Rhian Wilkinson's Official Website

RHIAN'S JOURNAL:

NEW ZEALAND 30th May 2007

We have arrived, and once more, just like China, we have lost one complete day: the 29th May - which sounds like a pretty boring day anyway, even if the loss has shortened my life.

AUCKLAND'S MILLENNIUM STADIUM

Our last twenty-four hours have been long ones. We started out at 4:30 am. on Monday 28th May, and took a shuttle to the airport, then boarded our plane to San Francisco. We had a ten hour layover in California. Such delays are usually the worst, but I enjoyed this one as we were given time to do what we wanted.

The team soon split up into smaller groups and we were free to do what we felt like. My group took the BART train to Powell Street where we immediately found somewhere to sit and have some lunch. Then, after eating we did some shopping in the area and boarded the tram to Fisherman’s Wharf. I didn’t have a plan to hang off the rail of the tram, but that is definitely what I ended up doing. What a good time. The only unfortunate part was the close proximity to the couple sitting in the seats in front of me. I am sure I must have blocked out most of their view.

We walked around Fisherman's wharf for a while down there, but it was really crowded because of the USA Memorial Day holiday. We took a taxi back to Powell street, did a little more shopping, did some more eating and then headed back to the airport.

Our Air New Zealand flight departed at 9:00 pm. The flight was a good one, and I don’t seem to say that very often. There was some turbulence, but for the most part it was smooth flying. We were using one of the newer planes in their fleet, with those individual television sets. I am a HUGE fan of these, and I ended up watching Shooter with Mark Wahlberg. It was reasonable, but then i watched Bridge to Terabithia, and I cried my eyes out.

The flight was also a good one thanks to the fact that the plane was only half full. Most of us ended up with more than one seat to lounge in, so we managed a little shut eye. We landed in Auckland at 5.00am in the morning, local time, and went through a vigorous screening process at customs and immigration. I didn’t know that New Zealand is so careful about bringing things into their country. What I mean by this is that most countries ask you if you have anything to declare like fruit, animal products or vegetables, but New Zealand goes much further. For arrival in New Zealand, they start warning you as soon as you board the plane that you cannot bring any of this stuff in. Once you land, there are sniffer dogs on full alert, and this is before you head through a customs line where you are sent to guys who go through your things.

Not everyone was searched, but most of the team was, thanks to the fact that our soccer cleats were red flagged because some of them had mud on them. If the NZ authorities found any mud on your shoes or boots, they took them to another room and they cleaned by the workers there. If you were found with anything you shouldn’t have brought in to the country, then they took no pity. Let's say that someone brought in an orange in their bag and had forgotten about it, then the fine was two hundred New Zealand dollars (about the same as Canadian dollars), plus a mighty tongue lashing…, or at least that is what we heard.

We finally arrived at the Millennium Institute, where we are staying at 6:15 am., got our room keys, and headed straight to bed. We were allowed about 4 hours of sleep before our breakfast wake-up call arrived. The Millennium Institute is not a hotel, but a sports training facility for New Zealand’s finest. There is an Olympic Pool here, a track, a huge fully equipped gym, cafes, physios, doctors ... to sum it up, this is where New Zealanders send their most talented athletes to train in the best possible environment.

The rooms are small, but comfortable. I can't shake the feeling though, that this feels a little like being at a provincial soccer camp. I must be getting soft. There is room for two single beds, two desks and a TV (it only shows Rugby). The room is attached to another room of two and these four people share a shower and bathroom between the rooms. This is fine, but I am sure I will have more to say about this, once we come back from training and all want first dibs on the shower.