Sydney on Wheels
65
There is so much more to see in Sydney besides the Opera House, the HarbourBridge, and the usual touristy attractions of the city centre. Sydney is Australia’s largest urban area with approximately 12,000 square kilometres so when the time available is as short as the area is large, it makes perfect sense to bus it, cycle it, or trike it. Sydney’s open-top, double-deckerCity Sightseeing bus has 30 stops including Bondi. For something a little more energetic, Bonza Bike Tours, in addition to standard bike rental, offer four different tour options catering for all levels of fitness – or enthusiasm. Finally, what better way to see, hear, and smell Sydney than by enjoying one of 12 itineraries available on a Harley Davidson trike with Easyrider Tours.
The Bus
The Sydney City Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus is a comprehensive and informative way of seeing Sydney. It provides flexibility for the least amount of effort and money. We bought our tickets at The Rocks Information Centre but you can just as easily purchase the tickets on-board. A 24hr ticket costs AUD35 and a 48hr ticket will set you back AUD56.
There are 30 stops to choose from so if you don’t want to do the entire loop, you can pick and choose the best stops for shopping (any of the George St stops and the Paddington stop), museums (the Power House, Maritime or Australian museum stops) or beaches (the Bondi Beach, Rose or Double Bay stops). For shopping, I can recommend the stop at the QueenVictoriaBuilding on George Street. Not only is it an impressive heritage building, but it also houses five very elegant levels of upmarket retail labels. One idiom certainly rings true here - ‘a keen shopper and their dollars are soon parted’.
The buses have a recorded commentary filled with interesting facts on local history, recommendations for places to visit, and other random tidbits of Australiana. For instance, who knew that Woolloomooloo has the most amount of ‘O’s of any place name in the world? And nothing beats the view from an open-top double decker bus, especially on a beautiful day. You’ll get the best photos but remember to watch out for the vinyl seats when you first sit down. They can get burning hot.
The Bike
Cycling is a great way to find the real Sydney because there’s scope to escape the beaten track. It will also put your calorie bank in credit which is always a good thing. Bonza Bike Tours run daily tours of average 3 – 4 hr duration including a Harbour Bridge Ride and a Sydney Highlights tour. If you prefer to do your own thing, Bonza happily provide information and maps on the best areas to visit. Full day bike hire of 24hrs is AUD40 whilst three days is AUD100 with longer term rates also available.
We did the ManlyBeach and Sunset Cruise Tour. The views from North Head back across to the city are picture-perfect, whilst on the other side of the cliffs, the views of endless ocean stretching, I imagine all the way back to New Zealand, are dramatic. As we cycle leisurely along the boardwalk of popular ManlyBeach, it’s easy to forget that we’re even on a tour. Away from the beach, I get a healthy dose of house envy as we cycle through the affluent Manly suburb of Steyne. The return cruise from Manly around 6pm is the Sunset Cruise part of the tour and the perfect hour to see the Opera House at its most alluring.
We were the only two participants on the day we cycled so we had our tour guide Latch, all to ourselves. Latch is in his early 20s. He’s the blue-eyed, blonde-haired, Bondi-living, quintessential, surfer-type Aussie who is a part-time student and part-time rock band member. Aboard the ferry, he happily regaled us with interesting trivia on the history of the local area. Our tour cost AUD129 per person for the 4hr cycle including the harbour cruise.
The Trike
Seeing the city from a trike is like seeing it from a rollercoaster except instead of up and drown, it’s all left and right. The excitement of riding on a motorbike heightens all your other senses. We did the Bay Watch tour at sunset. This is a 60 minute tour of SydneyHarbour from Woolloomooloo to WatsonsBay plus Bondi. Descending into Bondi through a giddying chicane of suburban side streets, a glass of wine after work is almost tangible in the warm evening air. .
Our driver Billy, a Sydneysider who started Easyrider 18 years ago, is down-to-earth and brimming with enthusiasm for this city. Yes, he says, some people get on the bikes and absolutely hate it (which are usually the unsuspecting ones who’ve had gift vouchers bought for them), and no, hardly any Asians purchase tours although every second one loves having their photo taken with the bikes. The majority of people are enamoured after one ride. One woman was so liberated by the experience that she’d managed to shed all of her clothes by the time he’d dropped her off.
Easyrider tours have a permanent stand at The Rocks Market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Easyrider Motorbike Tours have 12 itineraries ranging from 15mins for AUD35 through to two day outback adventures for AUD950. At AUD100 per person during the day or AUD130 per person at sunset, the 60 minute tour that we did is not cheap. However, if you’re looking for something unique to do in Sydney that is both exciting, informative and capable of showcasing the best of Sydney, then it’s absolutely money well spent. The only problem was that Billy was right; 60 minutes just wasn’t long enough.
© Esma Holden, 2010
