Jet-boating fans will be out in force for the annual highlight of the Central Otago Southern Lakes racing calendar this weekend.
Jetboating Otago's annual Central Rivers Race will take place on rivers near Wanaka and Queenstown, with about 24 competitors lining up to contest the event.
Event director Pete Templeton said competitors would reach speeds of up to 200kmh as they navigated five of the region's best-known rivers.
Jet-boat enthusiasts in Wanaka on Friday evening could get a closer view of the racing machines at a tech inspection being held on the resort's Ardmore St lakefront, he said.
Racing starts on the Matukituki River on Saturday morning with a return leg up the braided waterway from the West Wanaka bridge.
A marathon leg from Wanaka to Cromwell along the Clutha River and across Lake Dunstan would take place on Saturday afternoon, before competitors headed to Queenstown later in the evening, Templeton said.
The action resumes on Sunday morning, when competitors will race from Glenorchy on a return trip on the Dart River.
The event concludes with another return journey leaving from Queenstown Bay and racing down the Kawarau River, before a dog-leg return up the Shotover River and back to the bay.
The best vantage points would be bridges over the rivers, Templeton said.
