We began our walk at La Perouse which is on the northern headland (Cape Banks) of Botany Bay - having travelled by bus from the city.
La Perouse is named after Jean-Francoise de Galaup, comte de La Perouse ( maybe Frank for short?). La Perouse had sailed into Botany Bay in January 1788 - just 6 days after Capt. Arthur Phillip. Phillip moved the 1st fleet around into Port Jackson after finding Botany Bay unsuitable for settlement. So that short period is all that was between white settlement by the English and not by the French.
Before setting off we looked across to the southern headland ( Cape Solander) and we could see Kurnell - the spot where Captain James Cook landed in 1770. His "discovery" led to the white settlement eight years later.
We followed the shoreline - passing Congwong Bay, with the Botany Bay National Park on our land side. We chose a morning tea spot with great views to the north, south and east.
Shortly after that we were on the perimeter of the NSW Golf Course ( not terribly busy on Mondays). The walking was quite easy - a mixture of tracks through scrubby vegetation and paths which were part of the golf course.
Di’s great photo shows the rocky shore - looking southwards.
Our lunch spot was reached by crossing a small bridge and we were able to sit in a sandstone cave, which again had very pleasant views. We remembered that on a previous walk in that area, we were almost blown off the cliff face and yet another time, when it had been an extremely hot day. We felt that we had been very lucky with the weather for this walk.
After lunch we passed through St Michaels Golf Course which adjoins the Coast Golf and Recreation club course. Then comes the Randwick Golf Course - the whole area is paradise for lovers of the little white ball.
We reached the small beach which used to be used by the staff of the Prince Henry Hospital (colloquially known as the Coast Hospital) before its demolition. A flight of steps took us up to the roadside - having passed a very large series of housing developments - many with water views.
We returned to the city, again using bus transport, after a very pleasant day
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