2 minute read
What to see & do in Hastings
IT’S THE LARGEST TOWNSHIP IN HAWKE’S BAY AND A LIVELY MECCA OF SEASIDE OPTIMISM, ART DECO AND OVER 2200 HOURS OF ANNUAL SUNSHINE. YOU’LL BE HOOKED FROM THE GET-GO.
1. ARCHITECTURE
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The unique streets include art deco, Spanish mission/stripped classical architecture. A detailed self-guided walks’ brochure can be picked up from Hastings Information Centre.
2. HASTINGS CITY ART GALLERY
At Civic Square. It’s free to visit and stoically guarded by Nga Pou O Heretaunga: 18 impressive Māori carvings each representing an ancestor from the area.
3. FOCAL POINT CINEMA
With its fabulous art deco facade, watching a flick here feels deliciously retro.
4. HAWKE’S BAY FARMERS’ MARKET
Hastings is home to the longest running market in New Zealand. Buzzing every Sunday from 8.30am, pop down to A&P Showgrounds on Kenilworth Rd to sample the region’s freshest produce.
Hastings town centre © Getty Images
5. SPLASH PLANET
New Zealand’s only water-theme park is just seven minutes from central Hastings.
6. ARATAKI HONEY BEE CENTRE
Head 10 minutes out of town and discover what makes a queen bee tick, lock lips with gooey samples and learn more about the important role of bees in our food chain. Entry is free.
7. HAWKE’S BAY FARMYARD ZOO
Home to an impressive array of friendly animals, as well as pony rides, petting and feeding. Located by the sea, 15 minutes from the heart of Hastings.
8. HASTINGS DISTILLERS
As New Zealand’s first producer of certified organic artisan spirits and liqueurs, The Tasting Room is housed in a 1930s building on the slick East 200 block of Heretaunga St.
9. TE MATA PEAK
Catch the sunrise from the summit. This great swathe of rippled land stands 399km high, with an enchanting redwood forest at its nape. Twenty minutes from Hastings.
Cape Kidnappers’ golf course © Hawke’s Bay Tourism
ON THE DOORSTEP...
HAVELOCK NORTH is nestled at the base of Te Mata Peak and jam-packed with village-style niceties. The weekly growers’ market is held every Saturday at Black Barn Vineyard over summer and a big bag of sugar-loaded goodness from Birdwoods Gallery and Sweet Shop is always a must. Keirunga Gardens boasts a brilliant miniature train that winds through its flora via tiny tunnels and bridges, and you’ll also find acclaimed vineyards such as Craggy Range and Te Mata Estate here.
CAPE KIDNAPPERS Take a short 35-minute drive from Hastings to Cape Kidnappers. This jagged white bluff slides into the Pacific Ocean cliff-by-cliff, leaving great toothy boulders exposed. Come September, the clifftops are seized by the world’s largest mainland colony of gannets, where they stay until April. You can also walk here from Clifton via a 10km coastal walkway, but the best option is to book a tour combining Cape Kidnappers with the Ocean Beach Wildlife Preserve, a 2500-hectare predator-free sanctuary.
Main Image: Hastings town centre © Getty Images
