In 2012, Rainer Zietlow, photographer and cameraman Marius Biela, and Russian journalist Vadim Gagarin took on the role of modern couriers for the Tsar and delivered a letter from the mayor of Melbourne to the mayor of St. Petersburg in a new world record time.
In a 17-day marathon-drive, the message traveled from one twin city to the other. From July 26 to August 12, the team traveled 23,167 kilometers through three continents in a Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI.
The standard vehicle had only received a reinforced chassis, a rollover cage, and two extra tanks for the tour. A charter cargo plane brought the car and the team from Darwin, Australia, to Dili in East Timor.
One of the real challenges of this long-distance record drive was crossing from East Timor to Sumatra in just six days. The team had to cross the strait between Sumatra and Malaysia in a wooden boat. Via Laos, China and Kazakhstan Zietlow, Biela and Gagarin arrived in the northernmost metropolis, St. Petersburg, after 17 days and 18 hours.
For every kilometer driven, Rainer Zietlow donated 10 euro cents to an SOS Children's Village in Laos, which he visited in person.
