Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!

On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before the concert kicked off at 6:30pm with outstanding warm up ‘Ny Oh’, followed by ‘Wet Leg’, before Harry Styles took to the stage, just after sunset, and the whole stadium got to their feet, opened their lungs to scream, cheer and sing along, without once thinking about sitting down – such was the intense energy filling the open air stadium.

We stayed in Parnell, an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland known for its upscale boutiques, galleries and dining options and cafes. Footpaths and bike trails lead across the parklands of Auckland Domain. Within the park, the Auckland War Memorial Museum focuses on volcanoes and Maori history, and the Domain Winter gardens house exotic plants.

Whilst our daughter Sophie and her friend headed off for a little shopping in the city centre, my husband, our youngest daughter and I meandered through the Auckland Domain to the museum, where we came face to face with the incredible T-Rex skeletons of ‘Barbara and Peter’, two of the rarest, real T-Rex skeletons ever discovered.

After enjoying the museum’s exhibitions we walked back to our hotel, stopping for sushi for lunch, to meet up with Sophie and her friend, complete our census paperwork and get ready to head to the concert!

It was an incredible concert, we all had a blast and loved every moment. The next morning we checked out of our accommodation and headed for a big breakfast in a lovely area of Auckland, Saint Heliers, where we could walk on the beach, enjoy the sunshine and views of Rangitoto Island, the distinctive volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf.