local’s Sydney weekend tour – Anthony + Meta 27.01.24

The local’s Sydney weekend tour was organised by Meta for her and her husband. They live on the northern side of the Harbour so caught the ferry in to Circular Quay. Our trike rider met them there, we email a map of where to meet.

Opera House

Firstly, they rode past the Sydney Opera House. We can’t get very close but we know some good angles which give some great scenic views. Even as “forever Sydneyites” we never get tired of looking at the Opera House.

Woolloomooloo, Harry’s and Garden Island

Then they headed east to the inner eastern suburb of Woolloomoolloo. 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

They headed east through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay. Already, the local’s Sydney weekend tour has shown our passengers so much of the interesting areas of eastern Sydney.

Watsons Bay and The Gap

Heading North through some upper class suburbs, such as Vaucluse, they rode to “The Gap” and stopped for photos. The view towards North Head and out to the South Pacific Ocean. Watsons Bay sits on the end of the South Head peninsula. The Gap is an ocean cliff which faces the Tasman Sea, is located in the suburb of Watsons Bay. Although the cliff is a popular tourist destination, it is infamous for suicides. This is where the photo was taken.

Bondi Beach

Next, they rode south and past the world famous Bondi Beach to the south side. Here, there is a lovely view overlooking the whole of 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 was made extra 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.

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.

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.

Clovelly Beach

Then it was to Clovelly Beach. Clovelly Beach is a small and tranquil beach, located the mouth of a narrow bay between two rocky ridges. It is where the photo was taken.

Coogee

Further on, they rode to both the south and north end of Coogee Beach. At the southern end is Wylies baths (open 365 days a year), as well as McIver’s Baths, which is the only remaining female-only ocean pool in Australia (dating back to 1886).

😆 The name Coogee is derived from the Aboriginal word ‘koojah’ which means ‘bad smell’ or a ‘stinking place’.

However, the tour time was up. Our passengers had asked to be dropped off at Coogee so they could eat some lunch and relax before they headed home. In conclusion, the local’s Sydney weekend tour was a big success – you can see by their smiles. Check out some tour ideas here.