Sydney 3hr trike tour – Giles + Vicki 31.12.25

The Sydney 3hr trike tour was organised by our passengers (from the UK) who have never been to Sydney before. They were happy with wherever they went, being New Years Eve many major roads were closed – including the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Our trike rider picked the passengers up from their hotel at Dawes Point.

Dawes Point

Dawes Point is located on the north-western edge of the CBD at the southern end of Sydney Harbour Bridge, adjacent to The Rocks.

The point was renamed in honour of Dawes. Lieutenant William Dawes (1762–1836), astronomer with the First Fleet. It was also the site of the first guns mounted in Sydney by Dawes in 1788, contained Sydney’s first cemetery and later Dawes Point Battery. Walsh Bay was the site of Sydney’s port facilities. The wharves were converted to apartments, theatres, restaurants, cafes and a hotel.

Eastern suburbs

Firstly they headed east, through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay.

Bondi Beach

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.

Unfortunately some of the roads were closed so they didn’t get to stop very close. However, they did experience the atmosphere and see some of the beauty of the area. Next, they headed north west and rode through the Harbour Tunnel to the northern suburbs.

Taronga Zoo

They stopped at Kirribilli for a look but couldn’t do the usual Kirribilli Loop. Then they rode past Taronga Zoo. They stopped to watch the koalas feeding in the trees – this won’t happen on every tour. Taronga Zoo, officially opened in October 1916, began as a project of the NSW Zoological Society in 1881, eventually moving to its current location on Mosman in Sydney Harbour. The zoo’s history extends back to 1884 when the first public zoo in Sydney was established at Billy Goat Swamp in Moore Park.

Taronga has an absolute commitment to the conservation of wildlife in Australia and around the world.

“We are committed to the conservation of native species, with active involvement in breed and release programs, habitat recovery and the rehabilitation and release of injured or orphaned wildlife.”
Taronga is a not-for-profit. Every dollar you spend saves wildlife.

Interestingly, Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning “beautiful view”. Divided into various zoogeographic regions, the 28-hectare (69-acre) Taronga Zoo Sydney is home to more than 5,000 animals of approximately 350 different species. Well worth a visit!

Bradleys Head

Continuing on, they rode down the hill to Bradleys Head. It has wonderful views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the CBD. It’s in the suburb of Mosman and is one of Sydney Harbour’s most prominent natural features. First Fleet officers observed and named it, almost every ship entering Sydney Harbour has sailed past it. It possesses Aboriginal, military and naval associations, and it has for many years been the location of various recreational activities.

Yet again, because of being New Years Eve, they couldn’t get right to the water but they still saw some great views.

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 Sydney 3hr trike tour was showing our passenger 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 in 2001 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!

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.

Manly

Next, 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.

Freshwater

Freshwater 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)

Curl Curl

Further north, they rode north 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.

Dee Why

Even further north, this 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. The Sydney 3hr trike tour on the trike, has shown our passengers some beautiful beaches.

However, the 3 hours was almost up, so our trike rider headed south, back over the SHB and dropped the passengers back in Sydney city. In conclusion, the Sydney 3hr trike tour was fun, memorable and a unique experience. Even though we had to change our route as we went.

Feel the Freedom!

Check out a description of the tour here. This our most popular tour at the moment. Don’t forget every tour is unique so may not be exactly as stated but you will always see the icons mentioned (unless something like the Sydney Fireworks are about to happen).

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