By Cleo Fraser
About 1300 people are camped out near Te Tii Marae, Bay of Islands, in preparation for Waitangi celebrations.
There was no sign of the hostility some are predicting for today, as friends shared cups of tea, kids played and people greeted each other with a hongi at the Waitangi Holiday Park near the marae in Paihia.
However, things may heat up on when all eyes are on Prime Minister John Key as he is welcomed onto the marae this morning.
Controversy over asset sales and job cuts at Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Maori Development, have raised tensions ahead of the annual event at Waitangi's Te Tii Marae in the Bay of Islands.
Mana Party leader Hone Harawira told NZ Newswire he hoped Mr Key got the message that Maori would not budge when it came to treaty obligations by the Crown or he would "have a fight on his hands".
Mr Key planned to raise the asset sales issue with iwi leaders on the marae.
Leader of the Opposition David Shearer is expected at the marae after Mr Key has made his way to the treaty grounds.
Leaders from the Mana Party, the Maori Party and the Greens are also expected among others.
A dawn service will be held on Waitangi Day on Monday, followed by a waka demonstration, church service, kapa haka performance and gun salute.
Signed in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document which established British law while at the same time guaranteeing Maori authority over their land and culture.
Camp organisers said numbers were down from last year but more people were expected to arrive on Sunday ahead of the celebrations on Waitangi Day.
NZN