A Pavlovich bus carrying passengers returning from Tauranga to Auckland found itself on a road to nowhere over the weekend.

It appears the GPS system led the driver down an unsuitable route for a bus which got marooned on the corner of Waitawheta and Swetman roads near Waihi yesterday afternoon.

A Pavolivch bus became stranded at the corner of Waitawheta and Swetman roads near Waihi on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Maree Hudson.

It's reported the bus was carrying passengers on a day trip to Tauranga and was making the return journey to Auckland.

No-one on board was injured in the incident but the road was blocked and traffic diverted for several hours.

Waitawheta Rd local Bonnie Hudson says she came across the buss while returning home from Hamilton.

'He was completely stuck right across the road so no-one could get past. It looked like the driver tried to reverse and bottomed out

'The driver said his GPS told him to go up Swetman Rd, which is a dead end, and it was too late for the poor bugger when he discovered it was the wrong way.”

Bonnie says a number of locals and a tow truck attempted but were unable to shift the bus. Police were notified with one officer arriving on scene an hour later to manage traffic.

Waitawheta and Swetman are 'real dinky” roads that are not suitable for heavy vehicles like busses.

But this is not the first time drivers of heavy vehicle, who are possibly using GPS systems, have been caught out by these roads, she says.

'Quite a lot of non-locals use Waitawheta Rd, and Swetman Rd is gravel, but quite a lot of trucks get sent down there.

'GPS takes you on the shortest or fastest route and Waitawheta Rd is often used by people as a shortcut instead of going through Waihi. I really feel for the bus driver.”

Another bus was eventually sent to the scene to collect the stranded passengers, says Bonnie.

Pavlovich Coachlines are now investigating the cause of the incident, which would take up to two-days.

Chief executive Bernard Pavlovich says the driver eventually returned to their Auckland depot at about 11pm last night.

'No-one was harmed and police have been informed.

'Things go wrong and it often takes a bit of time…it's just one of those things. Cars get stuck in all sorts of places at times.”

Bernard says 'it is clearly obvious to anyone” that it was an unfortunate mistake and Pavlovich do not 'go out to do this sort of thing as a matter of purpose.”

He adds that many of the company's bus drivers, like most Kiwi motorists, used GPS systems to navigate their routes.

As the matter was now being handled internally and Bernard was unable to offer further comment.

The corner of Waitawheta and Swetman roads near Waihi. Image: Courtesy of Google Maps