Terry Lister’s dream was to visit 100 countries, but Covid-19 left him stuck at 98 for three years and eight months.

“Not travelling during that time was very hard,” the 69-year-old said.

He finally cracked the number this summer when he made a stopover in Doha, Qatar, on the way to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Only an estimated 1 per cent of the global population reaches this figure in their travels. To mark the milestone, Mr Lister applied for membership in the Travellers’ Century Club in California.

“When you have visited 96 countries they give you provisional membership,” he said. “Once you get to 100 countries, you get membership. This organisation was actually started in 1954, the same year I was born. My certificate says I am member number 6,347. That means they are averaging about 90 people a year, an incredibly small number.“

Members get to share experiences with other well-travelled people. There are also social events such as dinners and receptions at key events around the world.

Mr Lister has been solo travelling the world ever since retiring from politics and real estate in 2014.

It was his father, Dennis Lister Sr, and uncle, Walter Lister, who inspired him to explore the globe.

“They were all over the place,” Mr Lister said.

They were men ahead of their time.

“Until the 1980s, most people did not travel that far from home,” Mr Lister said. He noted that the percentage of people in the United States with passports is relatively low. It was recently estimated that the number is 40 per cent of the population.

Mr Lister thought the percentage of people in Bermuda with passports was much higher.

In July, he spent the bulk of his time in Zambia, but also went to Botswana, a country he has visited before. In the past he resisted doing a safari there because he had already done it in eight other countries. However, he had heard so many good things about Botswana’s Chobe National Park, he gave it a go.

The result was a little disappointing. He thought there was less variety than in other parks. He saw many elephants, hippopotamuses and very large crocodiles, but only a smattering of other wildlife.

As a safari veteran, he has learnt a few cost-cutting tricks.

“I have seen ten-day safaris, advertised for $6,000, $8,000 and even $12,000, but the last time I went, in Kenya, I did not pay much at all,” he said. “When I went to see the Great Migration, I caught a bus from where I was that cost $5. It was a short trip. When I got to the end of the line I caught a ride in a car with eight people that cost another $5.”

The car stopped 15 minutes from his hotel. From there a man on a motorcycle gave him a lift. The resort cost him $80 for two nights with dinner included. The safari itself cost him $150 for two days.

“My total cost was around $350 for one of the best safaris in the world,” he said.

On his last trip, he also visited Zimbabwe and found it pleasantly different from a disastrous vacation he had there a few years ago in the midst of a major financial crisis.

“It was a horror show at that point,” Mr Lister said. “Their money was going down and down.”

On that occasion, he could not get his credit cards to work, and the ATM machines were “hardly working”.

“I had to just hang on to the money I had for dear life,” he said.

Calls to his credit-card company got him nowhere, because the problem was enmeshed in Zimbabwe’s financial upheaval. The credit-card situation seemed to resolve itself on the last day, so he splurged on the hotel buffet which was $18. Once again his credit card would not work, and he only had $35 which he needed to get to the airport.

“Luckily, the lady at the front desk of the hotel took a shine to me,” Mr Lister said. “She said listen, I am going to fix this.”

She went outside and talked to a taxi driver who agreed to take him to the airport for $17, all of his remaining cash.

“When I got out of the taxi at the airport, I had nothing left,” Mr Lister laughed.

His flight made a stopover in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his ATM card worked just fine, once again.

On this most recent trip, he found the country still battling inflation, but in a much better place.

“People seemed happier,” he said.

The bulk of Mr Lister’s travels have been to African countries. Now he is “99.9 per cent sure” his travels on this continent are finished.

“l have never been to Asia, only one country in the Middle East, only one country in the Pacific and none in Eastern Europe,” he said. “So I have many places left to experience.”

When The Royal Gazette spoke to him he was about to embark on a short trip to Nepal and Bhutan. He was intrigued by these countries because they have never been dominated by any other foreign power.

“During the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s, they tried to keep to themselves as much as possible,” he said.

They did eventually open up. Now, there are many tourists climbing Mount Everest in Nepal.

For Mr Lister, the catch with Bhutan was the cost of the visa: $150 per night - a staggering sum in a country where a decent hotel only charges $20 per night.

“In most places it is the hassle of getting a visa, not the cost,” Mr Lister said. “In most African countries, the visa is $30 or $40.”

Mr Lister has published a number of books about his travels. The last one, released five months ago was Let’s Go to Gabon, Cameroon and Namibia.

“I have many places left to experience,” Mr Lister said. “As long as my health is good I will continue travelling and seeking out new adventures.”

• For more information, seeTerryLister.com