Packed weekend of events, concerts, set to cause traffic chaos in Auckland

Plan well ahead if you’re thinking of hitting the roads in Auckland on Saturday, with a whole host of events set down for Saturday likely to cause traffic chaos.

Flugtag, Christmas in the Park, Guns N’ Roses and more are all lined up for Saturday, with masses of people heading into the city centre.

The weather won’t be helping, with heavy showers and a chance of hail expected in the afternoon, according to MetService.

Here’s what you need to know about getting around this weekend:

What’s on?

Kicking off at 7.30pm will be the Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park at the Auckland Domain. Classic Christmas songs will be belted out, as well as fireworks to end the night.

Gates open up for the big Guns N’ Roses concert at 4.30pm, so people can head in early and catch opening acts The Chats and Alien Weaponry.

Launching themselves from 6m above the water, Red Bull’s Flugtag starts at midday, with the first flight happening at about 1pm.

The competition sees teams build flying machines with the goal of launching the furthest off the platform, and is back in Auckland for the first time in 20 years.

Adding to the music choices on Saturday is Jack Johnson, who will be playing tunes from Western Springs stadium at 8.30pm – with doors opening at 5pm.

What are my transport options?

Parking for Saturday’s events will be very limited, with road closures around most of them for several blocks.

At Guns N’ Roses, parking will be restricted in the surrounding streets from 2.30pm-11.30pm, with tow trucks taking away vehicles still in the area.

The Western train line will leave concert goers right outside Eden Park, but check for travel updates as there was a “track infrastructure issue” on Friday.

For Christmas in the Park, buses and trains are a good option – with Grafton and Newmarket stations nearby. There will be parking restrictions in place at the Domain and around the park’s perimeter.

There are a few car parks near the Red Bull Flugtag event, including Wynyard car park and the Downtown car park.

Western Springs is a quick walk from Ponsonby or Grey Lynn, so a walk down after a bus ride into the suburbs would do the trick.

What weather should I be ready for?

It would be well worth packing a raincoat and an umbrella (if the venue allows it) as the weather is expected to take a turn for the worse on Saturday, according to MetService.

Showers are expected to become more frequent during the afternoon, with possible heavy spells and a chance of hail and thunder, they said.

The wind shouldn’t be too much of an issue, with northerlies reaching up to 20kph.

If the weather gets particularly sour, Christmas in the Park does have a postponement plan that would see it run on Sunday – but if that too is not possible, it will be cancelled.