weekly farmer's market). Outdoor leisure activities dominate, with beaches, river, mountain biking, tramping, and golf, being popular. In summer, many large-scale events attract domestic tourists including the Spring Racing Carnival, The Blossom Parade, Harvest Hawkes Bay Weekend, and various concerts and events. The Blossom Festival was once a large national event in the mid-20th century, with charter trains from Wellington and Auckland coming for the event. This however has slowly declined in popularity. Hastings' specialist attractions include: New Zealand's largest water park, called 'Splash Planet', which replaced 'Fantasyland' near the turn of the millennium, Cape Kidnappers (the world's largest mainland gannet colony), Te Mata Peak, and access to an abundance of nature reserves and mountain treks. Education Hastings, Flaxmere and Havelock North have secondary schools, and Hastings and Havelock North also have intermediate schools. Some secondary schools in Hastings and Havelock North are single-sex, but there are also co-educational secondary schools in those areas. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Wananga Whare Tapere o Takitimu is a Māori language immersion school in the Parkvale suburb of Hastings. Sister cities Hastings has had a sister city relationship with Guilin in China since 1981. References External links Districts of New Zealand Hastings District