Hi Guys I just wanted to say it is sooooo nice to finally see you in Shorts and T Shirts and with the sun shining, restored my faith in the place down under. Leigh you will be pleased to know Stew is currently watching the Rugby so I guess I shan't be seeing much of him for the next few weeks!!!!! Off to Paris on Monday for 3 days and Barcelona at the end of the month so life's not too bad for me at the mo, and of course a peaceful weekend next weekend when the lads go off to Amsterdam! I dread to think what stories will come back from there. I don't think I really want to know. I think it should be a what goes on tour stays on tour or however the saying goes. Mind you us girlies have Roz's Hen night in Brighton next Saturday, can't believe its here already, they'll soon be getting married OH MY GOD. For us I currently can't decide on what to do for centre pieces and how to keep the budget down and manageable. Just think you've got all of this too look forward to. Take care chucks, hope your next leg of the journey is fantastic and enjoy before having to start work again. Love to you both Shell and Stew

Rambo 3 is crap!

Hey you 2, the piccys of the mud pools end geysers are cool, you should deffinitely consider a job in arty / nature type photography when you come back, very david attenborough!! the luge things look great, not sure how health and safety conscious they are, but hey its not like the human body is completely incapable of regeneration. i'm sure i speak for Em when i say it would be great to come meet you guys in Oz and if money permits we will!! she says hi and sends love. as you can guess by the time, i am at work following a lovely midweek weekend at ems. i must try and rope in some more overtime but it will have to wait till after andy's stag do as i have no spare days left!! am looking forward to going away just a shame you are not with us leigh but fret no more i dare say the pictures and accompanying stories will sonn be winging their way towards you!! till then stay safe, look after one another and say hi to jennie and steve. ciao bananas!

Daves says i have to tell you about his big catch- bigger than the Nipple, this one was a 37.8lbs common carp, a new record for Tiddy apparently! He is after the 40lb one from Double Aches next then he's after the 48lbs one at Chimneys (never been caught yet, but Dave apparently WILL be the first) You’re getting some brill photos! Although not sure about the one titled 'Don't Fall'....looks like your doing or just done a poo Speak to you soon Love n kisses

hello you two! Again, you still sound like your having a great time! It’s just a quick one to say thank you for my pink rugby shorts! Can't wait to go training in them- although I think I will be made to do a zillion sit ups, press ups and laps round the pitch for coming to training looking like such a poser! Last weeks training session was the best yet, my performance was poor (fried brain from dissertation, forward and backwards seemed hard to grasp let alone left or right) but because it was so wet and so so sooooooooooooooo muddy! I was literally covered head to toe in mud! It was fantastic! We were practising driving over one another (me being the person being driven over) when one of the boys did it, but cocked my leg up and we both went flying (well i would say he was probably more body boarding on me) through a 10 meter puddle of mud! Great! Genius here (Ellen that is, just in case your wondering) didn't bring a change of clothes and opted for a shower in my muddy clothes following by a pathetic attempt at ringing them out and hopped in the car. Mum was not impressed when a soggy/ dripping Ellen with mud dribbling down her legs insisted she needed to come into her house. I shivered ALL night! Thank you again for the shorts- they are great! Sorry it has taken me so long to thank you, been wrapped up in my dissertation which is now finally finished and my brain is nearly back to normal. Take care, speak to you soon, Loves of love ‘n’ kisses Ellen x x x

Hey there, just wanted to say hello and hope you have a great time experiencing the real NZ. Not alot to report from here, xmas was hectic with family and friends visiting the new pad, plus helping us to rewire!!!! get curtains up etc. We are saving hard now for the wedding, debating on changing the car, saving the get the proper electrician in to sign the electrics off and make them safe! all the boring home owner stuff now really LOL but hey it is fantastic finally owning a place. Stew has had his lump cut off his face and currently has 6 stitches and is on antibiotics. I can't stand looking at it as I'm quite squeemish! So you can imagine how he is taunting me with it. Its still cold, wet and very windy back here so your not missing anything. We went and saw Billy and Marian last week and got our Indianna fix, they left us to look after her whilst they went to get the Chinese, I was abit scared, Stew was non perplexed but she didn't cry or move an inch just lay gurgling on her mat staring at her favourite helium balloon. So all went well LOL We've had the invites for Roz and Andy's wedding so all looking forward to that and can't believe the time is racing on. We are starting to get into thinking of wedding mode ourselves and need to start planning things. Well think thats all, thinking of ya, take care peeps love Shell and Stew

Hey you travelling human beans!! Im at work again so i thought i'd take the opportunity to use a computer and mail you. hope all is well and the car bar is keeping you well supplied. Em and i have been looking at houses recently although we are still not totally sure where we want to / can afford to live, will have the house warming invites out as soon as the deal is sealed. Em is well and says hi, she is trying to work hard despite there being a lack of work. as you can imagine there has been much talk of possible dates, venues, etc. I am really looking forward to the trip to amsterdam, it has been far too long since i've been there! keep up the good work on the site and stay safe the pair of you. alas i must go and get some work done Adios amigos me+em

At long last I have had the chance to check out your website and thought I would celebrate with a post. Indianna is an absolute cutey pie to the point that I find it hard to leave her alone (hence little time for much else), that and the fact that she hates to sleep during the day (despite what the books say a baby should be sleeping!) and I find it hard to ignore her gurgles be they gurgles of contentment or the screaming banshee type that Billy referred to previously (which more often than not they are - nothing wrong with that childs lungs!!). So to catch up, I would like to wish you guys a happy Christmas, New Year and massive congrats on your engagement. I would also like to thank Stew and Michelle for keeping me up to date on your movements (and by movements I do not mean the type that Leigh once experienced 11 times in one day). Look forward to reading more about your adventures xxx

hello you two! hope you have survived dolphins and picton!

pics on website look lovely.

was great to have you staying with us - you were fantastic guests - very domesticated!

we are missing you lots and it's very quiet without you.

have a great time in the north island!

love

claire, anne and nikkie xxx

Yo, Well done on getting engaged and stuff. Ben

I've finally have a fast enough connection to look at this site so all the following is a tad on the late side.... Congrats on the engagement (was there champagne on a mountain - I expect nothing less)! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Hope you're having an amazing time - keep safe, enjoy yourself and POST MORE PHOTOS! Love ya! x

Happy New Year to everyone who has contributed to Leigh and Gemma's message board and of course to the happy couple themselves - isn't it great news? I'm going to be a Mummy in Law! About time too that they caught up with all the romantic activity on the south coast. Love to you all from Leigh's Mum x x x