Thank you party for World Cup volunteers | Northland News | Local News in Northland

They worked as hard as the players during the Rugby World Cup and got their just desserts - a farewell barbecue and drinks by the waterfront.

Throngs of Northland Rugby World Cup volunteers in their traditional 'sea of blue' uniforms gathered under the canopy at the Town Basin yesterday for their final hoorah.

It was a joyous occasion tinged with sadness as about 170 of the nearly 350 volunteers came together one last time to share their experiences and stories from throughout the tournament.

The party was organised by Northland 2011 and Team 2011 Rugby New Zealand to say thank you to a vast number of volunteers plus Paint in Red ambassadors based at Northland's welcome centre in Kaiwaka.

A bus was arranged to bring in volunteers based in the Far North.

Volunteer Susan Botting was the team leader at the Information Centre by the Town Basin but had working stints at the Bay of Islands and Auckland.

"I've never spoken more French than I spoke in Whangarei," she enthused.

She manned the fan trail about 100 metres from Eden Park during the All Blacks and Wallabies semifinal but her most exciting bit was helping tourists off a cruise ship docked in the Bay of Islands.

From volunteering as a tour guide on board a tourist bus to the Opua yacht race and meeting a group of Patagonians from South America, she enjoyed every bit of it.

Mother and son team of Terri and Scott Donaldson from Maungaturoto described being part of rugby's showpiece tournament as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They were part of Paint it Red ambassadors based in Kaiwaka, although Scott also volunteered during both games at Toll Stadium.

"I enjoyed it very much. It was an exciting experience, especially the different people I met during the tournament," said the 18-year-old who'll study computer science at Waikato University next year.

Northland 2011 regional co-ordinator Stewart McElwain praised the work of volunteers for making the tournament a success.

"Northland in general really stood out and the community go behind the Paint it Red initiative which was seen as a bit of a positive example to the other regions.

"Some of them (volunteers) had no interest in rugby but they just wanted to get behind it, speak from the same hymn sheet and generally have fun," Mr McElwain said. The volunteers received a certificate and a Northland 2011 banner.