You are here: / / / / November

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.

Book here!

10 facts about Sydney that’ll blow your mind

01 November 2024. If you’re the type of traveller who really likes to get to grips with a destination’s hidden histories and sordid secrets, you’re in luck! Sydney is brimming with brilliant revelations below its sun-soaked, café-strewn surface. Here are 10 facts about Sydney…

We’re not just talking mildly interesting figures on how much it cost to construct the Sydney Opera House. Or basic titbits about how long Sydney has officially been dubbed a metropolis. Instead, we’ve dug deep into the history of this awesome Aussie city! Bringing you 10 facts about Sydney that’ll really blow your mind (promise).

1. Sydney was not the original name choice for the city

Believe it or not, Sydney wasn’t the first choice for this iconic city’s title. Back in 1788, when the first colony was founded at Sydney Cove, the fleet’s commander Captain Arthur Philip wanted to dub it New Albion. He was overruled in favour of naming the region city after Lord Sydney. Lord Sydney is the wily British home secretary who first came up with the idea of banishing convicts all the way in the Land Down Under.

Despite the fact he never even set foot on Australian soil, we still reckon it’s a whole lot catchier than Albion.

2. Trendy Surry Hills used to be the base of a female-run crime syndicate

While it’s now known for its hip brunch spots and charming village vibe, Surry Hills wasn’t always so salubrious. Sydney was founded as a convict colony. So it won’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that crime was rife during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, its wayward inhabitants – including two rival female mobsters – helped earn it the (awesome or awful?) nickname “Sin City” in the 1920s. Surry Hills was the headquarters of one such gang. Specifically the Frog Hollow slum that’s now an attractive nature reserve on the corner of Albion Street and Riley Street.

3. There’s a massive underground lake beneath one of the city’s train stations

If you find yourself catching a train in or out of St James station on the edge of Sydney’s Hyde Park, consider this: that platform you’re impatiently waiting for your train to pull into is likely located right above an enormous subterranean lake. We. Kid. You. Not.

The huge body of water is a kilometre long. Formed after one of the station’s four disused underground tunnels was flooded.

Once a swimming hole, it’s now only accessible on rare history tours. Or via the train tracks beyond the tunnel to anyone who fancies themselves a fearless urban explorer. We wouldn’t recommend this, though, as it’s technically trespassing.

4. Sydney is home to one of the world’s most deadly spiders

Arachnophobes may want to give this fascinating Sydney fact a miss. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll definitely be aware of Australia’s numerous deadly animals. From slithering snakes to insidious insects that can paralyse you with just one bite.

The Sydney Funnel Web Spider is one such creepy crawly and as its name suggests, it’s native to the city and surrounding region. If one gets its fangs into you, its venom will kill you within the hour unless you get to a hospital pronto. Ouch.

5. The city has a floating forest

If your brain has gone into overdrive wondering exactly how a floating forest works, let us enlighten. Back in the 1970s, the decommissioned freighter SS Ayrfield – which was used to transport supplies during WWII – was one of four ships sent to Homebush Bay in northwest Sydney’s to be dismantled.

Well, that never happened and they were instead left to rot in the bay. In the SS Ayrfield’s case, mangrove trees began pushing through its hull and eventually sprouted across the ship. You can spot the wreck from The Promenade shoreline and it really does look like a speck of verdant woodland floating on the water.

So far, we hope you are enjoying the 10 facts about Sydney!

6. Around a third of Sydney’s residents were born overseas

Sydney is undeniably one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world – all you need to do is look at the maths for proof. Censuses show that almost 40% of the city’s residents were born in another country, plus you’ll hear chit-chatter in over 200 different dialects as you stroll Sydney’s streets. This is all great news for visitors, as it means it’s absolutely inundated with fabulous spots to slurp on fragrant bowls of pho, tweezer delectable dim sum and get your hands greasy eating some of the best pizza in the Southern Hemisphere.

7. Sydney Harbour Bridge was only painted grey because of a shortage of paint

You can’t go all the way to Sydney without clapping eyes on the city’s legendary Harbour Bridge. The structure’s dull shade may seem a little uninspiring when you consider the bright tones of other famous bridges, however, its colour option was purely down to practicality rather than aesthetics.

With over of 270,000 litres of paint needed to cover Sydney Harbour Bridge’s magnificent bulk, grey was the only hue available in such a massive quantity. A full-time team (including two robots) are currently employed to touch up its paintwork every five years – a job which takes almost two months.

Want to know another fun Sydney fact? Paul Hogan (aka Crocodile Dundee) was one of the bridge’s first official painters before he found fame as a knife-wielding, crocodile-poaching survivalist on the silver screen.

8. You’ll find the longest moving walkway in a carpark near Woolloomooloo Bay

They do make you feel like someone has just pressed the fast-forward button in real life. While they’re super convenient, moving walkways are hardly a major attraction. That is unless you’re travelling along the longest, still existing moving walkway on the planet…

It is tucked away in the underground carpark of The Domain (an 84-acre open air events space in Woolloomooloo Bay). The novel Domain Moving Walkway stretches for 207 metres and whizzes you effortlessly all the way to College Street and the northern tip of Hyde Park. We reckon it’s worth riding along using your feet, not the trike 😂. Are we achieving our goal of making you want to visit Sydney with these 10 facts about Sydney?

9. Sydney is the birthplace of the Granny Smith apple (and there’s even an annual festival in the fruits’ honour)

Thought the Granny Smith hailed from merry old England? Incorrect. This popular pie filler was in fact cultivated in the Eastbank district of Sydney way back in 1868. Legend has it that it was completely by accident. The lady behind the tart apple variety was Maria Ann Smith. She emigrated to Sydney from the UK in 1838 with her husband.

She grew French crab apples in her garden and supposedly, when cooking them, would toss the unwanted cores out of her kitchen window. Onto the compost heap where eventually a brand-new seedling began to grow. The rest is, as they say, history and Eastbank has even hosted a Granny Smith Festival in mid-October since 1985. Expect to see people dressed in apple-printed t-shirts! Dozens of market stalls selling apple-themed treats. Also, novice bakers going head to head in an apple baking competition.

10. Bondi Beach hosted one of the biggest ever bikini photo shoots in 2007

It would be a crime to jet all the way to Sydney and not enjoy at least one arvo (that’s afternoon in the local lingo) on Bondi Beach. It’s one of over 100 beaches around the city and where thousands of wannabe surfer dudes and golden-skinned posers flock every year. They catch a wave, soak up some vitamin D and attempt to grill burgers on one of the coin-operated barbies.

Want to know a seriously glam Sydney fact about Bondi? The Aussie city is no stranger to world records and on the 26th September 2007, Bondi Beach hosted the world’s largest bikini photo shoot. According to the Guinness Book of Records, 1010 sun-kissed Aussies posed in their bathers along the sand. Sadly, the accolade was snatched from Bondi less than a year later. Russia hosted its own record-smashing photo shoot on Riviera Beach in Sochi.

Thanks to Orbzii for the above article, check their app page here. We hope you enjoyed reading the 10 facts about Sydney and learnt something. We sure learnt something and we have lived here all our life. They didn’t pay us and we are not paying them for this. I just run out of interesting articles for our Blog Page.

In conclusion, we can take you on a fun Harley Davidson or Chopper trike to some of the places mentioned above. For obvious reasons, we can’t take you to the underground lake 😆 but we can show you Bondi Beach and take you over the Sydney Harbour Bridge!