At the weekend, it seemed another dozen ducks wanted to do the same, as a "renegade" bunch made a run for it before the beginning of the event.
Volunteers Shaun Brown and Stuart King were coy about how the ducks ended up in the water before the event had started.
"No comment," they said, but other volunteers caught the ducks further downstream and brought them back to take part in the official start of the event.
Mr Brown and Mr King then followed the ducks downstream in kayaks, acting as "tail-end Charlies" to "guide the lame and slow ducks", Mr Brown said.
On a day when the temperature rose to 32degC, the kayak trip down the river was a "great way" to spend some of the afternoon and "the best job" of all the volunteers, the men said.
About 850 ducks took part in the event, which was a fundraiser for the parent centre, and the event went "swimmingly", Central Otago Mayor and event compere Tim Cadogan said.
