The protest at the corner of Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St in Tauranga's CBD started around 10am. A group of about a dozen quickly grew to exceed 100. Many held banners and flags.
It was one of several protests in New Zealand today, led by The Freedoms and Rights Coalition.
In Wellington, thousands brought the CBD to a standstill as they marched on Parliament. It was said around 2000 people from the Whakatāne area attended.
At the Auckland-Northland border, traffic was blocked in both directions for more than an hour by protesters on Tuesday morning.
Tauranga protest leader Kayla, who refused to give her second name, said recent protests had been incorrectly labelled anti-vaccination.
More than 100 protesters congregated together in Tauranga. Photo / George Novak
"It's purely about support and that we're not okay with having our choices taken away from us," she said. "Everyone should have a choice about what goes into their body.
"You'll have people here who don't want the vaccine but that's their choice but it's purely about our choices.
Protester Kayla on the corner of Elizabeth St and Cameron Rd. Photo / Luke Kirkness
"People that are against today don't understand the big picture – that we need to show in numbers that we're not okay with this mandate."
Some protesters had a stronger opinion and were calling for the Government and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to cede power.
"Our basic human rights are being taken away from us," a woman, who refused to give her name and wanted to be described as an "angry protester", said.
"I'm prepared to protest for as long as it takes until we start being listened to and our rights being acknowledged."
Only a couple of protesters were wearing masks and social distancing was non-existent.
Many of the protesters in Tauranga were armed with signs and banners. Photo / George Novak
Bay of Plenty Police said they were aware of the protest and would work with community partners to address any issues should they arise.
Protesters were young and old, with several young parents there with toddlers in tow.
Signs included: "Wake up NZ"; "We stand for freedom"; "Born to think, breathe, move & choose"; and "Our rights our ours, not Govts".
The odd motorist or passerby told the protesters to move on or "go back to work", but most tooted, waved or cheered in apparent support.
Tempers were low except for the odd motorist or passerby telling the protesters to move on or "go back to work". Photo / Luke Kirkness
One protester said the country was as divided as during the 1981 Springbok tour.
"We've got to unite together and the mandates need to be discussed with the people, the Government shouldn't just make them up," he said.
University of Auckland infectious diseases associate professor Mark Thomas said 20 times more people who haven't been vaccinated would catch Covid-19 than people who have been vaccinated.
"In the weeks after the second dose of vaccination, people who have been vaccinated have 5 per cent of the chance that someone who hasn't been vaccinated has of becoming infected.
"If you had people exposed to the virus, five who had been vaccinated would get infected for every 100 who hadn't been vaccinated."
Thomas said the Pfizer vaccine was "extremely safe" and had been based on research on similar coronaviruses over 10 years, not just since the Covid-19 pandemic started in late 2019.
Thomas said now was the time for the vaccine-hesitant or people who haven't got around to getting the vaccine to do so.
"[Covid] finds people out and infects them and makes them sick and sometimes causes them to die. Now is the time, if you've been putting it off," he said.
"[In the future] we will see significant increases in cases and deaths and will mostly, but not exclusively, be people who have not been vaccinated."
Among those who arrived at Parliament earlier in the day were a group of about 30 who travelled from Whakatāne. They said they included teachers and a principal opposed to the vaccine mandate requiring a first dose by November 15.
One protester, a special needs teacher for more than 20 years, said she was prepared to leave her job, as were many others.
The woman, who refused to give her name, claimed about 2000 people travelled from the wider Whakatāne area for the protest.
Protesters march on Parliament
Protesters made their way on to Parliament's forecourt after breaching the first set of gates during a demonstration challenging Covid restrictions.
Insults and tennis balls were reportedly hurled at the media, and protesters attempted to get over the barricades towards Parliament.
The Freedoms and Rights Coalition marched to Parliament to present its demands, which included an end to Covid restrictions and vaccine mandates.
At around 11.45am a group of around 100 motorbikes arrived at Parliament, followed by thousands of protesters shouting "freedom now!"
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the messages from anti-vaxxers or protesters weren't the majority.
"I think they can see ... what we've done is on behalf of everyone," she said.
Ardern referenced the Enough is Enough protest in 2004 in how Parliament had seen protests over the years but she maintained today's protest was not representative of the majority of Kiwis.
On the threat of a great gridlock on Friday which was threatened by today's protesters, Ardern said her job was to focus on the more immediate shifts in alert levels and transition into the traffic light framework.
She said what others wanted to do was a matter for them.
