The two people who wanted to be the next Prime Minister joined hundreds of thousands of people in casting their votes.
National Party leader John Key cast his ballot in the Auckland electorate of Epsom.
Mr Key and his wife Bronagh voted at Parnell District School, with Mr Key welcoming the blue skies after recent bad weather.
Mr Key, who stood in the northwest electorate of Helensville, said Saturday was a quiet day for him compared with the past eight weeks.
Labour leader Helen Clark cast her vote in her Mt Albert electorate in Auckland.
Miss Clark waited in line along with her husband Peter Davis, and placed her voting papers in the ballot box in front of a large media contingent.
She said she was very happy to queue with other voters at Kowhai Intermediate School, where she has voted at every election since she entered parliament in 1981.
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons cast her vote in the tiny Kauaeranga Hall, east of Thames.
She said she was looking forward to getting out into the garden on the sunny day.
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples voted at a school in Manurewa, surrounded by family members.
He said he hoped the fine weather in Auckland would bring out a record number of voters.
His co-leader, Tariana Turia, voted at a school near her home town, Wanganui. She spent the day celebrating her aunt's birthday.
ACT leader Rodney Hide took time out from reading a book to vote, along with his parents, near their home in the Tamaki electorate.
The Epsom MP said election days are a bit of an anti-climax after weeks of campaigning.
