Traffic is already banked up on SH2 between Waihi and Paeroa and expected to stay like that until 4pm.
It's a similar story in Wellington where heavy traffic and long-running roadworks will lead to a slow drive home from Otaki and down the Kāpiti Coast .
In the South Island, traffic is already heavy on SH1 in and out of Christchurch in both directions and motorists heading out of Akaroa can expect heavy traffic until 4pm.
Traffic is also busy or heavy between Nelson and Blenheim.
As people make their way home in the South Island, MetService has issued snow shower warnings near the summit at Arthur's Pass from 10am this morning to 2pm and the higher parts of the Milford Road from 10am to 6pm.
Snow is also forecast overnight on Porter's Pass between 1am and 7am near the summit.
The road toll for the holiday weekend, which began at 4pm on Friday and ends at 6am
on Tuesday, stands at one after a vehicle crashed into a power pole on SH1 at Awanui, north of Kaitaia, at 11.35pm on Friday.