Cape Solander

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Cape Solander
Cape Solander.jpg
A view of Cape Solander
LocationSydney, New South Wales
Nearest city Kurnell
Coordinates 34°0′59″S151°13′54″E / 34.01639°S 151.23167°E / -34.01639; 151.23167
Owner NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Website https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/lookouts/cape-solander

Cape Solander is a natural historic site, located near the small town of Kurnell, New South Wales, situated in the Kamay Botany Bay National Park. [1] The place is great for whale watching, with many whale species including the Humpback Whale, Southern Right Whale, and the Grey Whale. [1] Cape Solander is also pretty notorious for several people fatally falling off the cliffs. [2] [3]

Contents

Overview

Cape Solander's Whale-Watching Platform and Carpark Cape Solander whale-watching platform and carpark.jpg
Cape Solander's Whale-Watching Platform and Carpark

Cape Solander is located on the Kurnell Peninsula, on the southern side of the Kamay Botany Bay National Park. The cape was named after Swedish botanist Daniel Solander who landed with Captain James Cook at Kurnell near the cape's location. [4] It marks the start of the Cape Baily Walking Track, that heads over to the Cape Baily Lighthouse. Around the cape, there are several other ladmarks like Tabbigai Gap, Blue Hole Gorge, and Yena Track. [5]

Aboriginal owners

Cape Solander is home to the Gweagal and Goorawal Aboriginal People. [6]

Description

The iconic white rocks that surround the cliffside of Cape Solander, that look like the rocks in Wedding Cake Rock, are Hawkesbury Sandstone, which is commonly occurring in the Sydney area. [7] [1] At the parking area, there is a $2.5M whale-watching platform for tourists to use when whales migrate in winter. [8] [9]

Access

Cape Solander can be easily accessed from the Sydney CBD by driving west on Parramatta Road then heading South on King Georges Road. After, turn on Captain Cook Drive and enter Kamay Botany Bay Nat'l Park. [10]

Accidents

2018

In 2018, an American Mormon missionary slipped and fell to his death while posing for a selfie at the cliffs. [11] [2]

2024

In June of 2024, two women died when they were swept off the rocks near Cape Solander while walking. A third, unidentified woman, managed to climb onto the rocks to safety. [3] [12]

Activities

Cape Solander is a popular place for whale-watching with 300,000 tourists coming from all around the world for this activity. [8] This place is also popular for bushwalking, with the nearby Muru and Yena trails close by, with also the Cape Baily Walking Track, which stretches down to Cape Baily Lightstation,Voodoo Point and Potter Point. [13] [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamay Botany Bay National Park</span> Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

The Kamay Botany Bay National Park is a heritage-listed protected national park that is located in the eastern part of Botany Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The 456-hectare (1,130-acre) national park is situated approximately 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south-east of the Sydney central business district, on the northern and southern headlands of Botany Bay. The northern headland is at La Perouse and the southern headland is at Kurnell.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Solander</span> Swedish botanist (1733-1782)

Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutherland Shire</span> Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botany Bay</span> Open ocean bay in Sydney, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurnell, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Silver Beach is a 2.8 km (1.7 mi) long west-trending sand spit in Kurnell, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is located 18 km (11 mi) south of the Sydney CBD. Situated on the northwestern reaches of the Kurnell Peninsula and linked with the sandstone of Sutherland Point in the east, the beach is characterised by silver-coloured sands, hence the name, and fourteen rockwall groynes which project into Botany Bay.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Cape Solander". NSW National Parks. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 "He Died After Falling Off A Cliff While Taking A Selfie: A Year Later, His Parents Share The Photo". Maritime Herald. 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Sydney's Indian community mourns deaths of women swept off rocks in Kurnell, Sutherland Shire". ABC News. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  4. "Cape Solander | Sydney, Australia - Official Travel & Accommodation Website". www.sydney.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  5. Chapman, John. Day Walks Sydney. p. 26.
  6. "Cape Solander | Learn more". NSW National Parks. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  7. Chapman, John. Day Walks Sydney. p. 24.
  8. 1 2 7NEWS Australia (2022-12-09). Cape Solander's new whale watching platform | 7NEWS . Retrieved 2024-05-22 via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. author (2023-11-16). "Whale watching platform at Cape Solander". NSW Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2024-05-22.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. Chapman, John. Day Walks Sydney. p. 25.
  11. "Mormon missionary who fell to death while taking selfie was 'bright light'". ABC News. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  12. Rachwani, Mostafa. "Sydney Indian community mourning after two women swept to sea by large wave". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  13. "Cape Solander | What's nearby". NSW National Parks. Retrieved 2024-05-22.

See also