Several members of the St. Lawrence Univeristy field hockey team are blogging their experiences during the team's preseason trip to New Zealand.

Last week, co-captains Jamie Oriol '17 and Carly Dziekan '17 wrote the first entry. Today, we publish four more entries from seven members of the team.

Julia Hudson '17

We woke up and ate a yummy hotel breakfast; some of us tasted Marmite (mixed reviews). Following this, we all headed over to the Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand. It's even taller than the Eiffel Tower. We headed up to two different points in the tower, the highest being 722 feet above Auckland. As we took in the beautiful view we were also graced with the sight of thrill seekers who partook in the SkyJump. This is a controlled bungee jump into the middle of the city.

After leaving Sky Tower, we split up and explored the city on our own. I roamed around the waterfront and explored the wharf, where renovations are underway, while eating some New Zealand salmon and delicious ice cream. Anna Hughes '17 walked out on the piers and enjoyed the views, while taking advantage of attractions such as free ping pong, badminton, and piano stairs. Maggie Whelley '17 hit up the shops on popular Queen Street and had the "best goat cheese salad she has ever had."

After our free time, we met our clinic coach, Cory Bennett from the Black Sticks, a national New Zealand men's field hockey team. We did a variety of drills that helped improve our skills and got to watch Cory do his famous dragflick before we played a game against ABC Albany. It was a great experience and we learned a lot; ABC Albany displayed a variety of skill sets that we hope to implement into our own play.

After the game, we mingled and ate with the ABC Albany Club team; we tried our best to perfect our New Zealand accents and asked them about their popular culture.

Casey Ostler '18 and Tori Shaffer '18

Hello from Auckland on day number three of our trip!

Today we traded in our hockey sticks for safety harnesses and a chance to see a different part of New Zealand: Waiheke Island. Our destination was EcoZip, a short 35-minute ferry ride away. Upon arrival we were greeted by some more liquid sunshine and tour guides to bring us to our adventure.

On the way we learned that the island is a perfect getaway to escape from city life. Once we got to the site of the coming adrenaline rush, we got a chance to look out on the most fantastic view we have seen thus far. Not only could we see blue skies (which have been a rare winter sight with our luck so far), vineyards, rolling hills, the coastline scattered with sailboats and grazing cattle, but we were also able to get a whole new perspective on the city we had just come from. The silhouette of Auckland was breathtaking, and the SkyTower looked so much more grand from that distance.

Our views were put on hold to climb into our harnesses and helmets and get safely instructions about zip lining! We were lucky enough to get some real sunshine for the majority of the day allowing us to see many hectares unfold before us. When zip lining we were able to reach a speed of 50 kilometers per hour which is the speed limit on the island.

Once we were done, we had to trek back to the lodge, which allowed us to see the canopy from underneath. The muddy trek ruined many our shoes, tested our balance and taught us about the natural vegetation of the island. We learned about a moth that lives inside a tree for 7-14 years as a caterpillar, burrowing to the heart of the tree until it is time to emerge and is the size of a human hand.

When we reached the top, we scrubbed our shoes, ate our snack packs brought to us by our wonderful tour guide Murray, and headed to the Stonyridge Vineyard. There we had a short tour and tasted a red and white wine. We got to explore the land, which had grape vines, cork trees and olive trees. It was unfortunate that we did not get to see the vines in full bloom because it is winter down here (guess we will have to come back in January!).

After a day of adventures, some of us were less interested in the wine and more interested in the cheese tasting plates available. Snacking on some cheese allowed us the opportunity to meet and talk to the owner of the vineyard. In sharp contrast to American wineries, the casual environment allowed for fun conversation and storytelling about past visiting celebrities and parties to come during the summer season. Once we were all full, we had to run through the rain to catch the bus back to the ferry. The ferry ride felt much longer on the way home as many of us fought the drowsiness of the time change and the many adventures catching up to us.

We got back to the hotel, warmed up and changed then headed to a fellow SLU student's house for dinner. We were all welcomed by the family women's hockey player Grace Harrison '19 with giant hugs, great food and felt right at home as soon as we got there. The Harrisons treated us to hands down the best (three course) meal so far: salmon, lamb, fresh veggies, ice cream and the Kiwi classic pavlova. It was not long after full stomachs, good company and a nice winter fire that we were ready to curl up and be done for the day. Not only was the food delicious, but the hospitality we received was beyond kind. We witnessed and experienced genuine New Zealand kindness and friendship, with offers to return with a backpack and some hiking boots any time. The food was good, the experience was great, but the people were better. Giant thanks to the Harrison's, EcoZip, and Stephen White at Stonyridge Vineyard.

Cheers!

Maisie Rosenheimer '18 and Maggie Wraight '18

We are currently leaving Auckland after a jam-packed couple of days filled with fun, food and competitive field hockey. Yesterday marked our last day in the city of Auckland so we decided to celebrate by climbing/jumping off a bridge.

After a scrumptious hotel breakie of beans and marmite, we split into smaller groups to conquer a day of adventures.

(Head Coach) Fran Grembowicz and (Assistant Athletic Director) Jodi Canfield took off on an expedition to climb up a dormant volcano (don't fall in!!), while others chose to explore the Auckland Zoo. The rest of the group chose to be dare devils and venture over to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, where we were fitted for harnesses and helmets. Half of us chose to venture up to the top of the bridge, 142 feet above the water, where we were greeted with beautiful views of the city and surrounding waters, as well as heavy winds and a shaky structure.

The instructor chose to inform us, while standing on the tippy top of the bridge might we add, that the structure is able to move up to one meter. It was quite reassuring to witness this first hand before climbing the summit. On our way back down the bridge we were able to look on as the other half of the team chose to take a leap of faith off the bridge and fling themselves into the chilly waters below. Guess they really would do anything to get out of preseason! I have no doubt some of you at home must've heard their screams, it sure was a wild ride.

After the adrenaline stopped pumping through our veins we headed back into the city for a delicious lunch and to rest up before our match. We had a night game under the lights on a beautiful AstroTurf field about 30 minutes from our hotel. It was a competitive match, and we were able to make great connections and work together to pull out not just a victory, but a shut out curtsey of the one and only Julia Hudson '17. After the game we mingled with our opponents, and then we got back on the bus tired and smelly and ready for bed!

We are now showered and wide awake and ready for our next adventure as we head to our clinic and the next stop on our journey.

Cate MacKenzie '19 and Lucy Stillman '19

Yesterday was our final day in Auckland. We got off to an early start, hopping on the bus in the morning to head to our next destination: Waitomo! After leaving the city, we drove for a little while before making a pit-stop at River Haven Cafe. There, we got some traditional New Zealand "hokey pokey" ice cream, coffee, as well as some knick-knacks for our families.

Continuing our drive to Waitomo, we passed through cattle and sheep farmland, some suburbs, and New Zealand's fourth-largest city, Hamilton. Once there, we were able to have an awesome clinic with professional field hockey coach and offensive corner specialist Sam Brown. We practiced receiving and moving the ball while also learning new shooting and corner techniques. He was a great coach and even our own coaches said they learned a thing or two from him!

Following the clinic we stopped for a quick lunch in Te Awamutu. A group of us enjoyed various Thai noodle and rice dishes at a small noodle shop. While there, we also experienced the mysterious disappearance of sophomore Lindsey Houseman's phone, which we eventually found in a closed box of pad thai at the bottom of a garbage can. While we have no idea how it happened, Linds showed no fear diving in after it.

After another short drive we arrived in Waitomo! We dropped our bags at the Kiwi Paka Lodge, a popular hikers' rest stop. We then walked down the road for about 1.5 kilometers and reached the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Our guided tour lead us down through the limestone caves and we learned about the four stages of the glowworms' life and about the formation of the caves. Once in a large opening of the cave, which our guide called the cathedral, she invited us to sing a song. The cave has great acoustic qualities so Bailey Sherwin '19, a member of the St. Lawrence "Singing Sinners" a cappella group, led us in a rendition of Justin Bieber's "Sorry".

Eventually we reached the river that runs through the cave. We boarded boats and floated down the pitch-black water. The glowworms glowed like blue stars all along the cave ceiling. The tour ended at the opening of the cave and from there we were free to explore the gift shop or make our way back to the lodge.

Later in the evening we had dinner prepared by the lodge and ended our night with a team game night in Julia Hudson's room. It was great bonding time for the Saints! We look forward to the rest of our time in Rotorua and New Zealand!!

Kia ora!