The five day WomDomNom – which stands for Wellington on Macquarie, Dubbo on Macquarie and Norromine on Macquarie – will start on Thursday at the Burrendong Dam Wall. It will travel through Dubbo before finishing in Narromine.

The participants will camp along the Macquarie River along the way, all to raise money for the Black Dog Institute.

This year, the colourful kayaks will be lead by Captain Nev the Buccaneer.

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WomDomNom Organising Committee president Andrew McKay said the 170 kilometre river trek also aimed to make the best of one of the region’s most under-utilised assets.

“Dubbo has a fantastic asset, as do Wellington and Narromine having the Macquarie River run straight through our doorstep and it’s probably one of the most under-utilised national resources we’ve got in the area,” Mr McKay said.

“It’s an opportunity to increase participation in the river kayaking sport which is a very relaxing way to spend a day or an afternoon.”

Vice president Bev Winters, who has been involved since the first event eight years ago, said numbers had increased each year, with names already added to a wait list for 2019.

The numbers are capped for logistics and catering purposes.

Safety officer Bronwyn Powell said the event was designed to be a recreational paddle with an emphasis to encourage safe kayaking on the Macquarie River, not a race.

Ms Powell said while the Macquarie River has a lot of deep sections, there were also areas with rapids, log jams and changing river currents, which could be dangerous for beginners. Because of the dangers, the WomDomNom is for experienced kayakers only.

For anyone interested in seeing the kayakers, the event will be launching from Wellington’s John Oxley Park bridge ramp. They can also be seen on Friday afternoon as they stop at the Sandy Beach reserve or on Saturday as they start the next leg of the journey at 8am.

The paddle is expected to finish in Narromine on Sunday, November 25 at the Rotary Park boat ramp at about lunch time.

The committee is hoping for fair weather and good river water levels during the WomDomNom for the kayakers.