Traffic snarl-ups hit the main centres on Boxing Day as people rush out for a bargain in the sales, or simply to get away from the bustle.
The main routes out to holiday spots were clogged up, as people make a dash for the beach.
Queues built up on the main State Highway bottlenecks at Otaki outside Wellington, and Orewa, north of Auckland.
To make things worse, some of the clip-on lanes have been closed on the Auckland Harbour Bridge for repairs, making it a slower trip out of the city.
Roads towards the Coromandel Peninsula also had heavy traffic flows.
And car parks were chock full at the shopping malls.
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Shoppers were queuing to get near Bayfair in Tauranga, whilst in Auckland, Botany and Lynnmall were full to the brim.
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