Tony Wheeler is ‘the trailblazing patron saint of the world’s backpackers and adventure travelers’ New York Times Tony Wheeler, travel addict, Lonely Planet founder and intrepid traveller over five decades, has discovered that the more you travel, the more extraordinary the world becomes. His enthusiasm for trekking the globe is it is impossible to read On Travel without scouring for deals, searching for unusual places, and deciding to leave the luggage behind in an escape to the unfamiliar.