Sydney 50th birthday ride – Vaughan Family 09.10.25

The Sydney 50th birthday ride on 2 trikes was so much fun. Melinda organised it for her 50th and brought her family along for the ride. Our 2 trike riders picked them up from Vaucluse (next to Macquarie Lighthouse & Christison Park). From NW Sydney, they drove here to explore a new area.

Our trikes took them on a fun and interesting route along the east coast of Sydney.

Macquarie Lightstation

They met at Macquarie Lightstation / lighthouse. Completed in 1818, Macquarie Lighthouse was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway for Lachlan Macquarie, the Governor of NSW. Owing to crumbling foundations, it was reconstructed in the 1880s. Standing at 26 metres tall, the replacement tower was designed by the state’s Colonial Architect, James Barnet, to closely resemble Greenway’s original. It’s where this photo was taken.

Bondi Beach

Firstly, they rode south, 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.

Tamarama

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

Next, they rode even further south 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 Sydney 50th birthday ride on the trikes has been fun, informative and memorable.

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

Clovelly Beach

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

Coogee

Past Coogee Beach which is more chilled than its northern neighbour Bondi. It’s a beautiful beach and slightly more famous than most other beaches, due to the well known hotel in Coogee. The name Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means “smelly place”. Another version is koo-chai or koo-jah, both of which mean “the smell of the seaweed drying” in the Bidigal language, or “stinking seaweed”, a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach. Coogee was gazetted as a village in 1838. The first school was built in 1863, and the building was converted into the Coogee Bay Hotel in 1873 (Wikipedia).

Maroubra

Maroubra is one of Australia’s top surfing beaches. It is a local Aboriginal word meaning place of thunder. In 2006, Maroubra Beach became the second Australian beach to be named an official National Surfing Reserve. The spectacular 1km long beach is wrapped by a rocky headland and natural bushland.

Little Bay

The little known Little Bay area was first used as a sanitation camp during Sydney’s smallpox outbreak in 1881–82, to isolate the healthy contacts of sufferers of the disease. Also, bubonic plague in Sydney of 1900 and then again when soldiers returning from Europe brought the influenza virus back in 1919. Little Bay was an ideal location because it was isolated from settlements but still close enough to Sydney.

However, the 1.5hrs had already half gone so the riders turned north and went back via a different route. So far, the Sydney 50th birthday ride on the trike has been fun, informative and memorable.

Anzac Parade

They rode north along Anzac Parade. It is a major road in the south-eastern suburbs and is named in memory of members of the First Australian Imperial Force (later to become known as Anzacs). They marched down the street from their barracks (now a heritage listed part of the University of New South Wales) to Sydney Harbour, where they were transported to Europe during World War I.

Randwick

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.

Bondi Junction

Further north, Bondi Junction is a largely commercial area which has undergone many changes since the late 20th century.

The first house in the area was Waverley House, which was built by Barnett Levey in 1827, on the current site of Waverley Street. The house changed hands many times over the years before finally being demolished in 1904. When Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in 1859, the name was taken from Waverley House.

Eastern suburbs

Continuing on, they headed north then east through the posh suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including the Bays: Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay. The passengers have seen so many beautiful places. Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge together. The name Rose Bay was used as early as 1788.

Watsons Bay

They were slightly early at the drop off point, so they rode further north through some upper class suburbs to Watsons Bay. It is a harbourside suburb located 11 km north-east of the Sydney CBD.

Watsons Bay sits on the end of the South Head peninsula and takes its name from the sheltered bay and anchorage on its western side, in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). It provides views across the harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Gap

Opposite is “The Gap” . The view is towards North Head and out to the South Pacific Ocean. The Gap is an ocean cliff which faces the Tasman Sea, and is located in the suburb of Watsons Bay. Although the cliff is a popular tourist destination, it is infamous for suicides.

Gap Park is located on a coastal escarpment on Sydney Harbour’s South Head. It has spectacular views of both the harbour and the ocean. A weather worn memorial to an officer killed in the Boer War, is at the entrance to Gap Park.

However, the time was up so the trike riders dropped the passengers back at their car near the lighthouse. In conclusion, the fun Sydney 50th birthday ride on the trike has been fun, informative and memorable. It was the best experience. Our passengers are all so happy they did it. A unique adventure, something different to do in Sydney. A great way to celebrate a birthday 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.