The MetService says the bad weather will be continuing for parts of the country with two ferry sailings out of Wellington cancelled today.
The MetService has issued heavy rain watches for the Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne from 8am on Monday to 5pm on Tuesday.
There are also heavy rain watches in place for the ranges of Hawke's Bay, the Tararua District, Wairarapa and the eastern hills of Wellington from 9am today to this evening.
The MetService said heavy rain was expected to return to the Hawke's Bay region on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a Heavy Rain Watch has been lifted for the Central North Island from Taranaki to Taihape.
Ship delays out of Wellington
The Interislander's Kaiarahi ferry has cancelled its 1.30pm and 6.30pm sailings out of Wellington on Sunday due to the weather.
The Bluebridge interisland ferry service website said it was also cancelling some sailings later today between Wellington and Picton.
And the bad weather meant a cruise ship due to sail out of Wellington harbour yesterday, had to moor at the port overnight.
The US Noordam arrived in Wellington on Saturday morning and was expected to set sail the same day, but on Saturday night there was heavy rain and gale force winds in the region.
The ship was expected to set sail on Sunday morning, but had still not left by midday.
Difficult travel
The week of heavy rain and wind in various parts of the country is expected to make travelling difficult for motorists returning home from the Christmas break.
The Thames-Coromandel District Council says extreme care is needed on the region's roads as soggy ground continues to bring down slips and trees.
Further north, Waka Kotahi says road users should expect delays on State Highway One from Bombay to Manukau, northbound, due to holiday congestion.
Traffic management and temporary speed restrictions are in place on State Highway three in northern Taranaki due to resurfacing work.
And speed restrictions are also in place on State Highway 59 between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki north of Wellington, due to slip control works.
In the South Island, there is a drop out on State Highway Six from Rai Valley in Marlborough, to Havelock due to extreme weather damage.
