The trike tour Christmas present was a surprise! Kat bought the 2 hour tour for her mum and stepfather. They are in Sydney for a holiday and to visit Julie’s sister who lives here. Her sister helped organise this experience and was so excited herself, that she will book a ride for herself one day!
Our passengers love history so we picked them up at the Rocks.
The Rocks
The Rocks is such an interesting place in/of Sydney. It’s the most historic place in Australia, the Rocks. It is a neighbourhood of historic laneways in the shadow of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Rocks became established shortly after the colony’s formation in 1788 so it is the oldest residential, developed area in Australia – the birthplace of modern Sydney. With the arrival of European settlers in 1788, it was here that the convicts first set up house and shop.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Firstly, they rode 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.
McMahons Point
Secondly, they turned off and rode on through Milsons Point, did a left hand turn and rode up a few streets. This lead to McMahons Point. The views over Blues Bay towards the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the CBD are just stunning. All the more stunning because of the lovely weather. A perfect place for photos. Already, the trike tour Christmas present was showing some beautiful sights of Sydney.
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. What a great view of the Sydney Opera House!
The Kirribilli Loop
Then, 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. Another perfect place to stop for photos, it’s where this photo was taken.
Back over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, through the city and along Macquarie St.
Macquarie Street
This street, 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.
St Mary’s Cathedral
Past St Mary’s Cathedral was next. It’s very impressive, even when riding past. It’s a Gothic Revival architectural building which opened in 1928. It took from 1866 to 1928 to build and has a height of 75m.
Art Gallery of NSW
Turning left, along Mrs Macquaries 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.
They were heading to Mrs Macquarie’s Point however, the road was closed getting ready for the New Years celebration.
Domain
Next, they rode through the city and past the Domain. The Domain is a heritage-listed 34-hectare (84-acre) area of open space located on the eastern fringe of the Sydney CBD.
Woolloomooloo, Harry’s and Garden Island
The inner eastern suburb of Woolloomoolloo has the famous Harry Cafe De Wheels. Harry’s Café de Wheels 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 and up the hill through Potts Point.
Kings Cross
Further 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
Continuing on, they headed west through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay. So far, on the trike tour Christmas present the passengers have seen so many beautiful places.
Bondi Beach
Next, they drove past the world famous Bondi Beach, the south side is closed for the moment, due to Sculptures by the Sea. This is the beach where Bondi Lifeguards of the Bondi Rescue TV series is filmed. When in Sydney it is one of the places you should visit. The beach is seriously nice (but not our favourite) and often we stop near the lifeguard station, made famous by the TV series “Bondi Rescue”. Bondi Beach 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.
Today, we stopped at South Bondi. Here, there is a lovely view looking north, overlooking the whole of Bondi Beach. It’s where this photo was taken.
Tamarama + Bronte
Riding further south, along more beautiful, though possibly less well known, beaches. The suburb of Tamarama has a small ocean beach about 1 kilometre south of Bondi Beach and a couple of hundred metres north of Bronte Beach. It is an extremely narrow beach and deceptive for its size. Tamarama Beach is often referred to as Glamarama (or Glamourama), owing to the alleged abundance of glamorous people who sunbathe (often topless), on what must be one of the smallest strips of sand in the state (Wikipedia).
Bronte Beach sits on Nelson Bay, surrounded by Bronte Park. Bronte offers scenic cliff-top walking paths south to Coogee via the Waverley Cemetery and north to Tamarama and Bondi Beach.
Queens Park
Next, the trike rider turned west and past Queens Park. It 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 the gates and into Centennial Park. The 50th birthday trike tour – what a way to celebrate!
Centennial Park
It is interesting riding through the huge Centennial Park is a lovely experience. 120 fields and venues, and 35+ different sports played in the Centennial Parklands. It is the largest community sports precinct in Australia! The history is also interesting: “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.”
Oxford Street
There was enough time to ride down the famous Oxford Street. The western section of Oxford Street, which runs through the suburb of 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.
Circular Quay
Finally, they rode to Circular Quay. Often referred to as the “gateway to Sydney”, the precinct has views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House and is a common location for viewing Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks. It hosts a number of ferry wharves, bus stops, and a railway station.
Circular Quay was built by convicts between 1837 and 1844 on the site of the first colonial settlement at Sydney Cove. Sandstone blocks were used to construct an artificial shoreline on what were originally mudflats.
However, the 2 hours was up so our trike rider dropped them off so they could continue exploring our beautiful city of Sydney. In conclusion, the trike tour Christmas present was a fun and memorable experience – the best Christmas present ever! Feel the Freedom!
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