Driver hit 'good sized rock' as slip came down in darkness

A Wellington man driving home got a fright when his car hit a large rock, with the debris of a slip hidden in the dark.

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for the Wellington eastern hills and Wairarapa, while parts of the South Island are facing flooding, road closures, rain and snow.

Jason Grimmett said he was driving through Eastern Hutt Road at Stokes Valley on Tuesday evening when he saw a slip coming down from the corner of his eye.

"I hit a good sized rock going through, and looked in the rear vision and saw a bunch of debris."

The orange level warning is in place until 6am on Thursday, with MetService warning that streams and rivers may rise rapidly, causing surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions.

Having seen the slip, Grimmett said he pulled over and started waving down traffic.

Two young men stopped to help Grimmett clear rocks, while he directed traffic, waiting for police to arrive.

He said the debris from the slip blocked half the road, and many drivers were hitting rocks as they drove past him.

"It was scattered all across the road - big rocks and little ones."

Police were notified at about 6:20pm, and the road reopened at about 10pm.

The street is notorious for slips, with revilisation work done on the south side.

Last night's slip was on the north side.

Grimmett said it was an area of concern, with a constant pattern of slips.

He said more stablisation work needs to be done on the north side of the hill by the road.

"I lot of it's moving, you'll always see rocks coming down with rainfall."

"They do need to try and sort it sooner than later, but it's just there's so many other little projects going on that they probably run out of road cones."

The Hutt City Council has been approached for comment.