Canadians taking in their Keri Keri welcome. Tom Kennedy photo

The Canadian Rugby World Cup contingent has arrived in Keri Keri, New Zealand, following a full day of travel from Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.

Canada's Rugby World Cup squad departed its hotel in Surfers Paradise at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, taking a bus to Brisbane Airport. A three and a half hour flight followed, the team then waited half an hour in Auckland airport before catching a small plane to Keri Keri in the beautiful Bay of Islands.

But all that travel did nothing to dampen the spirits of the squad, as prop Jason Marshall pointed out the journey was worth the destination.

"I'm really excited and I know the boys are really excited," Marshall said. "We've been waiting a long time to be down there and we're ready for it."

The team was met on the runway in Keri Keri by an official welcoming party where a challenge was presented by a gathering of local Maori, a custom where a visitor is being asked to accept a peace challenge.

The challenge was accepted by captain Pat Riordan, who was followed by the rest of the players and staff into a hangar more welcoming ceremonies, which included prayers and well wishes in traditional Maori tongue and powerful songs by a chorus of men and women.

As is the custom in these circumstances, Canada responded with its own song, sharing lines from the Canadian classic, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Canadian squad will participate in another Powhiri, or welcoming, at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty Grounds are considered a sacred place, where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British.

Canada's Rugby World Cup squad will spend a week in Keri Keri before moving to Whangarei two days prior to their match against Tonga.