Marae battle it out on the river

The crews waiting for their turn, on the banks of the Whanganui River.

Nineteen crews from eight different marae were looking to prove their dominance on the Whanganui River with the waka ama challenge on Saturday.

Held for the second year as part of the Raukotahi celebrations, the teams raced in six-person waka to get their hands on some beautiful carved trophies.

All of them came from marae stretching from Wanganui back to Ohakune.