80th birthday Sydney experience – Christine, Stephanie + Sister 13.06.26

What do you give an older person who doesn’t need anything? An 80th birthday Sydney experience trike tour Gift Voucher of course :). Her granddaughters came with her. Our trike rider picked them up from their home in the inner-west of Sydney.

Glebe

Firstly, they rode through the suburb of Glebe. Glebe’s name is derived from the fact that the land on which it was developed was a glebe, originally owned by the Anglican Church. ‘The Glebe’ was a land grant of 162 hectares (400 acres) given by Governor Arthur Phillip to Reverend Richard Johnson, Chaplain of the First Fleet, in 1790. It’s a trendy well-to-do suburb now.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Secondly, it was 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.

Kirribilli

To the east, the rider took them through the back streets and into Kirribilli, to the Prime Minister‘s residence and Admiralty House. Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia.

Next door 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 and Harbour Bridge!

The Kirribilli Loop – Harbour Bridge north side

From there, 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.

Neutral Bay

Next, it was through a few ‘normal’ suburbs. The name “Neutral Bay” originates from the time of the early colonial period of Australia, where different bays of Sydney harbour were zoned for different incoming vessels. This bay was where all foreign vessels would dock, hence the name.

Cremorne

Named after the Cremorne Gardens in London, a popular pleasure ground in England, which derived its name from the Old Irish words Crích Mugdornd (modern Irish: Críoch Mhúrn), meaning ‘boundary’ or ‘chieftain’ of Mugdornd. Already, the 80th birthday Sydney experience trike tour has been informative and fun!

Mosman

A busy suburb, Mosman is named after Archibald Mosman (1799–1863) and his twin brother George, who moved onto a 4-acre (16,000 m²) land grant in the area in 1831. They were involved in shipping, and founded a whaling station on a bay in the harbour, which became known as Mosman’s Bay.

Balmoral Beach

Riding on, they rode past the lovely posh Balmoral Beach. Everyone who comes here loves it! Balmoral Beach is not so well known by visitors and tourists, but the stunning natural beauty of the beach and surrounds make it well worth a visit. The 80th birthday Sydney experience trike tour was already showing our passengers some beautiful and unique places and views!

Balmoral Burn

Amazingly, the Balmoral Burn is the next experience. Phil Kearns AM, came up with the idea of running up Mosman’s Awaba St as a way to raise funds. It was to say thank you to the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) after one of his sons received emergency care, for suspected meningococcal. It started 25 years ago and is now called The Balmoral Burn.

At its steepest the gradient is nearly 30%, and over its length it rises about 70 metres (230 ft). So far, $33.7 million has been raised! Wow! Then they headed north, back over the Spit Bridge.

The Spit

Then, it was through Spit, which is a suburb in its own right. It protrudes off Beauty Point and is home to the Spit Bridge, a bascule bridge opened in 1958 over Middle Harbour. The bridge opens at set times to allow yachts with high masts to pass. Crossing the Spit Bridge is fun, it has great views of Middle Harbour.

They rode over the Spit Bridge, up the hill to a lookout on the south side. It has beautiful views over Middle Harbour and back to Clontarf. Beauty Point takes its name from the piece of land protruding into the Middle Harbour, off Sydney Harbour. It was originally known as Billy Goat Point, but was renamed when it was subdivided to be sold.

Seaforth

Next, they headed to Seaforth lookout which faces towards the Spit. Seaforth was named after Loch Seaforth and Seaforth Island in Scotland. The land in this area was once owned by Henry Halloran, who subdivided it in 1906. The Seaforth library was built in 1887 and protected by heritage listing by Manly Council in 1995. Already, the 80th birthday Sydney experience trike tour has shown even more beautiful sights.

Manly

The second most famous beach in Sydney – they rode past the main beach of Manly. Manly has several claims to fame; it was the birthplace of surfing in Australia, the first place to legalise all-day bathing in 1903 and one of the world’s first Surf Life Saving clubs. Manly Beach was the location for the first World Surfing Championships held in 1964.

Queenscliff

Northern end of Manly Beach is actually called Queenscliff Beach. It was named in honour of Queen Victoria (England). The area was popular with holiday-makers from the early 1900s to World War I, who stayed in holiday shacks on the headland. The suburb is famous amongst the Australian surf beaches for its “heavy” waves (bomboras) that break out at sea. All of the east cost of Sydney is beautiful as you can see on this Manly Northern Beaches tour on a trike.

Freshwater / Harbord

They rode past Freshwater Beach which has a very interesting history. This is a very small part of the history:

In December 1914, Duke Kahanamoku, the world sprint swimming champion, was touring Australia. He selected timber from a Sydney firm to fashion a board modelled on those used in his native Hawaii. He gave a demonstration to the press of surf board riding at Freshwater Beach. It was the second recorded time that anyone had surfed the clean waves beyond the break in Australian waters using this Hawaiian-style surfing technique. The first known surf board rider was Manly local Tommy Walker who rode a board at the 1912 Freshwater surf carnival. (wikipedia)

Also, this suburb and beach was originally called Freshwater. Historians think it was named after a fresh water creek which flowed into the ocean. It was changed to Harbord on September 1, 1923, The Harbord estate was named after Lady Judith Harbord, the sister-in-law of Lord Carrington, the Governor of NSW at the time. Harbord was again, officially renamed Freshwater on January 12, 2008 – 85 years after the other name change.

Freshwater Lookout

Locals often call this the South Curl Curl Headland. It is at the northern end of Freshwater and the southern end of Curl Curl. It offers panoramic ocean views and a tranquil environment for relaxation and recreation. The park features a bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku, honoring his contribution to surfing in Australia (as mentioned above).

Curl Curl

Then, they headed further north. They rode past Curl Curl Beach. This is one of our favourite beaches in Sydney! The name Curl Curl may have been derived from a Dharuk Aboriginal phrase curial curial, meaning river of life. It’s such a lovely beach to ride past as it’s easily seen from the road. It was first settled by Europeans in 1858. The Manly Northern Beaches tour on a trike, has shown our passengers some beautiful beaches.

Dee Why

Even further north, Dee Why is a very popular beach, it has been done up over the last decade. A park for concerts, a playground and restaurants across the road make it very popular with locals. It also has lovely clean sand and good waves.

However, the 2 hours was getting close to being up so the rider turned and headed south, back over the SHB, past the Sydney Fish Markets to home.

Sydney Fish Markets

Just recently, on 19th January 2026, the Sydney Fish Markets moved to a third position. A $800-million relocation, just 400m or so from the previous position. According to their website, “The new Sydney Fish Market is deliberately designed as an authentic working fish market, not just a retail or food-hall experience.”

Before this move, Sydney Fish Market moved to its previous location at Blackwattle Bay, Pyrmont in 1966. Fish were sold using the traditional ‘voice’ auction system. This system saw buyers assemble outside the sales bay fence, where inside an assistant would hold up samples of fish from each box for buyers to bid until the highest price was reached.

The history of the fish selling industry in Sydney is very interesting. Like everything else in the world, how they sell the fish has changed dramatically since it began pre-1945.

In conclusion, the 80th birthday Sydney experience trike tour was a fun and memorable experience. One of the best birthday presents ever!

Feel the Freedom!

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