One person has died and two others are injured following a head-on car crash in the Waikato this morning.

Emergency services were called to the scene on State Highway 3 between Te Kuiti and Piopio at 5.32am.

Police have confirmed one person died and two others were taken to hospital – one with moderate injuries and one with severe injuries – as a result of the two-car head-on collision.

The road remains closed, and drivers are asked to avoid the area.

The long weekend had already got off to a tragic start on New Zealand's roads when a man was killed and another person critically injured in a four-car crash north of Dunedin about 6pm on Friday.

A 64-year-old man from Kaikoura was confirmed dead at the scene.

A man was left with critical injuries after being hit by a vehicle in South Canterbury, and a pregnant woman was one of two seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash north of Auckland just before 7pm.

Additional reporting Stuff.