Tauranga's The Strand will be home to a different kind of bird this weekend when a flock of toy ducks take to the water on Sunday.
The charity event, organised by the Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club, will see 1500 rubber ducks race each other on an outgoing tidal flow.
Hopefully the club could raise $15,000 for four different charities, organiser Brett Bell-Booth said. The race followed similar events organised by Rotary clubs around the country.
"We decided it would be an ideal opportunity to utilise the new steps down at the waterfront and have a crack at organising [our own] duck race," Bell-Booth said.
The track is 400m long and will feature two races. The main flock would battle it out on the water for the top prize of $1000 while 50 larger ducks, bought by local businesses for $200 each, would take to the water first.