The Beach Camp is tucked away just 1km from the town and it is a hidden secret that locals are keen to keep that way.
Shona MacKay who was born and bred in Patea and her family have been camping there for the past 20 years, even though the campground is just 3km from their letter box at home.
But Mrs MacKay doesn't think that's at all strange.
"You'd be hard pushed to find a more beautiful and peaceful place. We love it here. If the kids get bored they can head home for a while, watch a DVD and come back again."
The MacKay camp consists of a large caravan and awning with two fridges and serves as the food prep area and the pantry. A tent-style gazebo is the dining room complete with large barbecue and a plastic paddling pool filled with cold water throughout the day to soothe hot feet when necessary.
Then there are three tents, two large and one small which are the family bedrooms.
"We're very comfortable here and of course being in this bowl-like area means you don't get the wind. The river and the beach are right here."
Mrs MacKay laughs when she said it probably does seem weird to most people that they just move down the road after Christmas Day for their annual beach holiday.
"We love it. This is our perfect holiday."
But now her children are older they have asked if maybe the family could go somewhere else for a change.
"I just tell them they can go anywhere they like when they're grown up.
"Fine by me because we'll still be here."
The camp has about 50 powered and unpowered camp sites, three cabins and a large amenities block.
Hennie van Deventer said he fell in love with the place the minute he saw it four years ago after seeing an ad in the local newspaper.
"This is a very special place."
The camp is pretty much fully booked full to bursting over the Christmas and New Year break with regular bookings through to May, he said.
And pets are also welcome.
A big hit with the children is catching flounder from the river and, for keen fishermen, heading out to sea and arriving back with boat full of snapper.
To ensure the children land their catches, the van Deventers keep a good store of worms in pots and hand them out to the young fisherfolk.
For Lower Hutt couple Murray and Donna Hey , teenage son Logan and two dogs, Patea camp has been a treat.
"We try to take our caravan somewhere different every year and Patea has been a real find for us. We love it. It's a little treasure."
Mr van Deventer said this year most of the international tourists coming in had been French.
"And there's a bit of a change now because many of them seem to be driving late-model cars and bringing tents instead of motor homes."
Over the past year he has cleared land at the back of the land which was covered in bracken, weeds and scrawny trees, to make extra space.
"And it's all booked up already."
He plans to turn the cabins into en suite accommodation and build more cabins and is setting up a recreation hall in one of the old classrooms from Waverley High High School, which was demolished last year.
"It was a funny thing that I was in Waverley weeks ago I saw the old tech drawing room on the back of a truck. I asked the driver where he was taking it and he said, 'Why, do you want to buy it?' I said 'yes' so he delivered it here the next day."
The mood around the camp was all about relaxation. There was that real old days Kiwi beach feeling, everyone strolling about in shorts and jandals and little kids with sunburned, peeling noses.
The only modern intrusion was the sound of boats towing sea biscuits in the background.
