Auckland Airport has seen few occasions like it.
With organised receptions to be held for the Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, the crowd awaiting the team in the arrivals hall this morning were fans with a passion simply too great to wait.
There were as many as 4000 of them and they had begun arriving as early as 3am.
Most came from South Auckland, but some were from as far away as the North Shore and Waikato.
Children as young as three, with faces painted and flags to wave, stood for hours, waiting for the winners of the Rugby World Cup.
And when the team arrived, it was near pandemonium - but in a good way.
John Campbell and camera operator Claire Eastham-Farrelly were there - and this is what they saw.
