The first group of NZ crews flew out last night to prepare for the World Va'a Championships in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil which starts next week.
It's been a hard few months for the crews, training throughout the winter to ensure success at the 20th world competition.
New Zealand have started making their way to Brazil.
They are the first group of paddlers to travel to Brazil to prepare for the World Championships.
NZ will have the biggest contingent at the worlds, with 117 people, 97 of whom are competing paddlers who've trained for several months.
James Papali'i, a national singles champion, has teamed up with different paddlers from around the country to compete in the team section.
For all teams travelling overseas, there's only one goal - to return home with gold.
Next Wednesday the competition will start and will run over 5 days.
For more updates you can check out the Waka Ama NZ website.