Walk this way...

This is just some of the walking I've done recently.

I bought these flipflops in Sydney last Christmas when my luggage missed the connection so I arrived in 30 degrees heat with just my trainers.
They only cost a few dollars from a Seven Eleven - but what an investment...

They've taken me everywhere - from putting the rubbish out back home in London (to the bins and back, countless times) to Europe, South America and now to New Zealand.

As you can see, they're now a little down at heel. In fact, the left one now has a hole and the toes on both are wearing away, too. I can't throw them out though. Not yet anyway.

Auckland's a mound of steep hills because it's built on volcanoes, so you're forever up and down. Though unless you've fallen down a deep hole, the good thing is you're only ever a few steps away from seeing the sea.

It's amazing what you come across on foot if you keep your eyes peeled. The other day I walked into a stack of old food magazines dumped by a recycling bin in Ponsonby.

Want to know what was hot in June 1998?

According to Australia's Vogue Entertaining & Travel, you should have been drinking coffee in Vietnam, dining on sushi on the 14th floor of the Park Hyatt in Tokyo and fantasising about a guy called Will Ricker launching The Great Eastern Dining Room in London's Shoreditch.

In June that year I was working on a campsite on the west coast of France - a far cry from sushi and fine dining. A daily diet of baguettes, barbecues and cheap red wine more likely.

All good though.