Recent weather events and fuel price shocks are not expected to stop people’s holiday plans ahead of the Easter long weekend.
But Kiwis have been advised to stay cautious and plan ahead as fuel prices continue to rise across the country, while communities in holiday hotspot Northland remain impacted by flooding.
Here’s what you need to know before the Easter holiday break.
AA principal policy adviser Terry Collins said he doesn’t expect fuel prices to impact people’s travel plans, but he advised people to “slow down”, which will save fuel and keep everyone safe on the roads.
“The price shocks have really come a little bit late,” he said. “Easter’s a pretty big holiday period and people make plans early to get into what they’re doing and once they’re committed, usually they’re committed.
“For those that were just thinking about it, they may be put off by the high price … it all depends on the distance they’re travelling. Given the whole budget, that increase in fuel may not be significant enough to deter them from enjoying a long holiday break.
“What I would suggest to anybody who is travelling is have a twofold win. One is just slow down, and that’ll save you plenty of petrol, and the other, it’ll keep everybody safer.”
Collins said another thing to do to save on fuel is to “get your car ready”.
“Before you go away, do the sensible things: do I need to take that extra weight? Are the tyres at the correct pressure? When was the last time it was serviced? If they haven’t done it already, just make sure it’s visually inspected, that it’s all okay.
“A poorly maintained car will burn about 20% more fuel. Your tyres are responsible because when they’re [under-inflated], you’ve got extra drag on them because they’re too flat or the wrong tyre pressure could add somewhere between 10-15%.
“Just being really good driving, anticipating, being courteous, all those other things [are helpful]. Not only are they going to save you fuel, it’s going to reduce the stress of that holiday travel and it’s going to make everybody safe on the road.”
Gaspy director Mike Newton said today that petrol prices are starting to stabilise, while diesel continues to march upwards.
“We’re seeing a definite flattening of the curve, as we used to say during Covid times, with prices for petrol levelling off for all three fuel types,” Newton told Ryan Bridge TODAY.
“But diesel just continues to charge. It’s just going up and it’s now 7 cents higher on average than 91 [petrol]. And given that diesel users also have to pay road user charges, it’s a pretty massive difference.”
People on the roads should use price comparison apps like Gaspy to find the best spots to fill up, Collins added.
According to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), the heaviest traffic over the long weekend coming out of Auckland is expected to be northbound on State Highway 1 between Pūhoi and Wellsford on Friday around 8.30am-4pm, while southbound travel is also set to be heavy in the late afternoon on Sunday and Monday.
Traffic is also expected to be heavy around midday on Saturday and Sunday for southbound travel on State Highway 1 from Manukau to Bombay.
Visit NZTA’s holiday journey planner for the latest traffic predictions for the upcoming long weekend.
Northland Regional Council has advised people travelling to the region to “keep up with latest weather and roading information” following last week’s weather event that caused flooding in some areas.
“There are a number of Northland communities that remain impacted by flooding,” the council said.
The State of Emergency for the Far North District is set to be reviewed tomorrow, while Whangārei District Council lifted its state of emergency at 12.30pm on Monday after conditions in the district improved.
Whangārei District Council said visitors are welcome over the Easter weekend, while “local businesses are open and ready” for the holiday surge.
“All Whangārei District roads are open except for Russell Rd, which was impacted by a major slip in January,” the council said. “If you’re heading to Ōakura, Bland Bay or the Whangaruru Peninsula, please use SH1 and the Ōpua ferry – this is the safest and preferred route. A detour through Kaiikanui Rd is only for light, essential travel and local residents only.”
Far North District Council also welcomed visitors: “Most of the district has not been seriously impacted by last week’s weather and we would welcome visitors. Areas hardest hit are along the west coast from south Hokianga and north to Kaitāia. No roads are currently closed due to last week’s weather event.”
However, the clean-up from last week’s storm may impact travellers, in particular on a stretch of SH12 Twin Coast Discovery Highway near Whirinaki between Jackson and Vujcich Rds.
“There will be frequent truck and other traffic movements on this stretch of highway as clean-up work continues,” the council said.
NZTA journey manager Northland Kingston Brands said “all state highways in Northland are open over Easter – with reduced road works over the holiday period to ensure free flow of traffic”.
“It’s also important to know that there are a small number of locations where recovery work has been required and conditions are different to usual.
“The most significant is on State Highway 1 at Whakapara where there is a temporary chipseal in place following flood damage.
“Drivers may notice changes in texture or loose chip and should drive to the conditions and follow any temporary speed limits.”
MetService meteorologist John Law said it’s ”a bit of a mix this Easter weekend”.
“But we should all find a day or two with some clear sky and dry weather to head out and about.
“After the frosty conditions we saw in parts of the country first thing [on Tuesday] ... the good news is the nights won’t be quite as cold heading into the weekend.”
The best weather in the country over Easter will be in the lower part of the central North Island, Law said.
“Whanganui and Palmerston North look well placed to enjoy plenty of fine weather this weekend, and if you are looking for warmth, Canterbury will see highs of 23 or 24C on Friday but, heads up, Monday will be about 10 degrees cooler there.”
Northland is also looking largely fine over the weekend, with some wet weather expected on Monday.