Botany Bay Coastal Walk - Kurnell to Cronulla - NSW - Australia

Botany Bay coastal walk from Kurnell to Cronulla is one of the best hikes so far. Kurnell is where Captain Cook first landed on Australian soil and tried to make contact with the indigenous Gweagal people. So the area is particularly important in the history of modern-day Australia and full of monuments related to the early European explorers. The coastal views were magnificent, the sandstone cliffs were majestic and the historic monuments took us back in time. The track is not particularly challenging but you could make it quite long if you want to.

The main track starts from Cape Solander. However, we parked at the Silver Beach car park and took the monument track which led to Captain Cook's landing place, Joseph Bank's memorial, the meeting place, small freshwater stream from which Captain Cook took water for his ship Endeavour, etc.  If that sort of history is of interest to you, we highly recommend spending some time exploring this area. We of course spent close to an hour and a half taking photos, visiting the monuments, and reading all the information plaques.

Eyes of the Land and Sea Sculpture

Captain Cook Memorial Obelisk - Kamay Botany Bay National Park

Symbolic meeting place telling the story of the history of the land

The Nuwi Canoes Sculpture 

After spending a significant time at the monument track, we headed off to the nearby Commemoration Flat Picnic Area and had some snacks and coffee while enjoying the sea views.

There are few tracks like Muru Trail, Yena Track, and Cape Solander Drive that would have taken us towards the Cape Solander Lookout. You could take any of these, but we decided to keep close to the water, hence took Cape Solander Drive. 

Little further on the Cape Solander Drive, there is the Inscription Point, so named by the  Australian Philosophical Society when they secured a plaque to the cliff face to mark the point of the  Endeavour crew’s first landing. The place is today very popular for snorkeling, diving and fishing.

The Inscription Point

We continued on the Cape Solander Dr and took a little detour towards Yena Picnic area.

Rocky Outcrop of Yena Picnic Area

From Yena Picnic Area, we connected back to  Cape Solander Dr and walked towards Cape Solander Lookout.

Yena Gap

Cape Solander Lookout is one of the best spots in NSW to watch whales during the May and November migration season. Though we did not spot any whales and did not spend long at the lookout, we enjoyed the sweeping views of Botany Bay and its signature sandstone cliffs.

Cape Solander Lookout

Just after Cape Solander Lookout, the path connected with the Cape Baily Track. 

While some sections are metal broadwalk, for most parts it was just walking on the rock self. Whenever the path was not clear, we just kept close to the water.

The Hawkesbury sandstone is a signature feature of the area and wind and water have carved masterpieces on the sandstone over millions of years.

It was quite interesting to read that a small community of fishermen built houses in the cliffs near Tabbigai Gap and lived there from 1920 to 1969.

Cliffs near Tabbigai Gap which housed some fishermen during Great Depression

The path at times winds through bush

Walking on the rock shelf

Cape Baily Lighthouse is a short stroll from the track. A sandy bush track, a bit overgrown with shrubs led us to the lighthouse.

Cape Baily Lighthouse

There was no shortage of breathtaking views, over bushes or over cliff tops. Wherever we looked, it was quite beautiful.

There were some interesting structures at Potter Point. However, by this time we realized we missed the "Sky Light Cave". Having seen some impressive photos of the cave, that was one thing we did not want to miss. So we did not stop to check out these poles as we decided to complete the loop and then revisit the cave. I was a bit surprised to find out later that the poles mark a sewage outlet. That was unexpected.

Poles marking sewage outlets at Potter Point

We kept to the closer to the water as long as we could. 

Finally we came to a point where we could not continue any further. We climbed the rocks and got in to a sandy inland track.

Soon a beach was in sight and vehicles and tents could be seen from far. The crystal blue colour of the water was really standing out. As we soon found out we had arrived at the Boat Harbour Aquatic Reserve.

Kids were playing, people were swimming and snorkling and few barbies were going on in the beachside tents. Looked like an amazing way to spend the day. The vote was unanimous to come back here another day for a longer stay.

From Boat Harbour you could walk all the way to Cronulla along the beach. This was my first time in Cronulla and I was amazed at how far the beach stretched.

We did not walk to Cronulla as planned originally. Instead, we took a path near Boat Harbour Park that connected to the Captain Cook Drive with the intention of catching the 987 bus back to Botany Bay National Park. The change of plan was due to us wanting to visit the Sky Light Cave that we missed earlier.

Wildflowers on the way

Nice shady paved track from beach 

The Opal App and the timetable at the bus stop gave different times for the arrival of the 987 bus. Unfortunately both were incorrect. After waiting at the bus stop past the arrival time mentioned on both sources,  we decided to walk as the bus ran only hourly.

Captain Cook Drive

It took us a while but we finally got to the car. It was a long walk but quite a flat one. We drove to the end of the Polo Street and from there took the fire trail towards Cape Solandar Lookout and then took the Cape Baily track for the second time. We were quite watchful this time and determined not to miss the cave again. However as per the Google Maps, we soon had walked passed the cave. We traced our steps back and we could see people in the rock platform below, but could not quite figure out how they got there. There wasnt a proper path or signage, but after going back and forth a few times, we decided we have found the most probable place to descend. It didnnot look safe to me and given that I am a bit clusmy and had fallen few times during our hikes, I was not comfortable to proceed. So I stayed back while my husband went to the cave and took some photos.

Sky Light Cave

Sky Light Cave - Top Elevation

I am glad we went back, so we know for ourselves what the cave looks like. It is much smaller than what the pictures on the internet imply. If you are not comfortable with hopping along the rocks to get to the cave, I suggest you give it a miss.

We walked for so long and had covered close to 20 Km. The walk was challenging due to distance but otherwise quite a flat track. If you want to shortnen it, the best would be to do carpooling and have a car parked at either end. It was a perfect day for walking. We really enjoyed the day and I rate this as one of my favorite walks.