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Zara Rutherford, the British-Belgian teenager has become the youngest solo woman traveller to fly around the world. The 19-year old accomplished her goal in 155 days and touched down in Kortrijk, Belgium on January 20.
Her globe-trotting journey spanned five continents and 28,000 nautical miles. The expedition was expected to take three months, however, lasted two months longer due to unfavourable weather conditions and issues with her visa.
Rutherford left Belgium on August 18 in a two-seater ultralight plane equipped with extra fuel tanks, two radios and a parachute. She touched down in 41 countries. “The hardest part was flying over Siberia—it was extremely cold and if the engine was to stall I’d be hours away from rescue. I’m not sure I would have survived,” she said at a press conference, according to BBC News.
Facing a few inconveniences, Rutherford has now earned a double entry in the Guinness World Records before she's even gone to university. This incredible journey, just three and a half months in the planning, was a gap year project once she'd finished doing four A levels at St Swithun's school in Winchester.
She sought sponsorship from 500 companies as the trip was self-funded – and most did not respond which had a lot to do with her perceived chances of success.
Photo credit: malaysiasun.com
