Ten years ago, Canadian Jean Béliveau left home for a walk.
Seventy thousand kilometres and 48 pairs of shoes later he's about to reach Wanganui.
New Zealand is the 63rd country Mr Béliveau, 55, has visited on his worldwide walk to promote Unesco's International Decade for Peace and Non-violence for the Children
of the World.
A graphic designer and signwriter and married with two children, Mr Béliveau undertook his "fantastic journey" after growing disenchanted with his "routine" lifestyle and disgust at the dawning of a mid-life crisis.
Rather than aim for a world record, he accepted his wife's suggestion of walking for peace. That was 10 years ago.
When he's done, he would have walked 64 countries on five continents, around 75,000km in 11 years.
He has stayed in thousands of homes, eaten "amazing" things, and met "incredible people".
In Panama, he became known as Forrest Gump, the character of the 1994 movie with the same title, and Argentinians dubbed him loco, the Spanish word for crazy.
Although he had planned the route he would take in detail, he changed some because of security concerns. Initially, he planned to walk across the western part of Africa but opted for the eastern area.
When he was in Ethiopia, some children stoned him. He said people there did not like foreigners.
"In Japan, people did not talk. It was like saying hello to a cactus," Mr Béliveau said.
He skipped Russia and other countries because of bad weather.
He said his family was fully behind his enterprise.
Luce, his wife, always comes to see him once a year. She saw him in Australia after he completed a year-long walk from Darwin to Sydney.
His last personal contact with his children was four years ago.
"My daughter brought her children. I am a grandfather now."
Mr Béliveau said he couldn't have come this far without the help of so many people he had met on the road.
"I have never thought about giving up. I only had about US$3000 in my pocket when I started my journey. Without the help of people, none of this would have been possible," he said.
Mr Béliveau is due to reach Wanganui on December 1 and leave two days later.
