Palmerston North, more commonly known as “Palmy”, is widely acclaimed as a student-oriented city. Being geographically located at the center of New Zealand, the city is home to all the major educational and research institutes of New Zealand; It’s just because of these institutes that students form about 1/3rd of Palmerston North’s total population. Massey University, the University College of Learning, and the International Pacific college are some of the popular universities in the city of Palmerston North.
The campus of Massey University also encloses the Adidas Institute of Rugby; the sole purpose of this Rugby institute is to improve the rugby skills of All Blacks (New Zealand’s esteemed rugby team). Furthermore, the city was named in honor of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Viscount Palmerston. But the suffix “North” was later added in 1871 by the Post Office, in order to distinguish it from the Palmerston township in the South Island.
Popular trips you can take from Palmerston North with a one-way rental car –