Kamay Botany Bay National Park in Kurnell offers an incredible number of opportunities for adventure. To celebrate the start of whale watching season, we put the spotlight on the park which was included in the National Heritage List in 2004. Make sure your annual pass is up to date so you can visit both Royal National Park and Kamay Botany Bay National Park and see what’s so special about these attractions on our doorstep.
See the National Parks from a different viewpoint on board Cronulla Whale Watching Cruises with tours departing in the morning, afternoon and sunset.
Discover the Shire Whale Trail at Cape Solander
The East Coast of Australia becomes a highway for humpbacks as these gentle giants make their way north to breed during their annual migration. Cape Solander is one of the best places to spot the marine mammals during whale watching season. NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service track the number of whales migrating past each year. Follow @sydneywhales to get daily updates of whale sightings
Walk the Banks-Solander Trail
The Banks-Solander Trail is one of the most popular walking tracks in Sydney’s south. Download the Knowing Plants resource produced by the National Museum of Australia so you can identify native plants in the area that have been used by the Traditional Owners of the land, the Gweagal people, for millennia. From the edible lilly pilly fruit to plants with medicinal purposes such as lemon-scented myrtle, used to clear sinuses, the trail is bursting with botanicals if you know where to look.
See the bronze sculptures along the Burrawang Walk
The Kurnell area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park is where the first encounter between Aboriginal Australians and the crew of the HMB Endeavour took place. The Burrawang Walk was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s landing with a moving soundscape that will give visitors a sense of the strong Indigenous connection to Country. Three large bronze sculptures were installed here in 2020 to honour the area as a place of great significance to the Gweagal people.
Picnic at Commemoration Flat
This family-friendly grassy spot is perfect for picnics. It’s a protected patch of grass overlooking Botany Bay and perfect for friendly games of cricket, Frisbee with a path perfect for prams, bikes and scooters. Pick up some supplies from Panetta Mercato at Bay Central Woolooware and unfurl your red-checked blanket and dine al fresco. Alternatively, visit the pup-friendly Airstream caravan at Cook at Kurnell. The Yena picnic area is a short walk from Kurnell Visitor Centre (currently being rebuilt) and is where you can enjoy seeing wildflowers sewn into the earth during spring.
Cape Baily Lighthouse
Cape Baily Lighthouse was opened in 1950 and is known for its unusual concrete tower and Chance Brothers lantern, which is powered by solar panels. The lighthouse is still in use today guiding north-bound ships along the coast to avoid strong currents out to sea. It’s an easy 3-kilometre walk from the end of Cape Solander Drive to the lighthouse, where you are likely to see goannas skittering into the bush and magpies creaking in the distance. It’s a great place to spot whales, dolphins and sharks. You can follow the Cape Baily Walking Track for an 8-kilometre, three-hour roundtrip.
Hot tip: the gates to the park are open from 7am to 5.30pm in June and July; and 7am- 7.30pm from August to May. of the first nations people who preceded settlement exploring some of NSW’s most significant heritage sites,
Eating there: There are lot of great places to eat and drink in the Sutherland Shire. Visit the new Sonoma Bakery in Taren Point for coffee and croissants. Alphabet St for cocktails. And Fior in Gymea for pizza.
Staying there: From hotels, motels and apartments to B&Bs, camping and holiday parks, here are the best places to stay in the Sutherland Shire.
