Botany or Bust

Rob and I set off in his turbo-charged mini at around mid-day. Kogarah is only a short drive away from Botany, so it seemed while I was here it was the perfect opportunity to see the sight of Captain Cook's famous landing. As it turns out I would probably have never made it to the bay had I not been staying here; you need a car to get to the site and tourists were surprisingly few and far between. Apparently the only time people focus on Captain Cook's arrival spot is during Australia Day.
We stopped at a convenient parking and lookout spot in front of the Bay. This area was La Perouse, the area of Botany Bay discovered by the French in 1788, six days after the first English convict fleet had arrived. The Botany Bay National Park and Captain Cook's landing spot were across the water; I could just about make out the white cross of the flagpole. To the left below the road were little secret beaches, while to the right was Bare Island. This small, almost pointless bubble of land contained an old fort which like the cannon at Wollongong was constructed during the paranoid frenzy of a feared Russian invasion, back in the day. 
It was only open at weekends so I didn't get to see inside.
Back in the car and it was off round the other side along Captain Cook's Drive, straight into Botany Bay National Park. There we pulled up alongside a whale watching platform (a bit like a big bus shelter). The whales weren't here as we were well out of season so instead I trekked across the sandstone cliff and had a look at the mad people doing a spot of fishing on the rocks below. One freak wave and they could easily have been carried out to sea.
Back in the car and it was onwards through the Park and to Captain Cook's landing site. It lay on the edge of a nicely trimmed lawn park, which was completely empty apart from us and some mothers with babies having a picnic. There down near the water was the burial point of Forby Sutherland, the first Brit to die in Australia, back in 1770. Slightly away from the water, back up the hill, were a large concrete pyramid with plaque, which celebrated this place as the landing spot of Cook and his botanists Josephs Banks and Daniel Solander. On the other hill alongside was the large white cross-shaped flag pole, used mostly during Australia Day.
The photo opportunity complete, we headed back in the car towards Kogarah, stopping on the way at a few beaches along Cronulla. This area is amazing; the formula seems to be really nice clean family parkland, complete with children's playground and DIY barbecue areas, and then followed in front by white sandy beaches and surf. And this happens right along this coastal area. It is quite something compared to the UK; although we are an island I can't remember ever seeing a suburban housing estate with a park which turned into a beach. Finally it's back in the car and home for yet more fine cooking from Rina.