Abby (front) and Christian Jensen had the company of the MV Wairua on their Whanganui River paddle.
Whanganui put on a cracker New Year's Day, with people heading to beaches, parks and the river to enjoy the sun and chill out with family and friends.
It was a quiet start to the day at the Kai Iwi Beach Holiday Park, with many visitors heading off early to the nearby beach.
"We have mainly families here and it's been pretty busy," owner Jeff Sims said.
"We've put in a jumping pad this year and that's been a big hit with the kids. It's our third summer here and it's taken a couple of years to get the park where we want it. We've done up the amenity blocks and we have the burger shop that's open at weekends. It's been busy and popular."
Sims said the holiday park was popular with Whanganui people who wanted a holiday at the beach.
"About 80 per cent are locals or people associated with locals," he said.
Ian Pfefferle was camping at Kai Iwi with family and friends from Feilding and Palmerston North.
"We come here quite regularly," Pfefferle said.
"It's a nice camp and a good beach. We had a good New Year's Eve and we'll just kick back and relax a bit today."
The Whanganui River Top 10 Holiday Park at Aramoho had a busy week over the Christmas-New Year period, manager Jeannie Kay said.
"We've got lots of young families and children here and it was nice and peaceful by midnight on New Year's Eve," Kay said.
"The majority are Kiwis at this time of year but we also had a number of overseas guests."
Abby and Christian Jensen, Australians currently living in Cambridge and soon to move to Wellington, were enjoying their stay.
"We've seen nearly all of the North Island in two years but we've never been to Whanganui," Abby said.
Christian said the family planned to explore more of the lower North Island before visiting the South Island on future trips and their new base in Wellington would make that more convenient.
"We bought a 4WD and a caravan so we've been taking that on trips - it will be easier to get it on the ferry when we're in Wellington," Abby said.
The Jensens and their two children were accompanied by Christian's parents who flew over from Brisbane for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.
Abby, Christian and father Gary Jensen went for a New Year's morning kayak on the Whanganui River where they were delighted to see the MV Wairua passing.
"It's a nice, quiet spot here," Gary said.
"We did the [Waimarie] paddlesteamer trip up the river yesterday which was quite good and went into town to do some shopping. We're going to go to the beach and I want to try to do some fishing. On Wednesday we'll have a look at the [Durie Hill] tower and tunnel."
Deb Charlton, of Dannevirke, was at the Top 10 Holiday Park with her two grandchildren, other family and friends.
"We used to have family in Whanganui and came here a lot but they moved away," Charlton said.
"We were so used to coming here, we decided to come over to camp for four nights."
Her friend Sarah Heald, also from Dannevirke, said she and her family had not stayed in Whanganui before.
"We stayed up and celebrated New Year and now we're just chilling out with the kids," Charlton said.
"I'll be going on to TripAdvisor. I couldn't fault this Top 10. I'm very impressed with it and it's a nice size."
Charlton's son Matt and Heald's husband Pete were ready for a pre-lunch beer after soaking up some sun with the family by the pool.
They said it had been a good New Year and they had enjoyed meeting some of the other guests at the holiday park.
