Bondi Beach trike ride – Amey + Inez 20.10.25

The Bondi Beach trike ride was organised at late notice (2 days before), by these friends from New Zealand. In Sydney for 10 days, we were the highlight of their Sydney trip! See testimonial we will put on tomorrow. We picked them up from their accommodation in Surry Hills.

Surry Hills

Surry Hills is old established and very interesting, area of inner Sydney. 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.

Sydney Cricket Ground

Firstly, they rode past the Sydney Cricket Ground which has so much history, too much to write here. By the time of the first Sydney cricket test in February 1882, the ground could boast two grandstands; the Brewongle Stand at the southern end and the original Members’ Stand, which had been built in 1878 in the north west corner where the current Members’ Stand now sits. On opposite sides of the ground to the stands two spectator mounds were built. They became known as The Hill and the Paddington Hill.

Centennial Park

Next, it is interesting riding through the huge Centennial Park 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.”

Randwick

All eight sets of entrance gates into Centennial Park were built between 1887 and 1900.Out a certain set of gates it was through the suburb of Randwick which was named after the village of Randwick, Gloucestershire, England. The first stone house in the area in 1848, called Blenheim House, can still be seen in Blenheim Street. There are still plenty of noteworthy buildings from the 1800’s which were saved from demolish, thank goodness.

It’s 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney CBD. The famous Randwick Racecourse is here. The racecourse dates back to 1833. Until then, Hyde Park in Sydney’s centre had been the main city venue for races. Dedicated ground was needed to accommodate racing’s enormous popularity and in January 1833, Governor Bourke designated land on Botany Rd, Randwick, for use as a racecourse.

Clovelly Beach

East to Clovelly Beach. Clovelly Beach is a small and tranquil beach, located the mouth of a narrow bay between two rocky ridges.

Waverley Cemetery

North to Waverley Cemetery, established in 1877, is a cherished part of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and offering a serene resting place for over 100,000 souls. With its picturesque setting, the cemetery is not just a site of remembrance, but a reflection of the evolving values and culture of Australia.

Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve

Then, it was even further south 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

Bronte

Next, they rode even further north to Bronte Beach. 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. So far, the Bondi Beach trike ride has been fun, informative and memorable.

Tamarama

Riding further north, 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).

Bondi Beach

At last, they came 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 near the Lifeguard Tower to have a look and take photos. They couldn’t go to South Bondi because Sculptures by the Sea is on. This causes road closures.

Eastern suburbs

Heading north west, through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay. Already they have seen beautiful places on the Bondi Beach trike ride.

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.

Kings Cross

Riding through the infamous Kings Cross is always interesting. It has calmed down a lot since it’s heyday – it’s home to 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).

Kings Cross is not an officially designated suburb of Sydney, but rather a locality encompassed entirely by the suburbs of Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay

Woolloomooloo, Harry’s and Garden Island

Then, they rode into the inner eastern suburb of Woolloomoolloo. It has the famous Harry Cafe De Wheels. Harry’s Café de Wheels 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.

Also there is Garden Island. Garden Island is the location of a major Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base.

St Mary’s Cathedral

Further on, they rode through the city and past St Mary’s Cathedral which is very impressive, even when riding past. It’s a Gothic Revival architectural building which opened in 1928. It took from 1866 to 1928 to build and has a height of 75m.

Macquarie Street

Lastly, they rode up Macquarie St. This street, 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.

the Mitchell Library

Also on Macquarie St, is the Mitchell Library. The Australian Subscription Library, established in 1826, was renamed as the Australian Library and Literary Institution in 1853. In 1869 the NSW Government purchased the collection and building to form the Sydney Free Public Library, the first truly public library for the people of NSW. Free Public Library was renamed in 1895 as the Public Library of NSW. In 1907 David Scott Mitchell bequeathed his collection to the NSW government and the Mitchell Library, built to hold the extensive collection, opened in 1910.

1975 saw the Library renamed as the State Library of NSW. We all still call it the Mitchell Library!

Finally, it was back through the city to drop of at their hotel in Surrey Hills. In conclusion, the Bondi Beach trike ride was a huge success. It was a memorable experience, a fun thing to do in Sydney.

Feel the Freedom!

Check out a description of the tour here. Don’t forget every tour is unique so may not be exactly as stated but you will always see the icons mentioned.

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