trike Gift Voucher upgrade – Carlos, Don + Sue 17.10.24

Carlos was given a Gift Voucher for his 21st birthday. He decided to do a trike Gift Voucher upgrade. So instead of going on a Harley, he would do a trike tour with his dad. However, for a few reasons, our trike rider decided to take mum as well. They are from New Zealand, here for a holiday, so we tried to make it as fun as possible.

A very interesting (and proud) observation from Sue – “Sydney is the cleanest city I have ever seen”. She mentioned it quite a few times. That’s saying something, coming from New Zealand!!!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Firstly, they rode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Carlos really wanted to go over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We always tell our passengers to look up and enjoy the unique view. he more than 6,000,000 rivets are so interesting and the arch is so iconic. It’s nicknamed ‘The Coathanger’ because of its arch-based design. It is the largest steel arch bridge in the world. This bridge is the eighth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world’s widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until a bridge in Canada was completed in 2012.

Jacaranda trees

Not far from the northern end of the Bridge, is McDougall Street, Kirribilli. One of the most beautiful streets in Sydney with canopies of jacaranda trees. For six or so weeks (usually from mid-October before a peak in mid-November) the streets become filled with beautiful purple flowers gently falling on the footpaths like purple rain… it’s just stunning (ellaslist).

The funny thing about tourists of a certain nationality, is they jump out into the middle of the road. Not to take photos of the jacarandas but of the trike 😂 :-).

Kirribilli

Next, they rode past Kirribilli House. Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia. Further on is Admiralty House. It is the Sydney residence of the Governor-General and one of the most historic and important residences on Sydney Harbour. The house – originally called ‘Wotonga’ – was built in the mid 1800’s.

After that, they rode around the corner to Jeffrey Street Wharf. From here, the views across Sydney Harbour towards the Sydney Opera House and the CBD are magnificent. In addition, it also has an up-close view of the side and underneath of the bridge. A perfect place to stop for photos, it’s where this photo was taken.

The Kirribilli Loop

The loop is a fab thing to do, so they rode under the north side of the bridge and continued on their tour. The underside of the northern end of the SHB – Sydney Harbour Bridge – is very interesting. The Kirribilli Loop was finished by riding past Luna Park and the North Sydney Olympic Pool. Already, the trike Gift Voucher upgrade tour was showing our passengers some interesting and beautiful sights.

Then they rode southbound over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and through the city to Centennial Park.

Opera House

This brought them to the iconic Sydney Opera House. We can’t ride close but you can see it from a different angle to the usual. The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.

Centennial Park

Then, it was along the Eastern Distributor to the lovely Centennial Park. It was originally a swamp and then set aside as land for the water source for Sydney. Centennial Park was reconstructed as a public park and opened in 1888. Sir Henry Parkes’ vision was to create a ‘People’s Park’ in which the citizens of Sydney could ‘take in the air’ away from the Sydney town centre.

In it’s 130th year (2018), Centennial Park – the ‘People’s Park – has been honoured with an Australian National Heritage Listing. This elevates the Park to the status of other National Heritage places such as Bondi Beach, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Australian War Memorial.

‘Great Inaugural Procession’

Centennial Park has outstanding heritage value to the nation. It’s the site chosen for one of the defining events in Australia’s history: the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The inauguration event held at Centennial Park on 1 January 1901 was a key moment in Australia’s progression to a unified Commonwealth. The six colonies of South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland were brought together as one.

These actions marked the creation of a new democracy. From this moment, on 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia became a self-governing nation.

Queens Park

There are many gates into and out of Centennial Park, so they rode out the ones closest to Queens Park. Queens Park is a 26-hectare urban park, set in a natural amphitheatre at the foot of dramatic sandstone cliffs, with panoramic views of the Sydney region. It’s right next to the famous Centennial Park so they rode through it. So far, the family trike ride experience has already been fun and informative. Yes, the trike Gift Voucher upgrade was totally worth it!

Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve

Next, it was to the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve. This extends from the southern end of Bronte Beach to the rock baths at Coogee Beach and out to 100 m offshore. It covers an area of approximately 40 hectares and includes 4,000m of coastline.

The objectives of the aquatic reserve is:

1. conserve the biodiversity of fish and marine vegetation
2. protect fish habitat
3. facilitate educational activities
4. facilitate scientific research.

Tamarama Beach

Then, they rode further north to the tiny but picturesque Tamarama Beach. It’s lovely to look out to the South Pacific Ocean from any of the beaches. Initially known as Dixon Bay by early European settlers, the name was changed to Tamarama in the 1800s. Tamarama is probably a derivation of the Aboriginal name ‘Gamma Gamma’ (possibly meaning ‘storm’), which appeared on maps of the coastline in the 1860s by the Military or Naval Authority.

Bondi Beach

Finally, they arrived at the world famous Bondi Beach. They stopped at the south section for photos. Here, there is a lovely view overlooking the whole of Bondi Beach. Also, the iconic Bondi Icebergs is worth a stop. Then they rode to the middle of the world famous Bondi Beach. Yet another perfect place to stop for photos.

The beach was made extra famous by the TV series “Bondi Rescue” and is one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia. Bondi Beach is recorded by the Australian Museum that Bondi means place where a fight using boondi sticks (nullas nullas or fighting sticks) took place.

However, the hour was up so the trike rider dropped them off at Bondi Beach. Here, they were going to do the Bondi to Coogee Walk. The 6km walk takes two to three hours, depending on how often you stop. We have to be honest, we have only walked a small section of it. We’d rather ride 😂.

In conclusion, the trike Gift Voucher upgrade was so worth it! It’s much more fun with family, though it sure is fun by yourself on a Harley!

Check out the tour here. Just remember, every tour is unique!