I will be updating all the highlights soon and will delete all the previous sections as they are stored for book publication…You won’t believe my wee journey here in New Zealand for a little over three months…I didn’t realize that so much could happen and just wearing the wrong Color of bandanna in the wrong place had me assaulted by a member of the Mongrel Mob last Friday night  in a Hotel…this is nothing when I look at everything that has happened here in Paradise in such a short space of time.

Will update you all soon and sorry for the delay in keeping this blog updated.

Paul Mack.

To say I’ve been busy is an understatement lately..yesterday for example I was in two radio stations in Dunedin and a radio station the day before and the day before that I did an interview with the Otago Daily Times.

I’m trying to rest up in Blenheim as I know I’m about to jump on the saddle in the next couple of days and start the 900 kms run around South Island…Peter and Shona from the Colonial Motel couldn’t do enough for me and I stayed at their palace for two nights…I took a bus to start my journey in a place called KaiKoura..I arrived on the Saturday 25/4/09 at just about midday to a wee seaside resort with snow capped mountains overshadowing the place with blue skies and the ocean was pounding against the wee pebble stones on the beach….this was paradise and everyone seems so happy here…I’m not surprised..I get talking to two German girls as they had the back door of their van lapping up the view and they made me a cuppa tea…I took out my small pen knife and started to make sharp end with a nice piece of stick that had been washed up upon the shore..it didn’t take long before one of the German girls had the knife in her hand and took over my wee meditation…she actually agreed that it was good for the mind and was very soothing for the soul….a simple thing like making a pointed edge from a piece of wood..I pop over to the main Adelphi backpackers in the main street and Michelle throws me a key to my own room for a couple of nights..I met two lesbians at the backpackers and we became good friends talking about the joys of life..the bar across the road had a roaring fire and I met some Irish guy that was making a killing selling fire logs to sell to anyone that wanted to buy them and the pub obviously bought a good few when I saw how much Guinness he drank..he was a very happy chappy and good craic but missed his family and was talking about going back home to the Emerald Isle…I advised him against it as the economy isn’t in good shape back there but he was adamant about going home..

I actually asked myself there and then….where is my home..?…Is it Australia or is it Ireland or if the truth must be told its nowhere except on a bicycle for the next couple of years…On the Monday morning I hit the saddle and away I go for the start of a 900 kms run around South Island….Michelle assured me that the road ahead was a nice ride….it was for the next 20 kms as I cycled along the flats along the coast and it was divine…I smiled ear to ear and agreed with Michelle until I started to climb up some mountains..I’m pushing almost 70 kgs and its one of those ranges that goes on for ever it seems…even the trucks have problems getting up them….I think to myself that Michelle must of got something wrong as three hours later I’m still climbing up and down… I think they call it Reileys pass..I was glad to reach Cheviot at 4.oo pm and eve  more  glad to have a bed and a meal provided for me by the Cheviot Hotel and Stephen Pulley as I was exhausted to say the least and was in bed by 8.00 pm.

I really needed the rest as the few days in the saddle is always a bit hard after you get off it for a while….It’s like anything I guess ?….the next day I power down to Waipara about another sixty or eighty kms run..this time it was a lot more smoother and its good to get off the road and boil up a wee kettle and have a sandwich by the roadside or usually by a wee stream or river watching the World go by…I’m put up by Gail Harvey after I meet a guy that owns a winery called Waipara Spring Wines and his name was Andrew.he threw me a bottle of red wine to which I ended up giving to the cleaning staff at the next stopover as I had some serious cycling ahead of me and first things first !

I got a good contact with Paul and Liz that own the Irish Pub in Blenheim to contact Kaiapoi high school whenever I’m in Kaiapoi so I’m keen to get there and get them on board…the rains start and its the first time I see rain in seven weeks..I’m soaked to the bone whenever I reach Kaiapoi and Christine Taylor feels sorry for me and gives me a room in the Kaiapoi Motel….the next day whilst I’m at a meeting with the principal Gavin Greenfrield and Susan Sullcock the fire alarms go off and we have to abandon the meeting and head into the yard along with a zillion kids so it seems….at least they got to see me….the strange man with the bandanna and the bike packed to the hilt…after the alarms go off we continue the meeting and ”Bingo” the school agree to do a massive piece of blanket with the word ”Bringing” on it….they will try and help the poor people with food and hopefully give me the piece measuring 15ft x 10 ft…I’m delighted as I set off for Christchurch and head straight to the Irish Pub called the Bog to set up a fundraising night hopefully…after that I try in vain to get a room sponsored for the night and I try eight different places and except the fact that I’m going to be sleeping rough…I go back to the Bog and have a few pints of Guinness as I know it will help me sleep better but thats not the case and I end up sleeping under the boat shed down by the river…Its a restless night and I sleep very little as I’m cold and then I have the early morning runners all girls it seems run across the bridge and seem to stop above my head to discuss the trials of life…they were not aware that I could hear every word and they certainly were’nt aware that a crazy Irishman was trying to sleep directly below them….its funny what girls talk about when they think nobody else is listening !….I had to push my bike and stuff through the boat shed cafe at 7.00 am in the morning and you wanna see all the business heads turning as if asking themselves…’Where did he come from ?’…that was a laugh in itself and then I headed off to do the National  paper and pop into the Immigration office…after all that I decided to pop into the best Hotel for the laugh and see would they sponsor me a night and I’m still waiting for the call….haha !

I bump into the owner called Max Bremmner from the bog one hour later and he tells me to go to his Hotel up the street and have some rest and then tells me that he owns five pubs and that he would like to help me in any way he can….its all on again and I thank my lucky stars as I crawl into bed exhausted around 1.00 pm for a siesta before coming down later that night to raise some funds and awareness at the Bog Pub….its a Friday night and Media meet me at 5.00 pm at the Pub and think its absolutely disgraceful that I had to sleep rough the night before…I didn’t see the article but heard they printed it and I got an email the other day from some nice lady named Carolyn saying to stay with her the next time I’m in Christchurch….its jus another big city and I don’t really mind sleeping under bridges or boats or wherever provided that I had the proper sleeping bag and pullover

The winter is setting in and I need to get more organised and get myself some proper clothes as the summer clothes I’m wearing and the light sleeping bag and a tent that looks like something from the keystone cops has to go !

Too be continued soon

Ya can’t miss it he said…it has a green roof and a couple of sheep by the side of the house and by the way I’ve got the oldest sheep in New Zealand as she is about twenty years old..the only problem was every house seems to have a green roof and the bloody sheep are everywhere..anyway….It was about 15 kms down the road and I stopped by this house to find the front door open…as I walked in shouting ”Are you in Eddie” ?…I was in a museum like home and here I am standing in the kitchen area and walking through the house shouting Eddie’s name…suddenly the thought goes through my head that what if this isn’t Eddie’s house and some old lady appears in the doorway branishing a shot gun…I could see her with the old specs halfway down the nose and her grey hair tied up in a bun..I’m still shouting for Eddie and no reply whenever my thoughts go back to the house in Australia in the middle of nowhere and it sent a chilled spook up my spine…that was like a moment in the movie from Wolf Creek whenever I stopped looking for directions and the weird guy that approached me in the hallway was covered in specs of blood down his hands and arms and invited me to see something in the sugarcane outback…he just vanished into the kitchen area and I just reversed myself out the hallway and jumped onto my bike and rode as hard as my legs would carry me as I was petrified to the bone..suddenly as I was having a flashback of the most horrible moment on this journey I hear a voice and its Eddie…I sigh with relief and smile once again…Eddie insists I stay the day and night at his place and he’ll make me some Irish stew for dinner and we can listen to the Dubliners and the Clancy brothers as he has some of the original LP’s in his Museum style home..it doesn’t take me long to say ”Yes” and he adds that we will have a few Guinness to celebrate the Irish…he takes me sightseeing and reminds me that we need rain as the place is in drought…he isn’t wrong as I haven’t seen rain in seven weeks…he takes me to some pub in the middle of nowhere and I meet his friends and its a wonderful time and then back to his place…by 9.00 pm I’m trying to go to bed as I’ve got a big ride ahead of me the next day…Eddie doesn’t hear me and the Guinness is still coming and the music is reaching decimal number ten at this stage…”Its not often I have a real crazy Irishman staying with me Eddie reminds me over and over…I can’t take anymore and sneak off to bed as Eddie is smiling from ear to ear as I think he has just one or two too many Guinness but all in all it was a wonderful night and Eddie Grimshaw is some character and must have some Irish blood in him somewhere as most people do here in New Zealand.

Reaching Wellington was the first reminder to me that winter is just around the corner as I found it hard to stay up on my bike as it was so windy…I stayed in Nomads hostel and met Adnin Alias who gave me a room for the night and then the next day she rang Kirk Burgess at Strait Shipping and organised my passage to the South Island free of charge..I cannot believe some of the people and how generous they are in this country…thank you so much guys for everything and Kirk even organised lunch on board for me and I was treated like a VIP….what can I say..?

As the ship is entering South Island I cannot believe the landscape and its beauty…I decide to take a few days out of the journey and see can I get a life to Nelson and law and behold this big hunky bloke driving a bus for Kiwi flyers tells me he’s going to Nelson and offers me a ride….his name was Dew and here I am in the front seat with Drew climbing the mountain range of forests in this huge bus as he brings people around the country to go camping with trial bikes etc…he was a great character and a very happy chappy as thats a great job I think to myself bringing tourists camping around the country but he was on the way back to Nelson as the season had finished for the winter.

to be continued in the next day or two !

My new phone is ringing…its Aussa calling me from Australia…I’m glad to hear from her but she is calling at the worst time possible as I’m waiting for the calvary to arrive (Police)…its late afternoon on a Friday in downtown Tauranga and the General Manager from South Africa assures me that the two Gentlemen playing pool took my phone two days previous..Aussa probably thought I was rude as I cut her call short to  keep my eye on the two suspects….Within minutes there is three police cars outside…you would think it was a big underworld drug sting but it wasn’t…it was just my silly phone they stole on the Wednesday…I’m flanket by six police officers and the two guys are standing in front of me being questioned..I acutally believe them whenever they tell me that they didn’t take my phone…I actually suggest to the police officers that they look innocent but the police officers know all too well who is lying and who is not…it doesn’t take long before they run some video footage of the two Gentlemen on the Wednesday and Bingo !!!…I got my phone back the next morning and thanks to the magic work of Owen O’Brien and his team at the station….Nice one guys and thanks a million.

Amazing Photo

The Bay of Plenty Times probably took the best photo yet of me doing my thing straddling my bike and the photographer went to the trouble of getting a small World map(the one that spins around on its axis) and we spent nearly a half an hour getting the photo right on the top of a hill…the photographer is John Borren and many people John have made comment on you’re photo…Well done my friend and I may even use it with you’re permission for future marketing.

Mt Maunganui

I’m cycling over the bridge on a Sunday morning leaving Tauranga whenever I get a phone call…talk about luck of the Irish as its Jean Brennan…she insists she meets me and show me Mt Maunganui…Ya can’t leave here till you see this place she says..I agree and as I’m pushing 68 kgs over the bridge on the narrow footpath I meet another cyclist…his first words are..”Did ya hear about the cyclist getting robbed up North ?”…I smile to myself and introduce myself and we shake hands and seconds later I’m off to meet Jean…she pick’s me up in some old red pick up that reminds me of a beer add somewhere in the Northern Territory of Australia and immediately I like her as she is one of a kind…I can’t believe the beauty of Mt Maunganui and I manage to stay at Tony and Jeans house for two days…they treated me like a king and even washed my few clothes and introduced me to family..friends and more family and friends…If I was retiring this is a piece of paradise I would seriously consider…

lake Taupo

The size of this lake is simply unbelievable…apparently you would fit Singapore into it as its that big…I was stuck for a bed in Taupo and this lorry driver named Peter Cooke gave me his room and insisted on me having it as he said he could sleep in the cabin of the truck…I can’t believe the generousity of people here and I was so embarrassed you have no idea…he wasn’t taking no for an answer and I gladly accepted his generous offer..thank you Peter…If we had more people like you in this World I wouldn’t be cycling it on this mission.

Napier

So much happened here and Easter is almost upon me…I’m glad I took the advice of many people and got lifted over the Napier pass as it has to be one of the most difficult and the most dangerous pieces of road I’ve ever come across..its all twists and turns and massive hills and mountains…at one stage my ears popped….I met so many fantastic people in this place and really felt at home…Kevin and Richard from the Brazen Head Irish Pub are trying to organise another five Irish Pubs across the country to come together and try and raise enough monies to kick start me in South America…they are just first class this pair…I also met a maori man that just buried his 24 yr old son a forthnight ago to suicide…a beautiful boy and had the World in the palm of his hands so his father Stu told me…he was only one of seven young people that took their own lives in that area in the past three weeks….I ask myself what is going on…Stu and myself rubbed noses and I gave him a big hug…he said if there was anything I needed in New Zealand he would get it for me…!!!

I met this mover and shaker from the United Kingdom that wanted to make me a label name and make a reality tv film of my journey in South America…I met him the day before Good Friday and by the Saturday I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown listening to him and his plans to turn my life upside down and inside out…I told him in so many words thank you…but no thank you as I don’t want a film crew follow me around 24/7  for several months whilst I’m in South America..that was some experience and I needed some rest after that one and met counsillor Maxine Boag of Napier that took me to her rainforest home in the hills and let me chill out there for a few days…that was some experience and I met some of her friends and wined and dined there for two nights in peaceful surroundings in the hills.

Crocodile dundee

I’m approaching Te Aute mountain and I decide to stop into this hotel to use the toilet and crab a quick refreshment before tackling this big sweeper..its a hot day and I’ve been on the bike for three to four hours now…as I walk through the door its reminds me of a scene from Crocodile Dundee the movie as every type of wild..weird and wonderful character is in this place and they greet me like I’m a long lost friend…the owner has long blond hair and look’s like a rock star…he is a gem and is very softly spoken that just smiles all the time…I decide to stay and have a beer with these colourful characters and before long I’m invited to stay the night and go to a party for a seventy year old local that arriving to celebrate his birthday af six o’clock…I meet another character called Eddy Grimshaw who invites me to breakfast whenever I’m passing his house the following morning as its just fifteen kms over the mountain…I’ve never met so many characters in one spot and suddenly I feel I’m right back in Ireland in one of those famous pubs in the likes of Dingle Co Kerry.

Too be continued !

To say a lot has happened in this past week is an understatement…I cycled into Katikati last Friday to a lovely wee town…the energy was fantastic and you’ll not see traffic lights nor will you see any McDonalds restaurant in this place…I called into the backpackers on the corner but they just opened after been flooded out from a flood and I didn’t bother trying to stay as the energy was scattered in the place so I moved on over the road to a wee coffee shop called Katz Pyjamas…Its a real cool wee place and the owner Paula Green is like the place…Coool !!!!

Within minutes I have Paula and Melanie a staff member in a photo with me for the local paper as they couldn’t do enough for me with supplying me lunch..drinks..coffee..a donation and then minding my bike downstairs while I try and drum up support in the town…I met a couple that invited me to their home that night and hec with it I decided to take them up on their offer…It was an interesting night indeed as they told me about there past life….I didn’t know what “P” the drug was until my friend told me it fries your brain and he threw three television sets out the window one night..I agreed with him that it was probably a good idea to give it away….I hear a lot of things whilst travelling the World and much of it I can’t write about on this blog in order to protect the identity of the  person or persons as small towns usually know who’s who and who’s doing what ?

I am on my way the next day to a Naturist Park as many people say its a real nice place and besides I couldn’t give a stuff about showing my amazingly beautiful white bod off as I’m Irish and I’ve just come from Ireland and what can you expect ?….I missed my turn off by five kms and I’ve never done this before and called into a really cool place called Forta Leza for direction..I decided to have a beer under the shaded beer garden and its so peaceful…I met a lady called Mary Belcher and on the way out the door(I didn’t know she was the owner) I told her to tell the owners this is such a cool place !..I make my way to the Naturist Park as they  call it….I tend to call it a nudist camp to be honest with you and its strange booking into a place with someone behind the reception with nothing only a smile on…I notice all these people have toned and very tanned bodies and even their bottoms are nice and tanned..I did ask a gentleman from Holland how did he manage to keep his bottom looking so tanned and smooth and he said with a laughter that he used baby oil on it everyday…

I put my wee tent by the creek and started to put it up…it was such a good spot and here I am putting up my tent with not a stitch of clothes on and I say to myself I couldn’t care less as this is a nudist camp  until I hear the voices of a group of teenage girls in the distance on the other side of the creek…I spot them and realise they’ve come down to use the watering hole to swim and they ain’t one of us nuddies so I reach for my salmon coloured budda  pants as fast as I can and pull them over my white bum….I’m embarrassed to say the least and they start jeering and laughing and I’m not surprised for I am whiter than white and one of them tries to comfort me and shouts over “Nice Ass Bro”..two other and older people wander over and tell me not to worry as they are on there side and we are on our side….I didn’t give a stuff what side who was on.. I didn’t want to stand naked in front of a gang of teenage girls so I kept my Budda trousers on for the next couple of hours until they were gone !

In the middle of the night I wake up and Imagine the tent is wet…this is not possible as the weather is gorgeous lately and there is no rain…ah…I forgot about the dew and the bloody tent must of sagged and the fly sheet was touching the actual tent which ended up water dripping for the rest of the night..everything was soaken the following morning but it didn’t take long for things to dry out whenever the sun sprung a bit of strength…I decided to go out for in the afternoon to the musuem down by the road and met Graham a guy that owns the cafe right next to it…he suggested to try a dark beer just like Guinness and it wasn’t too bad to be honest with you…he was quiet for the afternoon so his two staff joined Graham and myself to a few more Blacks at they are called…Graham decides to get me some take-away for my dinner and prepares some sherperds pie and vegetables so I wouldn’t have to cook back at the campsite…back at my tent and I’m enjoying the sunshine lying naked on my workout mat whenever I need to take a pee…in the toilet block I meet a real nice girl who is tanned like a Brazilian beach babe and she is very nice looking and seems very nice too..within minutes she is sitting outside my wee tent with a glass of red in her hand and its good to have some female company…I’m not sure whether its the energy at all Naturist Parks that everything is free and easy and back to earth but it didn’t take long before we both ended up in her cabin and both trying to reach the sun…moon and the stars…there is one advantage with Naturist Parks and that is half the work is done for you as you don’t need to try and tear each others clothes off in a fit of lust and passion if the opportunity represents itself…this is the first girl that I’ve been with since Aussa back in Ireland and she thought my body was so white she was attracted to it…Maybe we are all attracted to the opposite I’m not really sure about that one…anyway two hours later she had to go out to dinner with some friends and that meant I was on my way back to my wee tent…I was totally exhausted and fell asleep in seconds to wake once again in the middle of the night to a soaked tent once again…I wanted to go over and knock on her door but I didn’t have the balls to do so…maybe it was pride or maybe she would of thought it was kinda cheeky of me !

Cycling the next day was like cycling the waves of an ocean as up one hill and down another..this went on and on until I reached a place called Te Puna and I had the name of a person to call into called Pauline Page that runs the Te Puna accomodation and so its a Sunday afternoon so I decide to call in…Pauline is an amazingly kind women and greets me with open arms and invites me to stay at one of her chalets..she couldn’t do enough for me and it doesn’t take me long before I’m in the swimming pool try to cool down my sandfly bites that I got at the Naturist Park and the water was absolutely freezing cold..Pauline gave me thirty bucks and said that was for my dinner and a few cold beers…Jayus…the generousity of Kiwis is just unbelievable and I wander over to the local drinking hole and meet some of the locals and get some take away fish and chips which is more than yummie…after getting back to my chalet I meet some fruit pickers from Vanuata and before long I have seven of them sitting on my balcony listening to my words about love..hope..change and kindness and my journey in general…I’m talking about God and the spirit of God within us all and they seem to relate to this as their religion is very strong and I tell them I ain’t a holy man but maybe a spiritual person as we are all spirits passing through time..space..light and energy…they seem to be in awe of what I am talking about and invite me to Vanuata to meet some of their chiefs and people and I tell them “Maybe”…they didn’t join me in a glass of wine but they did like my pouch of tobacco and it was a lot lighter the pouch the next morning but I did enjoy their company and they are a lovely race of people in so many ways…apparently they are not allowed to drink on the camping grounds because its against the rules for them to drink and they tell me they go nuts whenever they drink…it reminds me of the aborignes in Australia that one..

I decide to stay another day at the park as the energy in the ground is very sacred and I feel it…I make enquiries about this and within a few hours I hear one of the top Maori chiefs came out to bless the place not too long ago and then Mattie across the road who is a Maori confirms that the ground is sacred that my chalet is lying on…Ummh !……..that night Brian and Pauline Page invite me to dinner with them and they prepare lamb for me and I’ve never seen bones of lamb so big before where by the meat practically falls of the bone and it reminded me of a baby dinasoar..it was a fabulous meal guys thank you very very much…the next morning I have my friends around me once again from Vanuata to come and get a blessing from me before they go to work and say goodbye….they think I am some sort of holy man or prophet and I ain’t neither let me tell you…If I am well then maybe I’m the last to see it but then again the message I am trying to bring to the World wasn’t my idea nor is the amount of people that seem to come across my pathway looking for healing and awareness and the list goes on isn’t my idea either…we’ll not get into this one as I don’t understand it as I don’t really understand or know nothing whenever I think of it.

Pauline Page is some lady and if you’re reading this Pauline I mean that from the bottom of my heart…You’re so beautiful and such a kind and wonderful soul…thank you..

My first call in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty Times newspaper and I like this city as it has a good energy…within an hour I’m knocking on the door of Hotel Armitage and meet the wonderful general manager called Kerry deVries and he is a gem and throws me a key for the next couple of nights and welcomes me with open arms…again the generousity of the Kiwis is unbelievable…I didn’t realise that I would be grounded in Tauranga for five nights and would get robbed once again..this would be my second time in eighteen days and I’m scratching my head now in disbelief.