Festivalgoers have voiced their frustration after spending hours struck in traffic in the hot sun trying to get to the Shipwrecked Festival in Te Ārai, with many missing early performances as the three-day event got underway. 

A spokesperson for the festival told the Herald their traffic management plan “performed better than expected“, but acknowledged attendees faced long wait times in the heat. 

Multiple festivalgoers described their vehicles being stationary or crawling forward yesterday while travelling to the Te Ārai festival site, with some who had arrived for its advertised 10am start still waiting on Atkins Rd by mid-afternoon. 

Frustration among attendees spilled on to social media throughout the day, as queues stretched back along the rural road leading to the site. 

Taking to the Shipwrecked NZ Community Hub page on Facebook, one woman said she had been stranded in traffic for more than four hours, claiming some drivers appeared to be “queue-jumping” while others remained at a standstill. 

Another attendee said her group arrived in the area at midday but by 2.49pm had moved just three kilometres, and she shared a photo showing a long line of vehicles stretching down Atkins Rd. 

Some drivers heading into Shipwrecked Festival at Te Ārai, north of Auckland, reported waiting in queues for more than four hours in the heat. Photo / Tiffany Firth 

“At the rate of 1km an hour, I’m guessing it’s about one hour from this point,” one person wrote. 

Some attendees questioned the value of early-entry tickets and multi-day passes, with one saying it was “very unfair” people were unable to get their vehicles on-site in time for the first acts. 

One woman alleged she was yelled at by a traffic volunteer after more than two hours in line for having her car door open, saying it was “not a very kind welcome” to the festival. 

“Makes me regret this weekend choice – this is insane. We’ve already been in the queue for four hours, and it doesn’t look like we’ll get in for at least a couple more,“ one punter wrote. 

“We attend festivals all over New Zealand and have never experienced anything like this.” 

A Shipwrecked spokesperson said the delays were largely due to the event coinciding with Waitangi Day. 

Shipwrecked Festival is a three-day music and arts festival held about 90 minutes' drive north from Auckland. Photo / Shipwrecked Festival 

“This is the first time we’ve opened on a public holiday,” they said. 

“Many people arrived early and all at once.” 

Traffic volumes were affected by large numbers of people travelling to the nearby Te Ārai Links golf course on Atkins Rd, they said, which was “likely also because of the public holiday”. 

Despite the slow start, the spokesperson said Shipwrecked’s traffic management plan had performed better than expected. 

“We elevated our original plan prior to the event starting and organised vehicle passes with Te Ārai Links, which enabled us to identify vehicles going to the links and pull them out of the queue in large groups to safely escort them past the traffic.” 

Organisers said they were aware people had been waiting in the heat, and they had measures in place to manage health and safety concerns. 

“We had toilets and water stations on the road for them and crew members on constant patrol looking out for any safety issues,” the spokesperson said. 

“There were no welfare or safety issues reported. There were a few vehicles that had flat batteries but our vehicle recovery team sorted them out quickly.” 

Shipwrecked is a three-day music and arts festival, held about 90 minutes’ drive north of Auckland. 

The boutique pirate-themed festival, which typically attracts around 2500 people to its lakefront site each year, is marking its 10-year anniversary this weekend and will conclude tomorrow. 

Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.