ben ah yes a few rewarding rewards, accomplished accomplishments and a lot of won victories! miss you so much mate! i doubt there will be a line, i'm sure i've hardly been missed! see you soon Ben

Ricky Theres loads of really rewarding rewards! It wouldn't be a reward if it wasnt rewarding!!! Obviously i meant to say there's a really rewarding walk! xx

Ricky Nice little update there matey. Where are you staying in the Bay of Islands? Theres a really rewarding reward in Wanaka if you get the chance. Its called the Rob Roy track. Go pretty early, take a packed lunch and it'll be well worth it when you get to the end, trust me. Looking forward to meeting up when you return (we'll get in line!). Have a great final few weeks - I'm sure you will. Miss ya loads Ricky x

Ben hey guys, That's no problem, i love the comments and feedback i get from my blog so i love putting them up. Sadly at the moment there isn't a lot to put up but as soon as there's anything to update, it'll be here :) Will bear Seacliff in mind! Take Care Ben xx

Ricky and Sam Hey Ben, Thanks for the excellent updates. We're both delighted that you gave your parents the best possible tour of the south island and, indeed, that you got involved in the best sights of the south island. While you're in Dunedin, try and spend a couple of days up in Seacliff (if the hostel is still open!). Much love xxx

Joe Parker Happy New Year! Happy Birthday! Happy Christmas! Soz about the joint belated message - have been working pretty much right through! hope you're having a good time mate. Speak soon Joey X

Ricky and Sam Happy Merry Christmas!!! It msy be that we have more snow than you this xmas - just don't go near the mountains!!! Have a good one matey. Enjoy the rest of your trip - however long it may be. See you next year. Ricky and Sam xx

Joey Happy Christmas mate! Hope you have a good one. See ya in March! JP x

Victoria MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you are having a brilliant time!!! Thank you for posting all your wonderful stories on here!! Have a brilliant Christmas and New Year!! V x x x x

Sam and Ricky Hi Ben, Hows things? Im sure we're due another installment about the rowsell adventures! hope thinsg went well with ur mum and dad, and from your dads message it implied they enjoyed the south island! We knew they would. Hope things are going well with work. Look forward to some entertaining stories soon. Sam and Ricky

derek.rowsell We are now leaving NZ shortly for Hong Kong , North Island was great , we swam in the lake at Taupo but the weather has gone off since.Rotorua was great then we relaxed at Papamoa near Tauranga.Went thru Paeroa and took a pic iof mum buy the giant bottle ,its on e-mail and mums facebook.Missing the south island already look forward to hearing your news soon.Luv to all at Furneaux. M&D

The Thomsons Brother Benjamin, Just a quick update, although I'm sure Mum and Dad will fill you in at the weekend (exciting!!). Iris is now 3 months old (can't believe it as it just seems 5 minutes ago we were coming back from hospital) and is getting really cute and chubby. Lots of smiles and she is now communicating with screams which we hope will be a temporary phase! We have been following your progress, and await to hear an in depth report at Christmas from the parents. Travelling clearly suits you looking at the photos - and the tattoo looks impressive, although I can only imagine the pain! One small one on my wrist was quite enough thank you! Look after yourself and we will keep you updated on the niece. The Thomsons xx

Auntie Jane Yes, I read it too! Loved the video of Jen building the snowman. There's a job when you come home....the new David Attenborough! Good news about the job, Penny was saying you were down to the last crumbs in the seats of Brian to live on. I am hoping you enjoy their visit. They were both in great form when we dropped them at the airport, even Derek looked excited. Ali home this weekend for a visit from Vienna. So lovely to see him and I am getting lots of cuddles. Can't believe where this year has gone, Ali's already done 5 months of his year away.Katie in her love nest with Tom and I have never heard her so happy so i'm afraid the trip to NZ is definitely off! Keep well and keep blogging! x

Ricky and Sam Hi Ben, Well done on getting a job, and it sounds lovely, we know how fanstic malbrough sound is, we stayed in a place called hopewell and absolutely loved the remoteness. Make sure you have lots of fun with your parents we're sure your looking forward to it. Take care and enjoy the dolphins, Ricky and Sam (we still read it)