Botany Bay National Park

Lonely Planet review

This 456-hectare national park lies at the entrance of Botany Bay, 15km south of the Harbour. Here Captain Cook landed in 1770 and it was almost the site of Sydney on recommendation by naturalist Joseph Banks. When the First Fleet arrived in the height of summer 18 years later, the scorched vegetation and limited water supplies were a far cry from the paradise he had visited in winter.

Cook's landing place is marked on the Monument Track, a 1½km-long walk at Kurnell on the southern side of the bay The nearby Discovery Centre has material relating to Cook's life and expeditions, an exhibition about the first contact between Cook's crew and the local people, and information on the surrounding wetlands.

La Perouse is on the northern side of the bay at the spot where the First Fleet laid anchor, followed by French explorer Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse just six days later. His arrival was utterly coincidental; his expedition was purely scientific but it gave the Brits quite a scare. He and his men camped at Botany Bay for a few weeks, then sailed off into the Pacific and vanished.

The La Perouse area has strong links with the Aboriginal community. Laperouse Museum & Visitor Centre has an interesting Aboriginal gallery, as well as relics of the La Pérouse expedition and antique maps.