Dinner for the fellow campers: A family's holiday tradition in Napier

The Wards and Wilsons have made a Napier campground their summer spot for more than a decade.

Down a wee lane called Mussel Ave at Napier Beach Kiwi Holiday Park in Bay View, lie two special camping spots the families claim as their own.

Pamela and Basil Ward join their daughter Rachel Wilson along with her husband Simon and daughters Jodie and Nicole every year for a camping holiday in Hawke's Bay.

"We usually come up here for the weather," Ward laughs.

"But it hasn't exactly been playing ball for the last few days.

"My granddaughters have pretty much grown up camping and they've always come here. We used to pass them through the window of the caravan when they were babies."

The Wards hail from Pahiatua, while the Wilsons come from Feilding, but their loyalty to Hawke's Bay remains strong.

The family host a dinner every time they visit the campsite, with additional happy campers getting in on the social event every year.

"This time was a little quieter than usual because of the weather, but we managed to block off the entire road once because there was so many people. It's just a great way to meet everyone, the kids make friends and there's so many great activities to do around here as well," Wilson says.

"There's a few permanent residents who live in the camp too, so they always come along, it's always really great catching up with them."

Although the traditional dinners with a few bottles of beer don't change, Ward says it's been fascinating seeing how much Hawke's Bay has changed and grown over the years.

"It's really buzzing now and there's no shortage of activities. We usually go swimming in Pandora Pond and do a lot of bike trails, not to mention the shopping.

"Even though we're visiting Hawke's Bay we always spot a few people from Manawatu in the campsite and the girls end up making friends with them."

While Wards and Wilsons gather people together for some Christmas cheer the Hawke's Bay Holiday Park in Bay View also hosts its own traditional dinner for all campers who visit the holiday park.

"As you know the weather was pretty miserable this year, but we had about 40 campers sit under the shelter for a meal and it was really lovely. We get a lot of backpackers from overseas, so I think it really made their day," manager Vicky Stewart says.

"We've been running the park for about three years, and it's just a really nice thing to do for people when they're on holiday."