17th birthday trike ride – School friends 28.02.26

The mum of the birthday girl, organised the 17th birthday trike ride. The birthday girl and mum discussed the Troll Tours experience and they decided it would be a fun thing to do. A special birthday present!

Our trike riders picked the 4 of them up from a place on the lower north shore of Sydney.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Firstly, they headed south over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We always tell our passengers to look up and enjoy the unique view. The 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.

Cahill Expressway

Then they rode on the Cahill Expressway which is Sydney’s first freeway. It’s an elevated road built in the 1950s connecting the Harbour Bridge to the Eastern Distributor via Circular Quay, running over rail lines and through The Domain.

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).

Coca-Cola billboard

Look up to see the famous “Coke Sign”. It is an advertising billboard erected in 1974 by the Coca-Cola Company. More often regarded as an iconic landmark than as an advertisement. The new Coca-Cola sign was officially turned on, on 15 September 2016, and uses a lot less power. It is the single largest controllable LED sign in the Southern Hemisphere and can change colour. A fab 17th birthday trike ride – so far!

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. The passengers have already seen so many beautiful places.

Bondi Beach

Next, they rode to the world famous Bondi Beach. 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) but it’s good to say you have seen it. 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.

They stopped at the middle of Bondi Beach, which is where the right photo was taken.

Tamarama + Bronte

Heading 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.

Clovelly Beach

Further south, on the coast is Clovelly Beach. It is a small beach that sits on the end of the narrow bay. The bay is home to one of the first surf lifesaving clubs in the world, Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club, which was founded in 1906.

Queens Park

Then they rode west, 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. What an adventure the 17th birthday trike ride in Sydney has been so far.

Centennial Park

They also rode through the huge Centennial Park, which 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

It is Mardi Gras weekend, so the western section of Oxford Street was closed. It 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.

However, the 1.5 hours was almost up so our trike riders rode back over the SHB and dropped them back at pick up. In conclusion, the 17th birthday trike ride in Sydney, was so much fun. Memories were made!

Feel the Freedom!

or just email trevor@trolltours.com.au and tell us what you would like to do.