memories made trike tour – Alice + Lucy 14.11.24

The memories made trike tour in Sydney was fun and a great experience!! Kathryn and her mum Alice saw our trike ride past them. 90 year old Alice said, “wouldn’t that be fun!!” So Kathryn organised it for Alice and her daughter Lucy. It is a great memory for Lucy the granddaughter to always have of her grandmother.

Part of an email Kathryn wrote after the ride “…mum had absolutely the best time…”.

Surry Hills

Our trike rider picked them up from Alice’s nursing home in Surry Hills. The first land grants in Surry Hills were made in the 1790s. Nowadays, Surry Hills has a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial areas. It remains Sydney’s main centre for fashion wholesale activities, particularly on the western side.

Macquarie Street

Firstly, they did a few turns and headed north 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.

Opera House

Then, they rode further north west and this brought them to the iconic Sydney Opera House. We can’t ride close to it 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.

Circular Quay

Next, they rode through 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.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Riding further, 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.

Kirribilli’s famous jacaranda street

Interestingly, every year, between mid October and late November, thousands of people descend on Kirribilli’s streets to marvel at the purple canopy created by the 30 jacaranda trees that line McDougall Street. We show our passengers them during some of our tours, including this one. Already, the memories made trike tour in Sydney, was fun and informative and most importantly, they were creating memories.

Kirribilli

Then, 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. A perfect place to stop for photos, it’s where this photo was taken. What a great view of the Sydney Opera House!

The Kirribilli Loop

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.

Then, it was back over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Chinatown.

Chinatown

Sydney isn’t the only global city with a Chinatown, but this one is bigger, better and boasts more than most thanks to the Chinese immigrants who started arriving in the 1800s. Dixon Street is the main street for Chinatown, with many shops and Chinese restaurants in a pedestrian-only street. In the 1980s business owners raised funds for the ceremonial Chinese archways found at the entrance.

However, the one hour was almost up so our trike rider rode back to the nursing home and dropped them off. In conclusion, the memories made trike tour around Sydney was so much fun. Memories were made for 90 year old Alice and her 19 year old Granddaughter Lucy. We love this!!

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