Boxing Day shoppers vent car park struggles at Sylvia Park mall

Shoppers hunting for a Boxing Day bargain have vented on social media over their struggles to find a car park at New Zealand's biggest mall.

An Auckland woman posted on Facebook: "If you're planning on going to Sylvia Park, it's not a good idea"

According to shoppers the car park was nearly full by 8.30am, half-an-hour before the mall was due to open.

A spokeswoman for Sylvia Park said they had traffic management on site.

"In some instances we've just shut down some land so we can let people out but we haven't turned anybody away."

The spokeswoman said there were still available parks at the mall.

"It's just about being a bit patient and being kind," the spokeswoman said.

New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) are warning of heavy traffic on the Southern Motorway at the turnoff to Sylvia Park in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington.

SH1 SOUTHERN MWY - DELAYS - 11:55AM
Traffic continues to be heavy in both directions through the Mt Wellington interchange with queues at both the northbound and southbound off-ramps. Avoid the area and continue to expect delays.^TH pic.twitter.com/gZJfTdeA4C

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) December 25, 2018

Another social media user said: "We just arrived by train and looks like a lot of people have opted for this option too so not surprised mall is overflowing. Line to enter car park building is down by Waipuna hotel!"

The Sylvia Park mall has recently opened 600 new parks.

Boxing Day is expected to be one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

More than 280,000 people visited one of Kiwi Property's six shopping centres on Boxing Day last year.

Kiwi Property owns and manages Sylvia Park and LynnMall in Auckland, Centre Place and The Base in Hamilton (jointly with Tainui Group Holdings), The Plaza in Palmerston North and Northlands in Christchurch.