— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) March 27, 2018
The New Zealand Transport Agency is urging motorists heading away for Easter to plan ahead to avoid delays on the roads.
The agency has created maps to show the expected peak holiday traffic times to help motorists decide the best time to travel to avoid queues.
The maps show the busiest times based on previous years' travel patterns.
State Highway 29 over the Kaimai Range to Waikato, State Highway 2 between Paeroa and Waihi and State Highway 2 between Tauranga and Katikati have been identified as traffic hotspots.
New Zealand Transport Agency senior journey manager Neil Walker said: "We know we'll see large numbers of people heading off to their usual holiday destinations and that makes queues and delays inevitable at the most popular times."
"If everyone plans their travel in advance, and thinks about how they can travel outside the busiest periods it will help reduce congestion, delays and stress and that will make it a safer and more enjoyable journey for everyone.
"The hotspot predictions have proved really popular in helping people make informed decisions about when to travel, but predicted peak times can change on the day because of incidents, changing weather and even driver behaviour. So keep up to date with real-time travel information."