fun grandfamily trike tour – Joan + Sofia 02.11.24

The fun grandfamily trike tour was for granddaughter and grandmother. From the UK, Joan comes to Sydney for a holiday every year to see her family. Her son organised the trike tour as fun experience for his daughter and his mum.

Martin Place

Pick up was at Martin Place. It is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney CBD. Martin Place has been described as the “civic heart” of Sydney. As home to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank, Westpac and other corporations, it is also a centre of business and finance. The Sydney GPO is also located on Martin Place.

The initial “Martin Place” was the section between George Street and Pitt Street, officially opened 1892, and was named in honour of Sir James Martin, the three time Premier of New South Wales and Chief Justice of Supreme Court of New South Wales. Slowly, more of it was closed to traffic and is now 473 m long.

Opera House

Firstly, they rode north and 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.

Macquarie Street

They did a few turns and headed south so they rode along Macquarie Street. It is the location of the main governmental institutions of NSW: Parliament House, Government House, and the Law Courts Building (which houses the Supreme Court of New South Wales). There is so much history behind Macquarie St. and the buildings that front it.

In the years since its founding in 1788, Sydney had developed organically, and by the early 1800s was lacking in major public buildings, and had a complex network of narrow streets. The supply of drinking water and waste management was also becoming an issue. Governor Macquarie initiated the construction of Sydney’s first public buildings of any real permanence and set the boundaries of Sydney’s grid of streets, laying out the street in 1810.

Mrs Macquarie’s Point

Next was Mrs Macquarie’s Point. It has beautiful views looking west towards the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They ride past Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of NSW. Already, the fun grandfamily trike tour was an informative and memorable experience.

Art Gallery of NSW

Also along this road is the Art Gallery of NSW. It’s beautiful historic sandstone buildings were built between 1896 and 1909. The Art Gallery of New South Wales began without a collection and without a building on 24 April 1871 when a group of 30 art-loving citizens established a society to support artists and promote knowledge and enjoyment of art in the wider community. In 1874 they secured government support for their project and by 1880 they had their own dedicated building, the first of its kind in Australia.

Woolloomooloo, Harry’s and Garden Island

Further on, Woolloomooloo is known for Finger Wharf, an old cargo dock that attracts a trendy clientele with fine dining, hip bars and water views on all sides. It also has the famous Harry Cafe De Wheels which has been serving customers for over 80 years. They make delicious pies, hotdogs and more. Lots of interesting photos are on the walls, mostly of famous celebrities who have visited over the years. They rode past Garden Island which is the location of a major Royal Australian Navy base. Then it was up the hill and into Potts Point.

Kings Cross

Continuing on, they rode through the infamous Kings Cross, though it has calmed down a lot since it’s heyday – home of the famous and huge Coca Cola sign. Kings Cross is also home to nightclubs and ladies of the night though it is not nearly as raunchy as it was in the 1970s (apparently).

Eastern suburbs

Heading east was next, through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay.

North Bondi and Ben Buckler Point Lookout

They headed further east to the famous Bondi Beach. There are a couple of lookouts at the North Bondi headland. They all offer beautiful views of Bondi Beach and out to the Tasman Sea, part of the South Pacific Ocean. The rider stopped here for a few photos and so they could admire the view.

Bondi Beach

Slightly south, and it was past the world famous Bondi Beach. Here, there is a lovely view overlooking the whole of Bondi Beach. 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. Even our passengers knew about “Bondi Rescue”.

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.

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.

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 fun grandfamily trike tour experience has already been very fun and informative.

Centennial Park

There are many gates into and out of Centennial Park, so they rode in through the ones closest to Queens Park. Centennial Park 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.

Oxford Street

There was enough time to ride down the famous Oxford Street. The western section of Oxford Street, which runs through the suburbs of Paddington and Darlinghurst, is widely recognised as Sydney’s main gay district and Oxford Street is closed to traffic once a year in early March for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Hyde Park

Then, it was past Australia’s oldest park which is also one of the most well-known. Hyde Park offers 16 hectares of wide open space in the heart of central Sydney.

The Anzac Memorial

Lastly, they rode past the Anzac Memorial at the southern end of Hyde Park. It honours all who served in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) during the WW1, including those who had returned.

However, the 1.5 hrs was up so they were dropped back at Martin place. In conclusion, the fun grandfamily trike tour was exactly that. The organiser emailed us, “…They thoroughly enjoyed the ride and said the rider was a brilliant guide…”.

Check out the tour here but remember, every tour is unique.