Olympic rowing gold medallist Rob Waddell joined other Commonwealth Games athletes on a beach in Auckland on Wednesday to launch the New Zealand leg of the Queen's Baton belay.
The baton is being carried on a four-day tour throughout the country as part of a Commonwealth Games tradition in the lead-up to the 2014 competition in Glasgow, Scotland.
Waddell, along with 2010 Delhi games medalists Nikki Hamblin and Joelle King, took the baton on an Auckland Harbour tour by boat before handing it over to St Heliers Bay school children.
Waddell, who is also the Chef de Mission for the Games, says preparations are going well.
"The athletes are all doing different things in different stages, but you get an overwhelming sense of the motivation and the excitement that's coming up.
"It's (Glasgow) going to be well organised ... it looks like it's off the back of London. It's got good intellectual property and good people in place".
The baton will travel to Wellington for a formal reception at Parliament on Friday before it departs for Dunedin to feature in St Andrew's Day celebrations on Saturday.
The Queen's Baton relay began its 19,000km journey around 70 nations and territories in October this year and arrived in New Zealand from Samoa.
The Commonwealth Games take place from 23 July to 3 August.
