‪A fascinating part of Australia and its European history. The walks all around this park take in views and provide a refuge from the city and yet you are almost part of it. The park has Botany Bay on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other. You will also see large ships coming into the bay and aircraft on approach or taking off from Sydney Airport. The monuments and sculptures are educational and well displayed. There were numerous families set up for picnics for the day around the park overlooking the sea. It costs around $8 to enter the park and there is a guard hut where they take your money or you can pay at a parking machine at various points within the park.‬

‪Visited during the week in early November when not many visitors and the Flannel flowers were spectacular. This park has something for everyone, starting with excellent picnicking areas on beautifully shaded lawns (under towering pines), along with BBQs and toilet facilities. Also in this more historic part of the park, there are several monuments commemorating the arrival at this spot of Captain Cook in 1770 (although the account of the first encounter with the local indigenous people did not reflect well on Cook and his crew). It is good to see there is now more space given to commemoration of the lives of the indigenous peoples which include some wonderful sculptures along the Botany Bay waterfront. Getting away from the more manicured part of the park, there is also some good bushwalking to be had, though some is along the road or through burnt-out scrubland and there is rarely any shelter from the midday sun. Cape Solander LO was closed for refurbishment when we visited, but we could still travel south to the Cape Baily lighthouse and Potter Point via (mostly) well marked tracks through coastal heathland and across sandstone platforms. Some of the views of the coastal cliffs were just spectacular, as were the displays of flannel flowers. The story of the shacks on the Tabbigai cliffs (occupied from 1920s to 1969) was also great - something I'd been completely unaware of. If time is short don't worry about trekking on to the Cape Baily lighthouse and Potter Point. Both are uninspiring.‬