Fascinating history behind Harbour Hopper

Amphibious military vehicle served in number of armed conflicts

If the Harbour Hopper could talk, oh, the tales it could tell.

After all, the amphibious vehicle was once a workhorse in the American military when it was used to shuttle supplies from ship to shore during Owen the Vietnam War.

Although now refitted with a deck that seats up to 40 passengers, the vessel’s original design was much more basic.

Initially called a LARC-V (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo), the 35-foot craft was later utilized by armed forces in Australia, Philippines, Argentina, Singapore and Iceland. In fact, LARCVs were used in Argentine’s 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands.

About 1,000 of the hybrid vehicles were manufactured. It’s estimated that about half of them were scuttled during the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, while the American forces still own about 200 LARC-Vs.

And then there are the ones purchased by private interests and converted into touring machines, such as the fleet of Harbour Hoppers in Halifax.

For the vehicle dispatched to Sydney, its workload will be a breeze compared to what it may have experienced in the Southeast Asian conflict. Or even Halifax, for that matter.

“It’s much easier to manoeuvre through Sydney than Halifax,” said Mitch Owen, an Ambassatours employee who has been training drivers and tour guides in Sydney for the past few weeks.

“And the tour is Sydney is much longer than in Halifax in terms of distance.”

The tour begins on the Sydney waterfront by the boat launch. Once the Harbour Hopper has negotiated the busy waterside parking lot, it works its way through downtown Sydney via Charlotte and Townsend streets before following George Street past Wentworth Park to Cottage Road. It then follows Whitney Avenue to Ashby corner before proceeding down Victoria Road into Whitney Pier. It turns right on Church Street and right again on Lingan Road before taking the SPAR Road/Ferry Street connector back to George Street. A couple of turns later, it’s back on Charlotte Street in the city’s historic north end, before making its way back to the waterfront. Once there, it performs its “splashdown” as it enters the harbour for the water portion of the tour.