Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

900 rubber ducks invade Rotorua - for a good cause

By Alice Guy
Rotorua Daily Post·
28 May, 2017 04:09 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rotorua played host to not your average water sport today as 900 rubber ducks raced down Hamurana Springs.

The Westpac Chopper Appeal is currently underway and the local Westpac team put on a rubber duck race to raise funds for the BayTrust Rescue Helicopter.

Seven hundred ducks had been available for 'adoption' at $5 each or $20 for five, but they had all been adopted by late Wednesday morning.

A last minute donation of 200 additional ducks from the Life Education Trust all sold out before the race got underway.

More than 100 people crammed along the stream side and filled the bridge to catch the action as the barrels of ducks were tipped into the water.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
The Westpac Chopper appeal duck race. Photo/Stephen Parker
The Westpac Chopper appeal duck race. Photo/Stephen Parker

The ducks raced towards the lake to a fanfare of cheers as people tried to spot their own duck and hoped they were in the group racing ahead of the pack.

Crystal Gavin and her son Carter had bought five ducks each.

"We saw there were a few more ducks, and we just had to get some," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We appreciate all the work that these guys (rescue helicopter) do."

Some of the ducks got caught in the weeds, but fortunately search and rescue divers were in the water to make sure they finished the race.

For those who missed out on buying a duck there were lots of opportunities to donate and enjoy the sunshine.

Raffles, competitions and a gold coin sausage sizzle were all available.

900 Ducks race to the finish line at Hamurana Springs. Photo/Stephen Parker
900 Ducks race to the finish line at Hamurana Springs. Photo/Stephen Parker

Frances Turpie bought two ducks for her 8-year-old son Rhys.

"It's great, it's a really good day and such a great way to fundraise," she said.

The local BayTrust helicopter rescue needs about $1.2 million a year to run, and gets less than 50 per cent of its funding from ACC and local district health boards.

The remainder must come from public donations.

Each mission costs about $7800, and choppers are used frequently in search and rescue operations and to reach sites that are difficult to access by road.

There were 169 rescues in the Rotorua area last year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Westpac bank manager Ian Baker said they were still finding their feet but next year they'll make it even better.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

Rotorua Daily Post

One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed

Rotorua Daily Post

'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend
Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

The series uses drones to showcase tamariki stories from above.

19 Jul 12:00 AM
One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed
Rotorua Daily Post

One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed

18 Jul 11:25 PM
'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it
Rotorua Daily Post

'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it

18 Jul 06:07 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP