Two drivers are thankful their vehicles were not flooded by rising tide waters after their 4WDs got stuck in Tauranga Harbour.

The vehicles got stuck on the mudflats at the end of Grace Road on Monday night.

The men driving these vehicles were making the most of low tide.

A witness, who did not wish to be named, told SunLive the green Toyota got stuck first and the Land Rover got stuck when it tried to haul the Toyota out.

He believes the driver of the green Toyota was doing doughnuts on the mudflats.

'The tide was coming in and it would have been about an inch off the passenger door when they finally got it out,” he says.

A tow truck was called to winch both vehicles out from a safe position on solid ground.

About 15 to 20 people gathered nearby to watch the rescue, which took about two hours.

'Everyone thought it was a bit of a laugh. I could see by the angle that it wasn't good,” the witness says.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to try and dig the green Toyota out before the driver of the Land Rover was called.

'They are quite lucky they missed the water. Another 10 or 15 minutes and the vehicles would have been flooded.”

The motorists involved did not wish to be named.