company that offered outstanding chances. In “corporate development” I got a key position in consulting. With American consultants we worked at a fundamental change of the company. In 1992 I wrote the profound management system during a sabbatical in the house of my partner, Teodoro Murallon, in the Philippines. My company invested in the 70ies and 80ies in the theory and applications of strategy more than all universities in the world combined. So I participated in changing the company and I accumulated new know-how. Thus I became a visiting professor in a business school in Boston and for 18 years an associate professor at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland apart from other teaching assignments. In my last professional years – during and after my retirement – I was an entrepreneur and had my own consulting company for strategy based in Thailand. I mentioned that because it is my firm belief that a fulfilled life is a basis for a good travel concept.
During my professional years I travelled a lot, up to 2 months a year and in addition I could combine professional assignments with touristic interests, that meant an additional month of sightseeing per year. So I traveled to about 1800 highlights before my retirement in 2001. I have traveled in various ways: Public transport, rented cars, sailing boats, motor cycles. From zero spending to luxury. Infact, I took diversity to the extremes, from hammocks in front of the Angel Falls to a mega luxury room in Sun City, near Jo’burg which had accommodated some celebrities like Denzel Washington and Tina Turner. But I paid only for a standard room because I was upgraded for certain reasons. And my company enabled connections which I otherwise wouldn’t have had, going in to the deepest gold mining pit in RSA. Here I reached the deepest point (3.777m) by special arrangements. Another example was the largest meteorite field in the world, the “Campo del cielo” in Argentine which I could discover only with the help of a professor. My management career influenced the guidelines for my traveling career, which took off after retirement. Going to the top, always looking for superlatives, and traveling systematically and efficiently. This approach had been my daily bread in consulting. But becoming older and having less time forced me to travel more efficient compared to travelers who have all the time of their life. I travelled the last 12 years with a partner, very adaptable, a doctor. We became the most successful travel partners, a bit like Yin and Yang. I convinced him to achieve extreme objectives, to see the whole world. And gradually we developed a concept, that focused on quality and highlights. My first list in 2001 had 1.800 highlights, now it expanded to about 5.000, because we had studied and learned over the years. From 2006 to 2016 we have seen almost all: My partner about 4.100; I saw about 4.700. For him most of them for the first time, for me quite a few for the second time. And in these years we went to the extremes, the poles, crossing oceans, mountains, and deserts, going to remote islands and places. So our costs increased considerably, from normal to high. There are people who think we are luxury travelers, because they see only a few data of the last years and get a wrong picture.
I have traveled 24 years in total, 10 years nonstop, 14 years in intervals. Yes we have spent a lot of money because we had the means for diversity after working. But we became old in traveling. So it is natural that the priorities changed: If you get older you gradually appreciate comfort and sometimes luxury. But still we travel the hard way as well. Our recent travel 2017 to the heart of the Sahara, to Ennedi and Tibesti in Chad, was difficult, the whole travel was the opposite of luxury, but with a professional equipment very successful: One of our greatest travels. You will get further information on our two websites: The travel concept on “frankgrosseoetringhaus.com”, our results on “WorldsExtremeTravelers.com”; and our travels on facebook “Teodoro Murallon”.
