Coronavirus: 'Dunkirk-style' Cook Strait crossing planned to bolster anti-mandate protest this weekend

More protesters are expected to arrive in Wellington this weekend to take part in the anti-mandate demonstration outside Parliament.

Some are even expected to arrive by sea in a 'Dunkirk-style' crossing from Picton.

It comes as the protest nears the end of its 17th day of running.

But the protesters need to find a vessel and a skipper to help them cross Cook Strait.

"Well obviously for a start I'm going to need a boat," says protester Logan Evans.

"So I was wondering, 'Russell Coutts, what are you up to'. There is no one else I'd rather go to sea with than Russell Coutts."

While people can turn up in Wellington Harbour and drop people off, you can't park your boat long term, which is why the harbourmaster is urging protesters to have a plan.

"When I hear talk of flotillas and people bringing their weekend fizz boat up, that concerns me. The Cook Strait is not a good place for them," says Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder.

On Thursday, dozens of protesters pushed and pulled a concrete block out of the way to allow 20 more cars back into the protest area.

Police on Bowen St struggled to hold back the crowd and the cars.

The offer of free parking at Sky Stadium expires on Thursday, which perhaps prompted demonstrators to move their cars back into the camp. But if they're there, cars are at risk of being towed.

The Insurance Council says any loss or damage from towing will not be covered by insurance.  

Police on Thursday afternoon reinforced their barricades as they marched behind a forklift wearing riot gear in case of confrontation. 

Hundreds of officers stood guard while they added more concrete bollards to the perimeter, which sparked a standoff but there were no major scuffles.

It's scenes like those some Wellingtonians are fed up with.

A new anti-protest group is spreading the love for affected workers and is calling for protesters to go home.

"We will stand against the far-right messaging, the people made to feel unsafe, the assaults and violence that have gone on around it," says Lauren Hourigan from Aotearoa Stronger Together.

While another group has created a video to highlight some of the messaging from protesters.

"FACT [Fight Against Conspiracy Theories Aotearoa] is very simply asking for the protest organisers and attendees and those that support them to denounce the extreme elements that are in attendance," says Lee Gingold of FACT.

Parliament also was announced as a close contact location of interest on Thursday, with people there during most hours of the weekend asked to self-isolate.