Palmerston North

Palmerston North (Māori: Te Papaioea) is a city in the Manawatu district of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It's the home of the largest campuses of Massey University and the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) and also the Institute of the Pacific United (IPU), making Palmerston North a student-oriented city.

Understand


Palmerston North has a population of 80,000, of which about 18,000 are students. It is the seventh largest city in New Zealand and is the largest provincial city in the region. It is also the home of the Linton Military Camp and has the Air Force Base, Ohakea, close by. The Adidas Institute of Rugby, based at Massey University, focuses on improving the skills of the All Blacks, the national rugby union team, though sightings of them there are rare.

Originally named Palmerston, the city was renamed Palmerston North in 1871 by the Post Office to distinguish it from the town of Palmerston in the South Island. Another common name used by the native Māori inhabited is Papaioea.

Visitor information




By car
Palmerston North is 7 hr by car from Auckland and 2 hr from the capital, Wellington. The city is located on State Highway 3 (SH 3), with State Highways 56 and 57 passing close by.


 * From Auckland, follow State Highway 1 south to Sanson, then follow State Highway 3. You'll approach the city from the north.
 * From Napier and Hastings, follow State Highway 2 south to Woodville, then follow State Highway 3. You'll approach the city from the east.
 * From Wellington, follow State Highway 1 north, turning off onto State Highway 57 just south of Levin. North of Shannon, you have two options: continue following State Highway 57 to approach the city from the south, or turn off onto State Highway 56 to approach it from the west.

By bus

 * Intercity offers the cheapest land transport option into Palmerston North with fares starting at $1 if you book early enough.

By train
Palmerston North is on the main railway line between Auckland and Wellington.


 * Northern Explorer, several days a week. See the article on rail travel in New Zealand for more detail.

Get around
Palmerston North is built around The Square. Railway lines used to run through the Square to the station, goods and shunting yards on Main Street west. This proved to be extremely impractical so the station was moved in 1964-66 and the site was turned into a park, known as the Railway Land. The roads radiating outwards from the Square are so wide because they used to accommodate the railway tracks.

Most places are easily accessible by foot.

By bus
Horizons Regional Council has local bus timetables.

By bicycle
One of the advantages of Palmerston North is that it is compact, flat and easy to cycle around. The main educational institutions have cycle-lanes from the city centre. The main route to Massey University along Fitzherbert Avenue is packed with cyclists every morning.

Buy

 * Check out the specialist boutiques along George Street.

Eat
Palmerston North has more eating out places per head of population than anywhere else in NZ.


 * Downtown Centre Foodcourt. Wide selection.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Downtown Centre Foodcourt. Wide selection.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.
 * Stage Door Cafe now also has a Mini cafe in the UCOL Atrium.



Go next
From centrally located Palmerston North it's an easy 2-3 hr drive to the wineries of Martinborough and Hawke's Bay, the skifields of the Central Plateau and the Art Deco buildings of Napier.
 * Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay with its wineries
 * Feilding – nearby to the north
 * Shannon – nearby to the south-west
 * Masterton and on to the Martinborough wineries in the Wairarapa
 * Whanganui
 * Central North Island - Whakapapa and Turoa skifields, and on to Taupo