Auckland Anniversary weekend: How to skip the traffic queues

Traffic congestion out of Auckland is expected to build this afternoon ahead of the long weekend. Image / NZTA

If you're heading out of Auckland and not in the car yet - it's probably too late to avoid the traffic now.

If you don't want to spend much of the Auckland Anniversary holiday sitting in traffic, a new tool has been set up to help those heading away for the long weekend.

Motorists can work out exactly what times are usually the quietest and, therefore, best time to hit the road or - more importantly - what times are the busiest and should be avoided at all costs.

The Holiday Journeys map has been released by the NZ Transport Agency.

"Plan your journeys in advance with the help of our Holiday Journeys map. It shows predicted traffic flows based on previous years' travel patterns."

Anyone travelling from Auckland to Puhoi and Wellsford today would be best to avoid the roads between 2pm and 7pm, when congestion is expected to be the heaviest.

But even getting on the road between 11am and 8pm will set you back, as the map shows the area as being "busy" during that period.

By 11.30am, motorists were reporting queues starting to build at Warkworth.

People preparing to head northbound tomorrow will have to be up early to avoid the traffic jams predicted from 8am to 4.30pm. Peak traffic is expected to be between 11am to 2pm.

Driving back home on Monday might be an unwanted mission if you choose to travel back any time from 9.30am.

The heaviest traffic is expected to last several hours - from 10.30am to 4pm.

The interactive map also includes travel and traffic time predictions for those heading further out to Northland and to the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions.

Back in Auckland, anyone heading to tonight's cricket Black Caps versus India match, at Eden Park, is being encouraged to consider using public transport to get to and from the game.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FORECAST TO BE HOT, HOT, HOT

With hot weather in the forecast through the weekend, remember to slip, slop, slap, and wrap! 🧴 ☀️

The UV Index will be high to extreme across most of New Zealand over the next several days. pic.twitter.com/2SNFLLt1Mf

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 23, 2020

On the weather front, conditions are forecast to be mainly sunny and very hot over the weekend and weather authorities are reminding people of the basic rules when out in the sun: "Slip slop, slap and wrap."

Temperature highs in the mid to late 20s and early 30s are forecast for parts of the North Island over the weekend.

Niwa Weather says the UV Index will be "high to extreme" across most of the New Zealand over the next few days.

Today's morning clouds in parts of the North Island, including in Auckland in particular, will make way for mostly settled weather, according to WeatherWatch.

Tomorrow brings mostly sunny conditions again for the North Island - but there will be morning cloud for western areas.

In the South Island, there will be heavy rain in the morning for South Westland areas; but those will turn into the odd shower before clearing later in the evening.

People in Otago can also expect a mostly cloudy day tomorrow, save for the odd shower.

MetService is forecasting morning low cloud or fog in parts of the North Island on Sunday but is otherwise a mainly fine day.

On Monday, people who decide to have a stay-cation in Auckland can expect a partly cloudy day with southwest breezes and a temperature high of 27C.