The thought of a sightseeing tour of Sydney may not knock your socks off, but what if sightseers could appreciate the local surrounds while having have a bit of fun at the same time? That’s exactly the concept behind the Segway Tours that Sydney Olympic Park has to offer. Groups are invited to experience the excitement of whipping about on a Segway Personal Transporter in a one- or two-hour adventure exploring the park’s iconic buildings, expansive parklands and subtropical mangroves.
The Segway is a unique and amazing mode of transport. It requires no special skills as it is designed to automatically balance on its two wheels once you’re aboard. Virtually anyone can use one as the machine moves as you do. For example, if you lean forward, the machine moves forward as well. Sydney Olympic Park claims to be the only place you can embark on a Segway adventure in Australia, so it’s an opportunity not to be missed!
Ever tried to make your own cocktail and have got it so horribly wrong that rather than a martini you’ve ended up with a concoction that tastes no better than turps mixed with dishwater? After a two-hour Belvedere Vodka Master Class, this sort of scenario will never happen to you again. Perfect for small groups, this class allows participants to experience the best in cocktail-making techniques and etiquette as instructed by leading mixologists from both barsolutions and Hilton Sydney’s bar Zeta. Groups enjoy drinks and canapés on arrival, and then the mixologists share their creative approach to cocktail making until it’s time for the group to sample and create their own recipes. No prior cocktail mixing experience necessary.
In a bid to lure event planners into the venue, The SMC Building on Goulburn Street in Sydney’s CBD is offering free wireless internet connection to its visitors. It claims to be the first function and convention centre in Sydney’s CBD to do so, inviting planners, executives and the wider business community to “get connected” when staging meetings and conferences at the venue.
Ken Taylor, SMC’s Chairman of the Board, said, “Everybody is so communication conscious today that we felt it important to provide a free service that would allow people access to what we believe should be readily available to every business professional that comes to SMC.”
The venue offers 21 rooms of varying sizes and purposes, catering for large functions to small business meetings, plus a new business centre for delegates to take advantage of.
While you may have had the opportunity to see a performance or utilise one of the spaces of the Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay and The Wharf, here’s your chance to experience the iconic playhouses in a different light. Groups can get in touch with their inner culture vulture through a one-hour behind-the-scenes tour of the venues. Lead by experienced volunteer guides, the tours provide an insight into theatre production, giving groups a taste of what goes on backstage when it comes to props, set construction, scenic art and wardrobe.
The tours are an ideal pre- or post-performance activity, or as an extension of a theatre-themed function or event held either at the playhouses or any other venues close by.
Imagine an event where guests are delivered by Clydesdale horse-drawn carriages to an al-fresco-style banquet set among beautiful country gardens, to be greeted by tunes courtesy of a local bush band and the option of doing some cow milking, sheep shearing and butter making before dinner and hay rides after dessert. This is just one of the many event scenarios that can be conjured up at the unique venue, Belgenny Farm.
Located one hour from Sydney, Belgenny Farm is set in historic Camden Park Estate, the famous home of agricultural pioneers Elizabeth and John Macarthur. It offers a variety of picturesque settings for event organisers to stage a function, from the famous Granary reception room to its manicured gardens.
As Belgenny Farm is a working farm, it also offers a huge number of activities for guests to get involved in, and can call in artisans such as quilters, lace-makers, potters, candle makers, stonemasons, whip crackers, blacksmiths and wheelwrights to demonstrate their crafts. There’s also a farm animal nursery which groups can enjoy.
You’d be hard pressed to find a cruise on Sydney’s sparkling harbour that hasn’t been applauded by visiting delegates, but this cruise has something that’s just too special to ignore. The cruising vessel, Sydney Glass Island is, as the name suggests, a floating island-like boat encased in walls of glass. Its main dining deck offers true 360-degree views from three-metre-high glass windows, while its top level boasts a large upper al-fresco-style open deck, and below deck houses an intimate bar lounge.
Whether it’s cruising the harbour or remaining moored in a selected spot, the vessel can provide an entertainment experience for 75 to 500 guests. In its seven years of operation, Sydney Glass Island has hosted functions for a number of Australia’s leading blue chip companies, government departments and their overseas guests including the US President and Sydney Olympic sponsors.
Challenge groups to work as a team, while taking in the sights of Sydney from the seat of a classic vehicle, with a unique around-town rally. A great team-building exercise or partner program, The Classic Car Rally, presented by Australia In Style, provides groups the opportunity to travel around the city in a fleet of chauffeured prestige classic vehicles, with choices including a 1969 classic Rolls-Royce and a Donald Trump-style limousine. Split into teams, participants pursue a deceptively simple course, armed with a question sheet and map in hand. Each team completes a series of tasks before reaching the final destination, where prizes are awarded. A champagne and refreshment stop at a harbourside location is included en-route.
It’s a good idea to ensure that there’s enough going on at an event that all your guests hardly know where to start first in being entertained. That’s where a venue that combines ten-pin bowling with karaoke, and pool tables with a champagne bar, comes in handy. Located on King St Wharf, the $3.9 million Strike Bowling Bar recently launched its new boutique bowling experience, inviting event organisers to consider the venue as an option for cocktail functions and social events. Strike offers an interactive experience for up to 300 people who can take advantage of its 10 deluxe bowling lanes with lane-side cocktail service, four custom-designed pool tables, three private karaoke rooms fashioned on London’s Lucky Voice karaoke club, waterfront deck and deluxe lounge. The venue also boasts state-of-the-art sound, lighting and music/video projections that can be customised for unique requirements, plus Ten Pin Pix live action bowling photography.
You’ve been issued the task of making a big impression on a group, whether it’s via a cinematic cocktail function, spectacular product launch or animated seminar, and you need a venue which is going to assist in wowing attendees. Look no further than the IMAX Theatre Sydney. This expansive venue located in Darling Harbour gives you a 500-seat auditorium and the world’s largest screening system to play with, allowing images to be projected at 10 times the size of the traditional cinema format. It can be hired exclusively for private film screenings or large group presentations and product launches. Outside the big screen is the Mezzanine Bar foyer which can cater for cocktail functions, and on level six of the complex you’ll find the Star Room, a private function room managed by the Dockside Group.
Chocolate, coffee, gelato, wine, cake – if you’re into any or all of these, and let’s face it who isn’t, you’ll love the indulgent tours that chocolate espresso operates around Sydney’s CBD. Choose from a variety of expeditions showcasing the delicious delights of Sydney chocolate and coffee shops, from mouth-watering dark chocolate and petit fours to sparkling wine and creamy gelato. The company has four fully-qualified guides who are as passionate and knowledgeable about chocolate, coffee and tea as they are about Sydney, to take groups around a variety of chocolateries, from French to Belgian to Australian. There are set tours, such as the ‘espressos and exotic chocs extra special’ which focuses primarily on coffee, but promises chocolate lovers will not be disappointed, or chocolate espresso can create a special tour for your group, tailoring the content, route, start time, and length of tour to your needs.
As summer warms up, it’s easy to appreciate the appeal of hosting an event in a garden setting, and now you can at the new Garden Court at Sofitel Wentworth Sydney. Restored as part of the hotel’s $10 million upgrade, the fifth-floor Garden Court curves around the hotel’s semi-circular rooftop garden, and has been designed in the style of an urban conservatory, with a modern dining room, an open kitchen and a central bar and lounge. The hotel recently unveiled the new restaurant, bringing together an international team with classic French technique and experience drawn from among acclaimed Michelin restaurants of Europe, under the direction of executive head chef Jess Ong who joined the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney last year, having previously headed the Summit restaurant and worked under the legendary Anders Ousback.
Many want to live the dream of being onstage but don’t have a musical bone in their body. The iconic Sydney Opera House now gives these dreamers the opportunity to perform regardless of musical talent as part of its Toy Symphony experience. After a one-hour private tour of the venue, unsuspecting groups will find themselves on a stage set for a full orchestra where four Sydney Symphony musicians are rehearsing Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony. Before a 2700-seat auditorium, the conductor instructs the group to take a seat, choose from a variety of toy instruments, such as miniature trumpets and saxophones, and ready themselves for a performance. The conductor leads groups through the musical score with the melody carried by the string quartet of Sydney Symphony musicians. Groups are transformed into the ‘orchestra’ for 20 minutes and experience the thrill of performing with the symphony on the Concert Hall stage.
Remember that uncontrollable urge we all had as children to scream with joy when we were treated to something special and exciting, such as a fun park? Like to get your delegates experiencing that feeling again? Hold an event or team-building incentive at Jamberoo Action Park and you just might! NSW’s biggest fun park, Jamberoo is just an hour from Sydney and has the capacity to cater for a huge 8000 people at one time. The venue is easily themed and comes with the instant electric atmosphere of a theme park, offering a large range of water-based fun and rides which include mountain tobogganing, race cars and slides, which can all be integrated into a function or utilised as part of team-building.
The park also has 2000 car spaces, large open picnic areas perfect for stalls and conference displays, and a dedicated function venue, the Loft.
For a unique team-building activity, why not inspire your team, clients or entire company to create their own unique restaurant. Groups of four to 400 can participate in a Cheeky Food Group team cooking program where, as the chefs, they cook their own meal and then, as the customers, they sit down and enjoy their feast together as a team. The company says it’s totally portable, and can run the activity in any venue throughout Sydney (as well as other locations around Australia). The activity is fun and interactive, and participants can enjoy music and wine as they create and cook their meals together as a team.
The activity also includes a basic safety rules session, and the professionals from Cheeky Food Group will run through each recipe bringing it to life with a brief history and cultural background of the ingredients. They can also outline the similarities of a kitchen and your workplace/group, if desired.
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