Traffic incidents today added to the building congestion on New Zealand's motorways and highways as holidaymakers hit the road for their return journey.
A stretch of State Highway 1 was closed after a two-car crash about 1pm, just south of Mangaweka in the central North Island.
Police say people were cut free from the vehicles by the Fire Service.
Ambulance staff were also at the scene and a rescue helicopter was called to take the injured to hospital.
"The volume of traffic on State Highway 1 is such that all travel through this area this afternoon will be delayed and will affect travel times," a police statement said.
"Police are asking motorists to be patient and to drive to the conditions."
Motorists heading back into Wellington this afternoon faced delays after a car and a motorcycle collided on the southbound section of SH1, past the Tawa interchange, after 1pm.
A police spokesman said an ambulance was on the scene but it didn't appear there were any serious injuries.
Police central communications Inspector Chris Tate warned drivers to exercise patience.
"The main message is about patience. It is going to be busy whenever you leave."
He said highways heading into Auckland and Wellington were the "normal pressure points" and congestion in those areas was expected.
"You have got ... the Far North travelling south and central North Island either travelling back to Wellington or up to Auckland so particularly from Hamilton north to Bombays it should be quite congested and usually from about Levin into Wellington it will be crawling," he said.
"Those are the normal pressure points. We have had an earlier Easter so the weather is warmer and you have probably got quite a lot of people that have been to the usual beach spots so it should be very heavy."
The road toll rose to four this Easter holiday weekend when one person died when their car went off the road in Northland yesterday afternoon.
Ambulance and rescue helicopter services attended the scene at Donnellys Crossing, north of Dargaville, where the man was confirmed to have died at the scene.
The man's death comes after a spate of fatal road incidents over the long weekend.
On Friday, 21-year-old Tristan Hunter died after colliding with a car as he hurtled down Maungakotukutuku Rd on a longboard, on the Kapiti Coast.
In Central Otago, 62-year-old Kusum Rohit Kenia, from Mumbai, lost her life in a serious motor vehicle accident on Friday on State Highway 6, 10km outside of Luggate.
There were six other occupants in the vehicle and all were transported to hospital by helicopter and ambulance.
Meanwhile, in another fatal accident, the sole occupant of a vehicle died in Methven, near Christchurch, yesterday morning.
The vehicle left the road and crashed into a tree in a rest area on SH 77.
Last year the Easter road toll was one, with 101 reported injury crashes.
The Easter long weekend road toll ends at 6am tomorrow.
