Andrew Feldon, with 3-year-old son Luke Feldon, from Palmerston North, is a regular at the Eskdale Holiday Park along with friends and family. Photo / Paul Taylor
Andrew Feldon, with 3-year-old son Luke Feldon, from Palmerston North, is a regular at the Eskdale Holiday Park along with friends and family. Photo / Paul Taylor
Spotty showers, a bitter wind, and a chance of thunderstorms.
Hawke's Bay's leaving 2020 behind with a bout of miserable weather that's made camping unpleasant and pushed holidaymakers off the streets.
The run of unsettled weather is set to continue right up until the region rings in the new year, but there's hope on the horizon, with a fine, sunny New Year's Day to start what many in this pandemic-hit world hope will be a brighter 2021.
But even though they've been exposed to the elements in tents, it's hard to keep the Feldons downcast.
Arriving on Boxing Day, Andrew Feldon and his family have been regular campers at the Eskdale Holiday Park for more than 10 years.
Feldon said he was "a little bit disappointed" with the weather this year, especially as he'd managed to persuade a few "newbies" to come along after bragging about the region's usually nice weather.
"It's not been the most enjoyable this time. It's been a bit cold.
"We were looking at going to Splash Planet but with the breeze being pretty cool, we might find alternate things to do."
Feldon said they liked coming back to the holiday park because it was a little bit off the beaten track and not as busy as many other sites.
"David and Ashley who run the place are always welcoming.
"It's a nice family crowd. There's quite a group of us and we make up our own little communal area."
Most in their group of about 30 had pitched tents, though one family had come in a caravan, he said.
Planning to head home to Palmerston North on Thursday, Feldon said they would make the most of the few fine spells with a bit of swimming and lawn games at the camp site.
Yulia Karmanova and Ruslan Zaripov, originally from Russia but now living in Auckland, were caught off guard by the cold of Hawke's Bay.
The pair made the trip down from Auckland, through Tauranga and Gisborne and were only stopped in Hawke's Bay on Monday before heading off to Tongariro.
"It's just like winter," Karmanova said.
It was her first time to the region and she was surprised to find the towns mostly empty.
"I love wine so we wanted to check out some local wineries.
It was the first time in the Bay for Yulia Karmanova and Ruslan Zaripov, originally from Russia but now living in Auckland. Photo / Paul Taylor
Staying at the Bay View Hotel and Holiday Park, Karmanova still found it to be a beautiful area and was hoping to come back again in the new year to cycle the wine trails and "enjoy the sun".
"Hopefully the weather will be fine for New Year's."
The forecast for the rest of the week looks relatively mixed.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said there was still a little bit of uncertainty as to what's going to happen.
A ridge pushing over the country with a low-pressure system developing to the east was a "recipe for reasonably unsettled weather".
On Tuesday night there was the possibility of a few afternoon and evening thunderstorms, mainly in the north of the Wairoa district.
James said campers and those in tents should watch out for hail which might accompany the thunderstorms.
He said rainfall was not expected to be significant across the region, and showers should clear by Thursday evening, with winds dying down and relatively fine spells expected on Friday and Saturday.
"It's not looking too bad for New Year's."
While temperatures were cooler than average, with highs of 18C for Napier and Hastings on Monday, things would begin to thaw over the course of the week.
Temperatures would reach 21C to 22C on New Year's Eve, and climb to 23C to 24C on New Year's Day.
