Cape Baily Track
This spectacular out and back clifftop walk lies within the grounds of Kamay Botany Bay National Park, and is just around the headland from Captain Cook’s landing place.
If you recall your Australia history, you’ll remember Joseph Banks as the botanist who sailed with Cook and documented the flora and fauna of the area. A name you may not know is Daniel Solander, a fellow botanist. The walk begins and ends at Cape Solander, named for Bank’s colleague and friend, and loops back at Cape Baily lighthouse.
We did this walk on a beautiful sunny weekday at the start of spring when the wildflowers were blossoming and the traffic light. The track can get very busy on weekends, especially in whale watching season and as it is very exposed, a hat and sunscreen are recommended.
To start
To get to where the walk starts you’ll need to enter the National Park at Kurnell, turning right onto Cape Solander Drive from Captain Cook Drive. Follow the road past the visitors centre until you reach the car park at the end. Parking is $8 for the day and machines accept cards and coins.
Cape Solander lookout is just a short walk from the carpark.
The large whale watching platform here draws a crowd between May and November when the humpback whales travel up the coast to Queensland. If you’re lucky, you might also spy southern right whales, bottlenose dolphins, minke whales or New Zealand fur seals from this point.
Humpback whale as seen from the cliffs on the Cape Bailey Track
The Track
The path is pretty simple, just head south toward the lighthouse, with the ocean on your left. It’s fairly level, sandy in parts with vast rock platforms and steel boardwalks that make it easier to navigate marshy areas.
The landscape is dramatic, at once barren and beautiful, with sheer cliff faces dropping several metres down to the ocean crashing and swirling below. It’s tempting to peer over the edge but the sandstone edges looked a little too brittle to me so I kept my distance and stuck to more solid rock platforms. Wind and weather have painted patterns in these platforms leaving gorgeous ripples and swirls on their surface.
Flora & fauna
We did this walk in the springtime, perfect for viewing the magnificent wildflowers that carpet the rocks in some areas . The colours are just beautiful and they stand out starkly against the muted greens of the native shrubs and grasses in an otherwise open and rocky landscape.
There is a lot of birdlife in the area, especially in the spring, and we saw honeyeaters and tiny wrens feasting on fresh flowers. But most prevalent in size and number are the jet black crows that nest in the shrubbery and feed on the many insects and small lizards that traverse the track.
The lighthouse
Cape Baily lighthouse stands a little way up the hill off the main path. Just who Baily was I have no idea (anyone?), but the lighthouse was opened in 1950 and it still operates today, powered by solar panels. The lighthouse itself is nothing to write home about but from its base you get some pretty good views to the city and over the surrounding coastline.
The lighthouse is the turn back point, the bend in the loop that will take you back to the start. If you want to go further the track continues to Potter Point, Boat harbour and will eventually take you all the way to Cronulla.
We chose to go back, watching all the while for the whales that never showed. Next time I come, I think I’ll bring binoculars and maybe take some time to explore a little further around to the north and Kurnell.