Wellington, Jan 2 NZPA - Nine people have died on the roads so far this holiday period, with the latest death involving a collision between a 68-year-old tourist and a car near Blenheim about midday today.

The female tourist was hit just after 12.10pm, west of Cravens Road, on Rapaura Road near Spring Creek, the Marlborough Express reported.

She was taken to hospital, but later died.

Tauranga police have named a 68-year-old retired woman who died in a two-car-collision on State Highway 2, near the Maungutapu Bridge, a few kilometres east of Tauranga, about 5.35am today.

She was Diane Margaret Wilton-Jones, of Tauranga, Senior Sergeant Wayne Mills said.

An ambulance spokesman said another two people were taken to hospital, one with serious injuries and the other with minor injuries.

Ms Wilton-Jones was the fourth person to die on Bay of Plenty roads in two days.

Also this morning, the sole occupant of a car died after his vehicle flipped and rolled on Gabriels Gully Rd, Waiotahi, near Opotiki in Eastern Bay of Plenty. The crash happened at 1.19am, police said.

"It appears that the driver was thrown from the vehicle when it flipped off the road and into a paddock," police northern communications Inspector Lance Burdett said.

One person died in a head-on crash on SH 2 at Matata, 23km northwest of Whakatane, about 6pm on Thursday.

A man died about 5pm Thursday in Opotiki, after speeding through a police checkpoint. He ignored signals to stop, then crashed into a ditch about 200 metres down the road.

Yesterday afternoon, a woman died and two others suffered life-threatening injuries after a crash north of Queenstown.

Two vehicles with three occupants each collided head-on on Littles Rd, near Arthur's Point, 6km north of Queenstown about 4.20pm.

The woman, who died at the scene, was a passenger, police said. She was the first person to die on New Zealand roads this year.

On Wednesday a motorcyclist died after crashing on SH6 near Punakaiki, 42km northeast of Greymouth on the West Coast.

Picton man Murray John Roberts, 71, was killed on Monday when his car collided with another vehicle on SH1 southeast of Blenheim.

Ngaruawahia man Paul McLaughlin, 31, was killed in a crash in Waikato early on Christmas Day.

The holiday period began at 4pm on December 24 and ends at 6am on January 5.